Our Sports Reporter
GUWAHATI: A crucial meeting on the forthcoming Bordoloi Trophy was held at the Gauhati Town Club Auditorium on Sunday in presence of the officials from Guwahati Sports Association (GSA), the Assam government, all district sports associations and the key stakeholders.
President and secretary of the Guwahati Sports Association Paresh Chandra Das and Devajit Saikia attended the event along with Prodip Timung, the Director of the Sports and Youth Welfare Department, the secretary of the Assam Football Association Sangrang Brahma and the officials of the different District Sports Associations.
Highlighting GSA’s efforts to revamp the 70-year-old tournament Saikia said, “Ownership of the Bordoloi Trophy will now be shared with all districts of the State from this season as the competition will be held in new format and they will organise initial phase of the competition in their respective districts.”
Saikia added: “The new format is intended to involve local clubs and communities in Assam for the state’s overall football development. Our goal is to methodically promote football’s growth in Assam, not only draw large audiences to witness the game. We had a magnificent footballing past, but we have slipped behind compared to states like Mizoram and Manipur. It’s time to bring back those bygone days.”
Regarding the response GSA received from the different DSA’s in the meeting Saikia said, “It’s encouraging. All are interested to host the meet in their respective districts and many of them brought up fresh ideas also in the meeting.”
The secretary of GSA also praised the Assam Government for extending full support to them to host the meet in a new format. “The government of Assam has assured its complete support to the new format of the competition. We are grateful to Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister, for acknowledging our plan and promising to help us wholeheartedly,” said Saikia.
Meanwhile Prodip Timung, Director of the Sports & Youth Welfare Department, confirmed that the state government will provide financial support for the tournament. He also mentioned that football will play a significant role in the second edition of Khel Maharan, which is set to begin in November.
Assam Football Association (AFA) Secretary Sangrang Brahma praised GSA’s efforts to revamp the Bordoloi Trophy, calling it one of the largest football initiatives in the country.
Under the new format, Each district sports organization will choose eight of its best clubs to participate in the first phase of the tournament, which kicks off on January 20, 2025 in the all districts of Assam. District champions will later compete in the second stage, which will be a Cluster Round. The winners and runners-up from six clusters (12 teams) will advance to the final round of the Bordoloi Trophy, to be held at Judges’ Field in Guwahati starting on March 1. They will be joined by the winner and runner-up of the Guwahati Premier League, along with two invited teams. There will be cash awards in the each stage of the competition.
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