Kenny Jyrwa
For over three years now, the arrival of the Durand Cup in Shillong is a celebration of football. This year, however, it feels different. It feels bigger. It feels personal.
As the 135th edition of the IndianOil Durand Cup returns from July 25 to August 23, continuing a remarkable legacy that stretches back 138 years, the tournament once again brings together 24 teams, including two foreign clubs across five host cities. It is Asia’s oldest football tournament and the world’s third-oldest surviving football competition. The list of participants features some of Indian football’s biggest names including- Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, NorthEast United FC and Shillong Lajong FC among them.
Yet, one name stands apart, say as an ‘underdog’.
Nongkseh Sports Social and Cultural Club.
Five years ago, few outside local football circles would have paid attention to Nongkseh. The club was battling in the Third Division of the Shillong Sports Association in Polo, fighting for survival rather than dreaming of national recognition. Today, it will walk onto the same stage as Indian football’s giants.
This is not the story of a corporate-backed project or an ambitious franchise. This is simply a story of a village in Upper Shillong.
Founded in 1969, Nongkseh SS&CC was built on a simple but powerful idea: to use sport as a tool to guide young people away from unhealthy habits and towards discipline, purpose and community. For 57 years, that vision has remained unchanged.
The club has reached Shillong’s top flight only three times. Many still remember the promotion to the then Shillong Premier League in 2008. The celebrations were immense, but the dream proved short-lived. Financial limitations, the harsh reality faced by countless community clubs, saw Nongkseh relegated the very next season.
That story is all too familiar across Meghalaya.
Community based clubs rise. Community based clubs fall. Not because they lack talent, passion or support, but because they struggle to compete financially with professionally run football clubs at the top level.
That is precisely why Nongkseh’s qualification for the Durand Cup tells every village in Meghalaya that dreams need not end in just “inter-shnong” football tournaments but rather it does take to places one could only imagine.
This will motivate every Dorbar Shnong that investing in youth and community sport can produce something extraordinary. It tells every small sports club that the gap between local grounds and national platforms is no longer impossible to bridge.
Nongkseh earned its place in the Durand Cup by winning the Meghalaya State League. To reach the Meghalaya State League, it first had to win the Shillong Championship Cup. And to qualify for the Shillong Championship Cup, it had to win the Shillong Sports Association First Division.
Football often rewards consistency over moments of brilliance and Nongkseh has mastered exactly that. The club is now approaching a full year without tasting defeat, putting together an unbeaten run of more than 35 matches.
It is more than just winning games, anyone who has watched Nongkseh play knows this is no ordinary fan base. Whenever the team takes the field, the supporters arrive in numbers. They sing, they cheer, they wave flags and they created an atmosphere where a group stage matches feels like a final.
Perhaps the most touching example came after Nongkseh lifted the Meghalaya State League trophy recently. The entire community pooled money together so that players, supporters, families and villagers could sit down and share a feast. That is football in its purest form. That is what community clubs are meant to be.
Nongkseh is a Sports, Social and Cultural Club : a community institution rooted in its ‘shnong’. It belongs to its people. Its identity extends beyond football. Unlike privately owned football clubs built around investors or business groups, Nongkseh represents an entire locality. Every victory belongs not just to eleven players, but to an entire community.
That is why this qualification resonates so deeply.
This year, Shillong will have three representatives in the 135th Durand Cup including- Shillong Lajong FC, Langsning FC and Nongkseh SS&CC.
Also Read: Three Meghalaya clubs likely to feature in Durand Cup 2026
Look closely at those names. Two are Football Clubs. One is a Sports, Social and Cultural Club.
That difference matters.
It reminds us that community football still has a place in the modern game.
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of Nongkseh’s rise is the squad itself. It is filled largely with talented Khasi and Jaiñtia footballers young men. For every aspiring footballer in Meghalaya, their journey will inspire to chase their dreams.
You can dream of hearing your name echoed by thousands inside a packed stadium. You can dream of sharing the pitch with India’s biggest clubs. You can dream of making football your profession.
Most importantly, you can dream because someone from a village just like yours has already shown that it is possible.
Nongkseh supporters have created a ripple effect across Meghalaya’s football scene. Their passion has inspired rival clubs to build stronger fan cultures of their own. More communities are beginning to rally behind their local teams. More young people are identifying with clubs from their own localities rather than supporting from a distance.
Healthy rivalries create louder stadiums. Louder stadiums create better atmospheres. Better atmospheres inspire better football. And better football inspires the next generation.
So, who really wins?
Not just Nongkseh. Not just Shillong. Football wins. The beautiful game wins. And when football wins, Meghalaya’s youth win too.
When the Durand Cup kicks off in Shillong on July 25, the spotlight will naturally fall on the established giants. But beyond the glamour, one team will quietly carry the hopes of every community sports club in Meghalaya.
Regardless of how far the ‘underdog’ Nongkseh progresses in the tournament, history has already been made.
Sometimes, qualification itself is the greatest victory. And for community football in Meghalaya, Nongkseh SS&CC has already won.
Also Read: Nongkseh crowned MSL 5 champions after stunning comeback against Langsning
