30. November
8th National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 2-1 East Bengal Club - Goals: 1-0 Felix Ibrebru (24'), 2-0 Micky Fernandes (29'), 2-1 Douglas Da Silva (38').
In an interesting match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao lately crowned Durand Cup champions Salgaocar SC edged past National League defending champions East Bengal Club 2-1 to make a perfect start to their NFL campaign, while for the champions it was the worst possible start. In a fast-paced match Salgaocar was able to control the midfield with especially Tomba Singh once more being the biggest treath to their opponents. Salgaocar went into the lead in the 24.minute when Tomba crossed from the right, the ball deflected off an East Bengal defender with Nigerian striker Felix Ibrebru slotting home. Only five minutes later another Tomba cross was met by the head of young Micky Fernandes. Salgaocar had a secure lead but the champions fought back. East Bengal's Brazilian midfielder Douglas da Silva reduced the margin in the 38.minute through a freekick, after he had been brought down on the edge of the penalty area by Ibrebru. Then a shock for Salgaocar as Tomba had to be taken-off due to an injury. With Tomba out East Bengal had more of the midfield but couldn't utilise their chances and were also lucky not to conceed more goals as Salgaocar could have scored off their counter-attack.
After the match East Bengal coach was a dejected man and termed the performance of his team the worst under his tenure.

8th National League - Goa: Mahindra United 0-2 Dempo SC - Goals: 0-1 Sameer Naik (27'), 0-2 Clifford Miranda (90+').
High flying Mahindra United were grounded by a strong Dempo SC, who won 2-0 in both teams opening National League match at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai. Dempo controlled the proceedings on a day, were a number of Mahindra players looked off-colour unlike their performances of the last few month's. Dempo's right-back Sameer Naik opened the scoring with a long-ranger beating Kalyan Chaubey in the 27.minute. Thereafter Chaubey showed his class as he kept the deficit down to a goal but the Jeepmens strikers could utilise their few chances as they otherwise were kept under check by the Dempo defence. Dempo midfielder Clifford Miranda scored the decider of a pass from RC Prakash in injury time after the 90 minutes were over.

52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Semifinal: Assam Regimental Centre 1-1,5-3 Fransa FC, Goa (on penalties) - Goals: 1-0 Lalmachuna Hmar (32'), 1-1 Ivan Fiel da Silva (74').
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Final: Punjab State Electricity Board 0-0,4-2 Punjab Police (on penalties)

Note-1: Come tomorrow and once more the Indian under-17 boys will try to qualify for the AFC Youth U17 Championships, which is then also the qualifiers for the FIFA U17 World Cup. The last time, last year they qualified in style and the team was one of the best at the Asian juniors with Malswama and Jerry Zirsanga even named in the Asian U17 Allstars.
Now this batch of the India U17 boys are playing hosts to Nepal and Afghanistan in the Group 4 qualifiers in Calcutta but so far only Nepal has arrived and Afghanistan remains uncertain. If until tomorrow afternoon no news is received from the AFC or the team arrives, then Afghanistan will be cancelled from the Group and then India and Nepal would play each other twice to decide the group winners.

Note-2: The FIFA U20 World Cup started on Friday and a "Player of Indian Origin" is part of the tournament. 19 year old Michael Chopra, who plays for English Premiership club Newcastle United, is playing with the Nr.9 jersey for England at the championship.

29. November
8th National League - Goa: Vasco SC 2-2 Sporting Clube de Goa - Goals: 1-0 Edson de Crasto (8'), 1-1 Bibiano Fernandes (43'), 1-2 Louis Aniweta (83'), 2-2 Kamal Thapa (87').
A late equaliser enabled Vasco SC to hold National League newcomers Sporting Clube de Goa to a 2-2 draw in a Goan derby at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Vasco took an early lead in the 8.minute through their new Brazilian midfielder Edson de Crasto, a returnee to India as he had played for Churchill Brothers in 2000. But as the match progressed Sporting Clube took control of the match but only two minutes before halftime Bibiano Fernandes equalised with a long-range effort. Sporting then took the lead in the 83.minute through a header from defender Louis Aniweta and as it looked that Sporting would win their first-ever NFL match Vasco equalised three minutes from time, when Kamal Thapa headed home. Like in Calcutta yesterday the Goans teams today moaned afterwards about the new Adidas Fevernova balls of jumping higher and moving faster. Welcome Indian football to the world's football!

52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Semifinal: Oil India Limited 1-0 Assam State Electricity Board - Goal: 1-0 Birjab Mushahary (66').
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Semifinal: Punjab Police 2-1 Border Security Force
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Semifinal: Punjab State Electricity Board 2-1 Rail Coach Factory

Note-1: After the five Goan NFL teams - Salgaocar, Dempo, Churchill Bros, Vasco and Sporting Clube - met the Goa FA, they asked the GFA to shift their NFL matches support to be held in Goa to Mumbai, if the Sports Authority of Goa don't pull back its 1000 NFL complimentary passes already issued for the west stand for the Nehru Stadium, Margao.
But what has angered the clubs even more is that the SAG also wants to issue car passes for the ground, which could mean that the cars of club officials and/or well-wishers could be turned back, as the parking lot at the Nehru Stadium only holds 300 cars.
The SAG is owner of the Nehru Stadium but for football matches the ground is handed over to the GFA, who normally take care of passes and other matters. But this time just before the NFL those passes were issued by the SAG.
So now the impasse between SAG and GFA has the clubs involved who want to take more drastic steps, with even the Goan chief minister getting involved in the issue now. And if the matter isn't solved by tomorrow midday then the Salgaocar-East Bengal match could be called-off due to security reasons around the ground.

Note-2: On the occasion of the Veterans' Sport Club golden jubilee celebrations a football tournament was held at the East Bengal Ground in Calcutta with the stars from the 1950s and 60s in action.
The oldies from Mohammedan Sporting won the one-day tournament beating East Bengal 3-2 in a penalty shootout. Earlier East Bengal beat Veterans' SC 4-3, while Mohammedan Sporting won 5-4 against Mohun Bagan also on penalties.

28. November
8th National League - Calcutta: Mohammedan Sporting Club 0-2 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 0-1 Renedy Singh (34'), 0-2 Jose Barreto (85').
Debutants Mohammedan Sporting Club lost the opening match of the 8th National League against Calcutta rivals Mohun Bagan with two goals to nil at the Saltlake Stadium. For Mohun Bagan is was the perfect start they wanted, made possible by goals from their captain Renedy Singh and Brazilian star Jose Barreto. Sporting played a defensive game, especially trying to keep Barreto under control with Shahnawaz Iqbal Khan trying to police him but this game space to youngster Ashim Biswas. The first goal was a long-range effort from Renedy Singh in the 32.minute, not a hard or to precise shot but Sporting keeper Gumpe Rime wasn't able to hold on to the ball as it slipped through his hands. Rime became the first casualty of the new Adidas Fevernova balls, which are different from other footballs but Rime wasn't the only one as others had problems as well. After the break Sporting worked towards the equaliser but their strikers weren't sharp enough, though the Bagan defence showed weaknesses but keeper Prasanta Dora stood tall in goal. And then five minutes before the end Manitombi Singh went through on the right crossed the ball with Jose Barreto waiting at the first post and flicking the ball into the far corner of the goal.
MSC: Gumpe Rime, Hussain Mustafi, Okoli Onyeka Odafa, Manas Das, Shahnawaz Iqbal Khan, John Ugwu, Syed Rahim Nabi, Khalid Siddique (Arjan Ali), Dipendu Biswas, Chidi Edeh.
MOHUN BAGAN: Prasanta Dora, Manitombi Singh, Sanjeev Kumar Maria (Palash Karmakar), Harpreet Singh, Lolendra Singh (Rishi Kapoor), Mehtab Hussain, Rocus Lamare, Hardeep Singh Gill, Renedy Singh (Basudeb Mondal), Jose Barreto, Ashim Biswas.

52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Quarterfinal: Fransa FC, Goa 1-0 Shillong XI, Meghalaya - Goal: 1-0 Ivan Fiel da Silva (13').
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Quarterfinal League: Keltron FC, Kerala 0-5 Punjab State Electricity Board
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Quarterfinal League: JCT Academy 0-3 Punjab Police

27. November
A good crowd is expected in tomorrow's 8th National League opener Calcutta derby at the Saltlake Stadium between record-NFL winners Mohun Bagan and debutants Mohammedan Sporting Club.
Mohun Bagan have been training hard ahead of the NFL after early season blushed and since then the teams seems to have settled down. But their new signings Brazilians - defender Leonardo Almeida and forward Eduardo Ribeiro - won't be able to take the field as their international transfer clearance was still awaited but the team will see the return of Jose Barreto and Ashim Biswas.
Mohammedan Sporting have also so far had a season to forget after the successful last one but have in the last few weeks been cleaning their house and getting the team in order. The club wasn't happy with the teams performance, so some players were fired and released, while also new ones signed ahead of the NFL. Nigerian youngsters Okoli Onyeka Odofa was signed plus on loan signings of Gumpe Rime from Indian Telephone Industries and Nigerian Chidi Edeh of Calcutta first division side City AC made.
As it is a Calcutta derby and both sides haven't played for quite some time, it is difficult to make a prediction, though surely Bagan will go into the match as favourites.

But number of questions remain unanswered ahead of the start of the 8th National League.
The league still hasn't gotten a title sponsor and also for the first-time the NFL doesn't have an official TV broadcaster, depriving the many Indian football fans of match action. Really a shame for the AIFF and their marketing agents Strata. Football is difficult to sell in India but wth professionalism that could be countered...
As it looks at the moment, the AIFF is still talking with numerous corporates about the title sponsorship of the NFL. The former favourites Reliance Industries backed down due to the high demand of the AIFF, while South Korean multi Samsung also seems to have pulled-out. Now the concentration seems to be on Unilever's Indian subsidiary Hindustan Lever and the Munjal's Hero Honda. But some unofficial good news is that the UB-Group's Kingfisher, Tata, Coca-Cola, Adidas are the league's co-sponsors, while Bengali paper Sangbad Pratidin is the media partner.
Maybe the AIFF should think about making indianfootball.com their online media partner! Okay, we couldn't pay anything but indianfootball.com gives more than good coverage to the NFL and Indian football in general. Maybe something they should think about...
But what is even worse is that there is no TV broadcaster to show NFL matches, be it live or deferred and not even capsules. Something terrible for the fans of Indian football.
Lets hope the AIFF and Strata can work out something very very soon!!!

52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Quarterfinal: Oil India Limited 2-1 NF Railway SC - Goals: 1-0 Bhupen Gogoi (37'), 1-1 Kushal Rajkonwar (39'), 2-1 P Gogoi (61').
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Quarterfinal: Assam Regimental Centre 4-1 SAI Guwahati - Goals: 1-0 Lalsung Sanglian (22'), 2-0 S Sansal (25m), 2-1 Manikanta Brahma (47'), 3-1 L Hmar (75'), 4-1 S Chongloi (80').
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Quarterfinal League: Border Security Force 1-0 Sri Guru Gobind Singh Football Society
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Quarterfinal League: Rail Coach Factory 1-0 CRPF, Madhya Pradesh

Note-1: The FIFA U20 World Cup kicked-off today in Abu Dhabi, UAE and at the pre-tournament press conference yesterday the AFC general secretary Peter Velappan severely criticised the AIFF and their work to develop football in India.
"In India football authorities blame cricket for the lack of progress by the nation in football. We do not agree with this," Velappan said.
Velappan said the AFC had big development plans to promote the game in eight countries in the region including China and India, the world's two most populous countries.
"Cricket is popular and good that many Indians are taking to the game. But there are many who still play football and concerted efforts can produce 11 good footballers in a country of over a billion," Velappan said.
"The brilliant display by Japan and Korea in the 2002 World Cup has inspired us to undertake this development in Asia. We are hoping that ten years from now we should have at least eight Asian teams in the world's top 30 out of the over 200 countries that play the game," he said.
India's record in the world's most popular sport is pathetic and the nation, ranked 23rd in Asia, is yet to come anywhere near qualifying for the World Cup football, since the AIFF refused to take part in 1950.
Also present at the press conference was FIFA president Sepp Blatter. So lets hope that the AIFF will be at the FIFA executive meeting on December 4 in Frankfurt, a day ahead of the 2006 World Cup qualification draw.

Note-2: East Bengal Club coach Subhas Bhowmick has asked for disciplinary action against M Suresh and Chandan Das by the club management. And why all this? While M Suresh is still in Kozhikode, is said to receive ayurvedic treatment to his injured knee but hasn't reported lately to the club, Chandan Das has preferred to play for his office (Reserve Bank of India) and not for East Bengal. The club management haven't taken a decision, if to come by the request of their coach, who says such disciplinatory measures are needed to get the team back on track.

26. November
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Quarterfinal: Nagaland Police 1-2 Assam State Electricity Board - Goals: 1-0 Vizoru (24'), 1-1 Utpal Basumatary (27'), 1-2 Sanjiva Rongpi (61').
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Quarterfinal League: Border Security Force 2-0 CRPF
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Quarterfinal League: Punjab Police 2-0 Punjab State Electricity Board
3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy - Quarterfinal League: JCT Academy 3-1 Keltron FC

Note-1: In somewhat of a new venture the IFA jointly with the Veteran's Sports Club on Saturday, November 29 will organise a one-day Veteran's Football tournament at the East Bengal Ground. East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting and Veteran's SC will be the participating teams. The stars of yesteryears from way back from the 1950s will be seen in action again, maybe together after ages. Among the stars will be outstations footballers like SS Narayan, Peter Thangaraj, SA Franco, Ahmed Khan, Mohammed Salim, Chandan Singh Rawat, Mohammed Zulfiqar, SS Hakeem, Tulsidas Balaram, T Kannan and Hamid.
The matches will be telecast live on ETV, while the winners take home the Mohammed Salim trophy, named after the first Indian footballer to play in Europe, as he played a few matches for Celtic Glasgow in the mid-1930s.

Note-2: Will Anit Ghosh be allowed to play for Mohun Bagan in the upcoming National League?
East Bengal Club have objected to their former player to turn out for their rivals and the case would have to be sorted by the IFA and AIFF as this is the first such instance.
What happened? Anit Ghosh, East Bengal Club captain last season got seriously injured last season and at the beginning of this season he was no longer part of the successful East Bengal team. So an unwanted Anit made use of the new second inter-state transfer window and got himself transferred to a club in Cuttack under the jurisdiction of the Orissa Football Association and ahead of the NFL was transferred on loan to Mohun Bagan. But now East Bengal oppose the original transfer to Cuttack and they will have to give the AIFFs Players' Status Committee a reason to nullify the transfer. The IFA meanwhile has put the transfer on hold.
But maybe a different question needs to be clarified by the AIFF or if they can't, get it clarified by FIFA. The question is: if a player takes a transfer, can he then after that transfer period be loaned to another club or has he to stay with the club he has signed for and can only get a full or loan transfer after the next transfer period.

25. November
Note-1: After EverReady as the third non-Northeastern team pulled out yesterday, the organisers were happy to announce that Goans Fransa FC would arrive tomorrow but still the schedule for the 52nd Bordoloi Trophy had to be totally revamped. There won't be any pre-quarterfinal matches, so from tomorrow the quarterfinals will be held.

Note-2: At a press conference in Calcutta today, the IFA secretary Subrata Dutta announced that the first-ever Bengal State League would kickoff on December 5, 2003 and run until February 2004. In total 20 districts from across West Bengal would take part. The 20 teams would be divided into six group - four groups of three and two of four. The top two from each group would move into a second group stage, where four groups of three would be played. The group toppers would move into a final round, which would decide the champions. The tournament would be held on a home-&-away format.
The tournaments sponsor will be Utkal Asbestos Limited and will be christened "Konark State League".
The champions would receive Rs 100.000, the runners-up Rs 50.000 and the semifinalists Rs 25.000. The winners of a match would receive Rs 3.000, which would have to be distributed among the players.
The Players would have to be registered with the respective district association and each district would be allowed to sign upto five players from Super Division and first division clubs in Calcutta.
Partipicating Districts: Bankura, Birbhum, Burdwan, Chandannagar, Cooch Behar, Dakshin Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Hooghly, Howrah, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Manbhum, Midnapore, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, Purba Midnapore, Siliguri, South 24 Parganas, Uttar Dinajpur.

24. November
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Round 2: Nagaland Police 2-1 Assam Rifles - Goals: 0-1 Ajit Singh (2'), 1-1 Vizru (69'), 2-1 Lanu Sanen (89').

Note-1: As we had told you earlier, here some details into the deal signed by Adidas India Marketing Pvt. Ltd. and Baichung Bhutia.
For Baichung this was the first personal sponsorship contract under his new management of 9 Yards. 9 Yards are close to signing one or two more deals for Baichung.
According to sources Adidas and Baichung have signed a two year contract worth Rs. 800,000 to 1 million a year.
"Baichung's passion and commitment are in line with the core values of our brand. These traits not only make him one of the fierciest competitors and most exciting players to watch in the game today, but also the perfect fit for our brand, states Harish Doraiswamy, Chief Operating Officer, Adidas India Marketing Pvt. Ltd. in a company press release.
An elated Baichung Bhutia said, "I am excited to be a brand ambassador for Adidas. It is clear to me that Adidas has a sincere commitment to the sport of football in India. I am looking forward to working with them and doing my part in keeping the brand headed in the right direction.

Note-2: indianfootball.com today received an official notification from EverReady Association that the club has pulled out of the ongoing 52nd Bordoloi Trophy. The club management didn't want to take any chances with the instable political situation currently prevailing in Assam.

Note-3: The first-ever under-17 Girls' Sub-Junior Nationals will be held in Udhagamandalam near Ooty in Tamil Nadu from November 28 to December 14, 2003. State teams from across India will be participating.

23. November
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Round 2: Shillong XI, Meghalaya 3-0 Williamson Magor Academy - Goals: 1-0 Aiboklang Kharpran (50'), 2-0 Polin Lyngdoh (58'), 3-0 Johny Marboh (87').
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Round 2: Sagolbond United, Manipur 1-1,3-4 NF Railway SC (on penalties) - Goals: 0-1 Duleswar Rabha (27'), 1-1 Kh Sobhachandra Singh (80').

Note-1: The 3rd Sri Guru Gobind Singh Trophy is being organised by the Shri Guru Gobind Singh Football Society at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Jalandhar from November 24 to 30. The tournament is being held after a gap of over two years. The eight participating teams are NFL side JCT Mills, Border Security Force, Punjab Police, Punjab State Electricity Board, Rail Coach Factory, Keltron FC - Kerala, CRPF - Madhya Pradesh and SGGSFS, Jalandhar.

22. November
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Round 2: Assam Police, Dergaon - SAI Guwahati

21. November
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Round 1: Assam Police Blues 0-2 Williamson Magor Academy - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Onkar Rana (30',37').

Note-1: To safe this edition of the Bordoloi Trophy from having no participation from outside the Northeast the organisers are willing to pay Goans Fransa FC and Calcutta's EverReady Association airfares from Calcutta to Guwahati, as the teams are unwilling to travel by train. Though the organisers are facing financial problems with the tournament, they are willing to cough up over Rs 200,000 on airfare for the two teams. Meanwhile it was confirmed that SAIL Calcutta and the Tata Football Academy have pulled out.

Note-2: The Indian Army defended their Tri-Services Football Championship Trophy, trashing Indian Air Force 4-0 in Shillong. Dengliana, Gordon twice and Lalduzuala scored for the winners.

20. November
52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Round 1: NF Railway SC 3-0 Kokrajhar XI - Goals: 1-0 Sushanta Majumdar (71'), 2-0 Duleswar Rabha (74'), 3-0 Prasanta Bharali (82').

Note-1: The tension between the Assamese and Biharis are taking its toll on the Bordoloi Trophy. The violence which started at Bihari railway stations where Assamese people were beaten-up, now has spread into Assam, where for a Bihari isn't safe at the moment. This is taking it's toll on the premier football tournament of Assam as SAIL of Calcutta pulled out today, citing insecurity in it's train passage from Bengal to Guwahati with Tata Football Academy and Goans Fransa FC also thinking about pulling out.

19. November
INDIA has moved-up five places in the latest FIFA world rankings. In the latest November 2003 ranking published today, India are now ranked 128th in the world but continue to be the 23rd ranked nation in Asia.
So INDIA's good performances in the Afro-Asian Games have translated into points in the world ranking!

7th Super Cup - Calcutta - Final: East Bengal Club 1-1,3-4 Mahindra United (on penalties) - Goals: 1-0 Suley Musah (19'), 1-1 Felix Aboagye (45').
Mahindra United lifted their first-ever Super Cup title at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta with a 5-4 shootout victory against NFL-champions East Bengal. The match had ended 1-1 in regulation time, with no extra-time played. For the third time in four editions the Federation Cup winners beat the NFL champions.
East Bengal took the lead in the 19.minute when captain Suley Musah scored of a penalty caused by Mahindra captain Khalid Jamil for handling a Raman Vijayan shot. Mahindra's Felix Aboagye equalised just before the breather also through a penalty after Musah had brought down Raphael Patron Akakpo but that wasn't the last penalty of the day as Musah in the 61.minute fouled Aboagye but the Ghanian striker shot the ball way over the bar. After that East Bengal controlled the match but Raman Vijayan and co. couldn't score of their chances, showing that East Bengal missed Baichung Bhutia and Mike Okoro. In the penalty shootout Subhas Bhowmick's bad luck on the day with substitutions showed, as young keeper Jiju Chetri couldn't block a shot, while the shots of youngsters Sujoy Datta and Malswam Tulunga were saved by Kalyan Chaubey, on loan at Mahindra from EverReady.
For East Bengal this was the third loss in a penalty shootout in a final this season. A nightmare for a team, which seems to have forgotten to translate it's dominance in a match into a victory in regulation time and then lose their way in the shootout. Coach Subhas Bhowmick missed a number of regulars, still the team played a decent match but didn't utilise the chances that came their way.
For Mahindra United it was the fourth title this season. The team seems to have come of age under their British coach David Booth.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy (Jitu Chetri), Surkumar Singh, Suley Musah, Mahesh Gawli, Debjit Ghosh, Sasthi Duley, Chandan Das, Alvito D'Cunha, Dipankar Roy (Sujoy Dutta), Kalia Kulothungan, Raman Vijayan (Malswam Tulunga).
MAHINDRA: Kalyan Chaubey, Cowan Lawrence, Arun Malhotra, Odartey Lawson, Sanjay Parte, Jinto Jose, Khalid Jamil, Jules Alberto, James Singh (Steven Dias), Raphael Patron Akakpo (Syed Altafuddin Ahmed), Felix Aboagye (Abhishek Yadav).

52nd Bordoloi Trophy - Round 1: SAI Guwahati 4-2 2nd Assam State Reserve Force - Goals: 1-0 Deba Ram Basumatary (2'), 2-0 Dhananjoy Boro (12'), 3-0,4-2 Durga Boro (30',89'), 3-1 Sansuma Basumatary (41'), 3-2 Dwipen Teron (57').

Note-1: The 8th National League will finally kickoff on November 28 with a Calcutta derby at the Saltlake Stadium between former champions Mohun Bagan and promoted Mohammedan Sporting Club. This announcement was made by the AIFF president Das Munshi and secretary Alberto Colaco in Calcutta today.
Fundamental questions about the upcoming NFL remained unanswered - who the title sponsor and the TV broadcaster would be, and those questions would only be answered on November 23 at a NFL curtain-raiser programme.
But a number of other things were announced today. The ADIDAS Fevernova footballs, introduced at the 2002 World Cup would be the official NFL match balls and financially the AIFF would give the participating clubs more.
Alberto Colaco said, "The subsidy given to the participating teams will be raised from Rs 100,000 to Rs 250,000. Besides, the gate percentage paid to home teams will also be increased from 30 percent to 40 percent."
He further added that today's released schedule was for the 11 Rounds first-leg, while the remaining fixtures could only be decided after the draw of the 2006 Germany World Cup preliminary rounds would be held in Frankfurt on December 5, after which it would be known when the national team would have to play.
Dasmunshi said, "We are making it mandatory for all the teams participating in the NFL to maintain and groom an Under-19 team, without which they will be debarred from participating in the NFL from next season." And also said, "If the teams maintain an U-19 squad we will have a full calender for them." So it will be for the clubs to groom their own talents now.
Also priority would be given to the national team. If a team withdrew any of the players from the national camp citing injury and that player was found participating in matches for its club, then he would be banned from playing until the AIFFs disciplinary committee took a decision on the player. Maybe a check-up with an AIFF medical committee doctor would also be made mandetory to give the player medical leave.

