DURAND CUP (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Sports)

Context:  The 132nd edition of Durand Cup kicked off in Kokrajhar, Assam. 

• Raksha Mantri graced the opening ceremony, which marked the grand beginning of the annual football competition for the first time in the Assamese city.
• The tournament is organised by the Armed Forces and supported by the Government of Assam.

Durand Cup

• The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, (also called IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons), is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla.
• The tournament is named after its founder Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of India from 1884 to 1894. 
• It was first began as a football tournament for different departments and regiments of Armed forces of India and the princely states.
• Since independence, the army's presence is maintained by the participation of several clubs of different regiments Indian Armed Forces as guest invitees.
• Unlike any other competition around the world winning team is presented with three trophies:
• Durand Cup (Nicknamed The Masterpiece): the original tournament trophy which became a rolling trophy since 1965.
• Shimla Trophy (Nicknamed The Artistry): donated by the residents of Shimla in 1904 to show their passion and support for the tournament, the trophy began to be awarded in rolling since 1965.
• President's Cup (Nicknamed The Pride): a rolling trophy that replaced the Viceroy's Trophy post-independence by the President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad.