The national team is set to take part in the historical King’s Cup after 38 long years in Thailand. This is certainly going to be an exposure tour for the national side and will test the newcomers. The national football team has revamped the backbone of the management system by recruiting Isac Doru as the Technical Director and Igor Stimac as the Head Coach. With the inclusion of the worthy candidates into the system, we are very hopeful to have a praiseworthy start to the coming month in Thailand.
In the era of debates surrounding the future of Indian football, we have forgotten the lost legacies and our traditions in football. We all know, Indian football has many intriguing chapters which are overlooked. Hence, we believe with humble new beginnings, it is the right time to revisit the glory days of our very own Nehru Cup!
The Nehru Cup was organized by the governing body of Indian football, the All India Football Federation (AIFF). It was an international association football tournament which started back in 1982. The tournament marked the first colour TV coverage of football in India. The first edition was held during February in the mecca of Indian football, Calcutta. A total of 6 teams took part which included the likes of Uruguay, Italy Olympics, South Korea and others. The first recipient of the coveted trophy was the South American heavyweights, Uruguay. The games were held in the Eden Gardens, which is more renowned as a cricket ground now.
From 1982 till 1991, the tournament was held every year annually in different Indian cities. From 1991-1997 it was a biannual tournament. The big names like East Germany, Argentina, Hungary and others graced the Indian soil to play the prestigious Nehru Cup. India failed to win the title until 2007 when they defeated the higher ranked Syria by an impressive scoreline of 1-0. Since then, the home side has always recurred in winning the trophy.
The Nehru Cup was not held for a decade after the 1997 edition. In 2007, the tournament got refurbished where the home side emerged victoriously. Since then, the competition took place twice in 2009 and 2012. After having 15 editions of the Nehru Cup, the AIFF failed to get a capital investor to host the tournament. The main motive of the AIFF to host the Nehru Cup was to give international exposure and playing time to the national side. But due to poor management and funding, in 2017, the last edition of the Nehru Cup was played.
After that, the Nehru Cup was replaced by the Champions Cup which was a tri-nation series!