Note-2: Indian national team captain and football superstar Baichung Bhutia has signed a contract with German sportswear giants ADIDAS to endorse their products. We will inform you about the contract details of the deal soon.

18. November
The 2006 World Cup will be held in the country where two of indianfootball.com's editors I myself (Arunava) & Chris live - Germany. And now over two-and-a-half years in advance the qualifying draw will be made, among the teams - Indian national team in the Asian qualifying draw.
For the first time ever indianfootball.com will make a live coverage of a World Cup preliminary draw ceremony. The draw will be held in Frankfurt, Germany on December 5, 2003. After receiving official confirmation from FIFA on our press accreditation both Chris and myself will be in Frankfurt that day to bring to you live updates on the draw including pictures and interviews.
For the 2006 World Cup qualifying draw coverage and future upcoming Indian 2006 World Cup qualifying matches, we have created a new indianfootball.com special: "2006 FIFA World Cup - India's passage to Germany" . I know some will question why "India's passage to Germany"? At indianfootball.com have have a big dream - to see India play here in Germany at the 2006 World Cup and therefore the special sections title!
Click here for the entensive special coverage on the 2006 FIFA World Cup - India's passage to Germany .

Note-1: Nearly four years after it had been last held, the Super Cup finally makes a return into the Indian football calendar!
On the morrow National League champions East Bengal Club will meet Federation Cup champions Mahindra United at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta to decide who wins the 7th Super Cup.
And the pre-match signs couldn't be much more different between the two sides. East Bengal coach will have to take the field without six of his players, who had been fundamental in the teams ASEAN Club Cup triumph - Brazilian Douglas Da Silva, Deepak Mondal, M Suresh, Malswam Tulunga and Bijen Singh are out injured plus an unavailable Mike Okoro. If Baichung Bhutia can take the field will be decided tomorrow as he returned from Sikkim in the evening today, so the strongest bench of Indian football will have to prove that it can live upto expectations. But has been worrying Subhas Bhowmick lately more than anything else is that his team has lost it's aura of invincibility and focus. Something the team needs to get back before the long NFL campaign which lies ahead and a title would surely help.
Mahindra United meanwhile look a different team under their new coach David Booth - winning the Federation Cup earlier in the season following it up with the Mumbai Harwood League title and the POMIS Cup in the Maldives and only losing one match this season so far, the semifinal clash with Salgaocar in the Durand Cup. David Booth has also got worries but of a different kind - whom will I play tomorrow? Booth has a set of 16 to 18 boys of nearly the same standard. The only player missing will be international midfielder Shanmugam Venkatesh due to injury. For Mahindra the title would be the right medicine ahead of the NFL, where they at long last they want to perform as per their own high standards.

17. November
The National League schedule is still not out yet but the NFL is expected to kickoff sometime before the end of this month. Now here comes the indianfootball.com NFL preview on how our editorial team thinks the league could finish with each of us giving his own personal predictions on the final outcome. On some teams we have the same thoughts on others we totally disagree. You can have a look under the link for the national league preview .
Also online from today, a story on 9 Yards, the new sports/entertainment management company handling Baichung Bhutia's affairs plus an interview with their CEO Nevneet Sharma.
Here the complete story and interview: 9 yards ceo: navneet sharma .

15. November
The East Bengal Club management will be soon be having a meeting with their coach Subhas Bhowmick, likely early next week ahead of the Super Cup final and start of the National League at the office's of the club president Pranab Dasgupta. Issue of the meeting - East Bengal's indifferent form since the ASEAN Club Championship title.
The problem has been that in the last few weeks some of the clubs officials have said or hinted that Bhowmick could be fired if the team doesn't perform and that only month's after the biggest triumph of the club. But that doesn't seem the way the top brass want to handle the things.
Lets hope that professionalism is shown by the East Bengal Club management.

14. November

13. November
15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Final: Assam Regimental Centre 0-1 Nagaland Police - Goal: 0-1 Lanusamen (41').

12. November
Note-1: The date for the Super Cup has now been finalised for November 19 at 14.00 IST at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. National League champions East Bengal Club will face Federation Cup champions Mahindra United. But the hosting state association the IFA (Bengal body) had advised the AIFF to push the match back by a few days but the AIFF didn't agree.
The senario surrounding the National League will be cleared on the same day at the NFL organising committee will also meet that day in Calcutta. As it looks now the National League will kickoff on November 26 with a Calcutta derby between Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting Club.

Note-2: The 52nd Lokopriya Bordoloi Trophy will be held from November 19 to December 3, 2003 in Guwahati at the grounds - Nehru Stadium and Mirza stadium. In total 18 teams will take part in the 14 day tournament. None of the high profile Indian sides could be invited to the tournament as the National League will be on then and foreign teams aren't allowed to take part in Indian tournaments due to an AFC ban. So the budget could be reduced to Rs 1,5 million, of which Rs 500.000 each are coming from Tata Tea and Oil India Limited as support. The rest would either come from further sponsors or from the match gates. From the quarterfinals matches would be played under lights at the Nehru Stadium.
Four non-Northeastern are taking part - EverReady Association and SAIL from Calcutta, Goa's Fransa FC and former champions Tata Football Academy from Jamshedpur.

Note-3: India's premier national school football tournament, the Subroto Cup, will be held from November 22 to December 21, 2003 at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi. The tournament will be held in two age groups - under-14 and under-17.

11. November
Ahead of the start of the AIFFs national season, the federation has problems with grounds, fixtures and sponsorship.
The first good news - the Super Cup - the match between the league and FA-Cup champions is back in the AIFF calendar! The last such match had been played on December 6, 1999 between Salgocar and Mohun Bagan.
In the AIFF's national season opener the 2002/03 National League champions East Bengal Club face 2002/03 Federation Cup champions Mahindra United. But hereafter the problems start. According to the original plans the Super Cup match was supposed to be held on November 16 in the capital New Delhi but on that day the Ambedkar Stadium isn't available due to a political gathering (This misuse of grounds in India has to stop). So the date had to be shifted. The now favoured date is November 19 but the venue was also shifted in one go, as it now would be played at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Approval from the AIFF president Das Munshi is awaited as he is away in the US but should come in the coming days.
And why the sudden venue change, Calcutta instead of Delhi? Not only had the Super Cup match but also a meeting between the NFL organising committee and the 12 participating clubs been called in Delhi on November 16, which has been pushed back to 19th in Calcutta. This meeting has been called as an initial NFL fixtures list would be discussed with the clubs.
And this throws-up further questions. When will the National League start and who will be the title sponsor?
The date announced at the beginning of the season for the NFL kickoff had been November 15 but that date just couldn't be kept, so the start was pushed back to November 21/22. Now it looks that the NFL will be delayed .
But a much more important question is. Who will be the NFLs title sponsor? As it looks at the moment Reliance Industries is the corporate that the AIFF has targeted to cough-up the wanted sum. But the sum the AIFF is asking and the sum offered are currently way apart but there seems to be no real alternatives. The AIFF would like to get Rs 80 million from the NFLs title sponsor but what Reliance are currently offering is a maximum of Rs 35 million. The AIFF hoped with the good performance from the national team at the Afro-Asian Games that the price could be pushed-up and alternatives would come their way but that hasn't been the case. Also NFL teams would like more money - appearance fee, match winners fee and prize money. But now the AIFF could face real financial problems at the end of the season...

15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Semifinal: Nagaland Police 1-0 Assam State Electricity Board - Goal: 1-0 Imli Yanger (74').

Note-1: "Player of Indian Origin" Harpal Singh will stay at English division 3 club Bury FC for the rest of the 2003/04 season on loan from Premiership strugglers Leeds United. 22 year old Harpal is into his second loan spell with Bury, where he has able to impress the Bury management, who therefore wanted to keep him. Harpal has played in the 19 of 20 matches for Bury this season.

10. November
116th Durand Cup - Final: East Bengal Club 1-1,3-4 Salgaocar SC (on penalties) - Goals: 0-1 Tomba Singh (59'), 1-1 Mahesh Gawli (62').
Salgaocar SC won their second-ever Durand Cup title with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory against defending champions East Bengal Club infront of a near sellout crowd at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi. The match had ended 1-1 in regulation and extra time.
While Bengali keeper Rajat Ghosh Dastidar was Salgaocar's hero of the day saving two shots in the penalty shootout, East Bengal's star strikers Baichung Bhutia and Mike Okoro were their clubs villains, as they missed chances galore during the match and then had their shots saved in the shootout. Giving Salgaocar the title as four years ago, when also the Goans had beaten the Maidan giants in a penalty shootout.
It just wasn't Mike Okoro's day as he had had the first chance for his club as he stole the ball from a fumbling Prashant Jaggi and wanted to side pass Rajat to score but fell over the goalie's outstretched leg with no penalty given. The referee thought overwise that the Nigerian was simulating and not only saved Salgaocar from a penalty against it but also Rajat from a sure red card. Salgaocar tried to contain East Bengal's wingplay, not to allow youngsters Surkumar Singh, Malswam Tulunga nor Subhas Chakraborty to make their feared runs. It worked mostly but still East Bengal got their chances, which they didn't utilise, not even Baichung Bhutia who came on as a substitute 10 minutes into the second half. Then Salgaocar went ahead in the 59.minute through a Tomba Singh freekick but East Bengal equalised only three minutes later when defender Mahesh Gawli headed in a cross from Mike Okoro. After the two goals in quick succession the match once more was more of a strategy game confined mainly to midfield action.
The tension reached it's climax with the penalty shootout. While captain Climax Lawrence, Tomba Singh, Dharamjit Singh and Felix Ibrebru scored for Salgaocar - Suleh Musah, Chandan Das and Malswam Tulunga scored for East Bengal. Jatin Singh Bisht miss didn't bother Salgaocar in the end, while Baichung and Okoro misses cost East Bengal dearly.
Salgaocar is richer by Rs 400,000 as champions, while East Bengal Club have to be content with Rs 200,000.
EAST BENGAL: Sangram Mukherjee, Suley Musah, Debjit Ghosh, Mahesh Gawli, Surkumar Singh, Sasthi Duley, Malswam Tulunga, Chandan Das, Subhas Chakrabarty (Baichung Bhutia), Kalia Kulothungan (Alvito D'Cunha), Mike Okoro.
SALGAOCAR: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Bello Razaq, Roberto Fernandes, Prashant Jaggi, Micky Fernandes, Climax Lawrence, Tomba Singh, Dharamjit Singh, Jatin Singh Bisht, Ragui Singh (Bernard Pires), Felix Ibrebru.
Referee: S.M. Balu (Karnataka).

15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Semifinal: Assam Regimental Centre 1-0 Mokokchung District FA - Goal: 1-0 Seimingthang Chongloi (87').

9. November
Note-1: According to the Durand Cup organising committee secretary, Lt Col Bhupinder Singh, the organisers have coughed-up the money which Doordarshan wanted to telecast the 116th Durand Cup final live. So now it is upto the national broadcasters to telecast tomorrow's match live at 14.30 IST. Most likely the match will be shown on DD Sports.

Note-2: Tomorrow it is time for the final at India's oldest football tournament - 116th edition of the Durand Cup 2003 with India's best two teams, East Bengal Club and Salgaocar SC meeting each other.
The focus ahead of the final is on Indian superstar Baichung Bhutia and the question, if he is going to play or not. According to East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick and Baichung himself it looks more than likely that he will play though he knows that he isn't 100% match-fit.
Meanwhile the coaches kept their match strategies close to themselves. Both Bhowmick and Salgaocar coach Savio Madeira know the strength's and weaknesses of their own and opposing sides and have a load of regards for each other and their work. Both sides have scored freely in the three matches so far but also have shown unknown weaknesses in their defences, which is unusual for the teams. So both sides will have to strengthen their defence lines with an option between a three or four man backline. For Salgaocar Tomba Singh had been instrumental in setting-up most goals, while the return of Chandan Das has strengthened the East Bengal midfield, which had been unimpressive in the group stage.
So lets hope for a good final match!

Note-3: Mohammed Yaqub, a former Delhi state player, died yesterday in the capital New Delhi after prolonged illness. Yakub was 63 years old, and is survived by his wife, five daughters and two sons. Yaqub had joined City Club in 1963 and was a registered player of the club till the very end, which he represented in major tournaments.

8. November
116th Durand Cup - Semifinal: East Bengal Club 3-0 Air-India - Goals: 1-0 Malswam Tulunga (22'), 2-0 Chandan Das (36'), 3-0 Mike Okoro (59').
East Bengal trashed a young Air-India side 3-0 at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi to reaching their 25th Durand Cup final. But the scoreline doesn't really show the supremicy which East Bengal had in today's match but it's players messed-up too many of their chances. East Bengal missed Baichung Bhutia but Chandan Das returned and the midfield looked much more organised and creative today.
East Bengal missed a number of chances early-on but then in the 22.minute Malswam Tulunga opened the scoring, while a strong Chandan Das increased the lead in the 36.minute with a solid right-footer. Nigerian sharpshooter Mike Okoro rounded-off the score in the 65.minute with a solo effort past three defenders plus the keeper to make amends for earlier misses.
East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick was quite happy with today's performance, saying that things are improving but left open if Baichung Bhutia would play in the final or not.
EAST BENGAL: Sangram Mukherjee, Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Suley Musah, Mahesh Gawli, Sasthi Duley, Malswam Tulunga (Dipankar Roy, Raman Vijayan), Debjit Ghosh, Chandan Das, Subhas Chakraborty (Alvito D'Cunha), Kalia Kulothungan, Mike Okoro.
AIR-INDIA: Raju Ekka, Santosh Koli, Osberne D'Souza (Hringsolal Thomthe), Naushad Moosa, Vinay Kuruvilla, MK Binoop, Vijith Shetty, Paresh Shivalkar, Mohammed Rizwan (Appa Rao), Suprith Jathanna, Stephen Hmar (Abbas Ali Rizvi).

15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Quarterfinal: Punjab Police 1-1,1-4 Assam State Electricity Board (on penalty) - Goals: 0-1 Utpal Basumatary (36'), 1-1 Harpreet Singh (78').

7. November
116th Durand Cup - Semifinal: Mahindra United 1-2 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 1-0 Felix Aboagye (2'), 1-1 Felix Ibrebru (58'), 1-2 Dharamjit Singh (73').
Tomba Singh, one of India's most creative midfielders in the national team, once more showed his class for his club as he led Salgaocar to a 2-1 victory against Mahindra United in a fast-paced first semifinal at the 116th Durand Cup at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi.
Mahindra took an early second minute lead through their new Nigerian recruit Felix Aboagye but Salgaocar hit back after the breather with two goals set-up by Tomba and scored by Nigerian striker Felix Ibrebru in the 58.minute and midfielder Dharamjit Singh in the 73.minute to move into Monday's final. In-between Mahindra defender Sanjay Parte picked-up a yellow-red card on the hour mark for two infringements on Tomba Singh, whom he couldn't control throughout the match.
MAHINDRA: Naseem Akthar, Covan Lawrence, Sanjay Parte, Arun Malhotra, Tapan Ghosh (Steven Dias), Rauf Khan, Jules Alberto (Syed Altafuddin Ahmed), Khalid Jamil, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Raphel Patron Akakpo, Felix Aboagye.
SALGAOCAR: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Roberto Fernandes, Bello Rasaq, Prashant Jaggi, Tomba Singh, Micky Fernandes, Climax Lawrence, Dharamjit Singh (Bernard Pires), Ragui Singh, Jatin Singh Bisht (Samson Singh), Felix Ibrebru.

15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Quarterfinal: Assam Regimental Centre 1-0 New Market XI - Goal: 1-0 Khaningkhai (49').

Note-1: In tomorrow's Durand Cup semifinal against the young Air-India side favourites East Bengal will most likely miss the services of India captain Baichung Bhutia due to a suspected calf-muscle injury. Baichung has become cautious with muscle injuries due to his experiences last season at Bagan, where he aggrevated an injury and missed most part of the later season. But there was also good news for the East Bengal management as Chandan Das has joined the team from the Bank Olympiad in Chandigarh and he will surely play tomorrow in midfield.

6. November
116th Durand Cup - Group B: East Bengal Club 3-0 Dempo SC - Goals: 1-0 Mike Okoro (51'), 2-0 Malswam Tulunga (82'), 3-0 Kalia Kulothungan (90').
116th Durand Cup - Group D: Vasco SC 1-1 Air-India - Goals: 1-0 Dennis Cabral (12'), 1-1 Suprith Jathanna (55').
15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Quarterfinal: Nagaland Police 4-1 Puliebadze Club - Goals: 1-0,3-1,4-1 Imli Yanger (15',55',71'), 1-1 Vizo Peseyie (20'), 2-1 Lhoulavolie (24').

Note-1: It now looks more and more likely that the final of the 116th Durand Cup will not be shown live by Doordarshan as India's national television channel is asking for Rs 93,000 from the organisers to show the match. But the organisers are in no position to put together such an amount for the match to be shown.
In the interest of the Indian football fans, lets hope either DD comes down from it's stand that it has to be paid for the production or someone bails out the organisers. Lets keep our fingers crossed...

5. November
116th Durand Cup - Group A: Mahindra United 0-0 JCT Mills - Goals: none.
116th Durand Cup - Group C: Salgaocar SC 2-0 Mohammedan Sporting Club - Goals: 1-0 Dharamjit Singh (59'), 2-0 Felix Ibrebru (73').
15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Quarterfinal: Mokokchung District FA 3-0 Mon District FA - Goals: 1-0 Temsu (46'), 2-0 Maong (48'), 3-0 Supong (69').

Note-1: Durand Cup organisers have come in for heavy criticism from Indian national team captain and superstar Baichung Bhutia. The Durand Cup is organised by the Indian Army.
Baichung told PTI, "It is the second oldest tournament in the world and so it should be organised in a better way. It has to have some interest. There is no use organising it just for the sake of it." Baichung adviced the Army to take the help from the AIFF if needed to make the tournament better.
Correctly Baichung pointed out that the tournament proper was being held in a hurry with 15 matches in 10 days with 12 teams at one ground. But one mistake continues to be made in connection with the Durand Cup. The Durand Cup isn't the second oldest club football tournament in the world but only the third. The English FA-Cup is the oldest, while the Scottish FA-Cup started in the same year as the Durand Cup but a few month's earlier.
Baichung was also critical of the AIFFs Football calendar. On Friday Baichung had to play for India in the Afro-Asian Games final against Uzbekistan, on Sunday play for East Bengal against Mohun Bagan in the Calcutta Super Division playoff final and then play East Bengal's first Durand Cup match on Tuesday. All matches at different venues across India - Bangalore, Calcutta and now Delhi.

4. November
It isn't official yet but we from indianfootball.com have received the information that Indian national coach Stephen Constantine will be named as "AFC Coach of the Month" this month.
Congrats to Stephen on an award that he fully deserves for his work!!!

116th Durand Cup - Group B: East Bengal Club 3-2 Indian Bank - Goals: 0-1 Mahendra Mani (2'), 1-1,2-1 Baichung Bhutia (16',49'), 3-1 Mike Okoro (80'), 3-2 Syed Shabir Pasha (84').
116th Durand Cup - Group D: Jammu&Kashmir Bank 1-2 Air-India - Goals: 0-1 Manzoor Dar (25'), 1-1 Naushad Moosa 50'), 1-2 Vijith Shetty (82').
15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Pre-Quarterfinal: Lajong SSC, Shillong 0-1 Assam State Electricity Board - Goal: 0-1 Karnendu Dev Barman (71').

Note-1: Good news for Goans Churchill Brother SC and Mohammedan Sporting Club of Calcutta.
According to a press release from the AIFF president DasMunshi, soft drinks multinational Coca-Cola would come forward to sponsor the two clubs. In what way, if as main sponsor or as a co-sponsor isn't known so far.
While Mohammedan Sporting welcomed the steps taken by the AIFF president to make this happen, Churchill Brothers were initially surprised to hear of the good news.
For both clubs the support comes at the right time, as without a sponsor the season would have become difficult to finish.
Great to see Coca-Cola back as sponsors in Indian football!!!

Note-2: Former Indian junior goalkeeper Ravi Kumar died in Delhi after prolonged illness yesterday. The former Punjab state goalkeeper had stood between the bars for Jalandhar's Leaders Club between 1961-1978, before joining JCT Mills for the last two years of his career. Considered as Punjab's best keeper in the 70s, Kumar never made it to represent India at the senior level.
As a mark of respect to their former player, JCT have asked the Durand Cup organisers, if the team could wear black armbands in tomorrow's match against Mahindra United.

Note-3: Mohun Bagan AC, who aren't taking part in the ongoing Durand Cup, have decided on the 24 players for their National League campaign. Notable exception is seasoned midfielder Basudeb Mondal and Abhay Kumar.
Meanwhile Bagan are keen to sign Zimbabwian defender David ahead of the NFL. But isn't Bagan still banned by FIFA to sign any foreign players???

3. November
116th Durand Cup - Group A: Mahindra United 2-0 Army XI - Goals: 1-0 Raphael Patron Akakpo (33') 2-0 Syed Altafuddin Ahmed (37').
116th Durand Cup - Group C: Salgaocar SC 4-1 Tata Football Academy - Goals: 0-1 Vimal Pariyar (7'), 1-1 Tomba Singh (39'), 2-1 Bello Razaq (53'), 3-1,4-1 Samson Singh (77',79').
15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Pre-Quarterfinal: Puliebadze Club 2-0 Jamshedpur Football Academy - Goals: 1-0 Visakholie (2'), 2-0 Mukhtar Francis (49').

Note-1: The IFA (Bengal body) has received an official protest from Mohun Bagan against rivals East Bengal for fielding an 'ineligible' player, as they say - Alvito D’Cunha in yesterday's Calcutta Super Division playoff final.
Alvito had received a red card in his last match, the IFA-Shield final against the same opponent and now Bagan claim that the ban should have been carried forward. But what Bagan seems to have forgotten that the IFA got it clarified from the AIFF and even FIFA that Alvito could play.

2. November
Calcutta Super Division - playoff final: East Bengal Club 1-1,5-4 Mohun Bagan (on penalties) - Goals: 0-1 Ashim Biswas (23'), 1-1 Suley Musah (60').
EAST BENGAL CLUB won their 29th Calcutta Football League title in the Super Division playoff final at the Saltlake Stadium. The match ended 1-1 after regulation and extratime for the penalty shootout to bring the decision, where Sangram Mukherjee turned East Bengal's hero when he saved the sixth Bagan shoot of the shootout.
EAST BENGAL: Sangram Mukherjee, Sur Kumar Singh, Suley Musah, Mahesh Gawli, Shubashish Roy Chowdhury (Kalia Kulothungan), Sasthi Duley (Subhas Chakraborty), Dipankar Roy (Malswam Tulunga), Debjit Ghosh, Alvito D'Cunha, Mike Okoro, Baichung Bhutia
MOHUN BAGAN: Bilifang Narzary (Imran Khan), Manitombi Singh, Sanjeeb Maria, Harpreet Singh, Lorendra Singh, Mehtab Hossain, Palash Karmakar, Rishi Kapoor (Sunil Chetri), Renedy Singh, Marcos Pereira, Ashim Biswas (Rocus Lamare).

116th Durand Cup - Group B: Dempo SC 3-0 Indian Bank - Goals: 1-0 Sunday Seah (21'), 2-0,3-0 RC Prakash (52',57').
116th Durand Cup - Group D: Vasco SC 1-0 Jammu&Kashmir Bank - Goal: 1-0 Carlos Da Silva Roberto (33').
15th Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Pre-Quarterfinal: New Market XI 3-1 Lhisema Youth Organisation - Goals: 1-0,2-0,3-0 Kekuosevi (35',36',46'), 3-1 Beituo Linyu (55').

1. November
116th Durand Cup - Group A: JCT Mills 2-1 Army XI - Goals: 1-0 Harvinder Singh (49'), 2-0 Jo Paul Ancheri (89'), 2-1 Raghu Kumar (90').
116th Durand Cup - Group C: Tata Football Academy 1-1 Mohammedan Sporting Club - Goals: 1-0 Vimal Pariyar (5'), 1-1 Chidi Edeh (50').

Note-1: As had been expected for days to come, Mohun Bagan have now officially pulled-out of the 116th Durand Cup after their coach Aloke Mukherjee returned from Hyderabad. Bagan pulled-out due to injuries to numerous players and the fact that the team currently only has one goalkeeper. Bagan will be replaced by Mumbai's Air-India in Group D.