The Jorhat Stadium under renovation. Telegraph picture

Guwahati/Jorhat, May 20: Football enthusiasts will have to wait another year for the golden jubilee edition of the historical ATPA Shield football tournament at Jorhat Stadium as the venue is undergoing renovation.

Jorhat District Sports Association secretary Amol Baruah told The Telegraph here that it would not be possible to host this year’s edition of the tournament as the ground has been rendered unplayable. The galleries on the eastern and western sides of the stadium are being renovated.

“It is not yet final. We will discuss this and take the final decision on the first week of June. It seems the stadium will not be ready for the meet by September or October and we might have to wait till next year to host the golden jubilee edition. Our plan is to organise the 50th edition in a befitting manner and it would not be wise to hold it this year under the given circumstances,” Baruah said.

Representatives from the title sponsors Assam Tea Planters Association and veteran sportspersons of the district will also attend the meeting.

The ATPA Shield tournament, a major annual invitation event in the Assam Football Association calendar and recognised by the All India Football Federation, was introduced in 1955 and the 50th edition was supposed to be held this year.

Regarding the adjoining Jorhat DSA ground, Baruah said: “It cannot be held in there because of the absence of spectators’ galleries, dressing rooms and other amenities. The DSA, he added, has not contacted any team for participation in the tournament this year.

“We want to engage some of the leading teams of the country in the tournament’s golden jubilee edition which, we hope, will bring back the lost glory of the tournament,” said one of the senior-most members of the association, Nani Dutta.

Over the past five decades, the annual event has seen much ups and downs and was once one of the biggest crowd-pulling events of the state. Foreign teams like Port Authority of Bangkok and national football powerhouse Mohun Bagan were among some of the prime attractions in the tournament till the early 90s.

The tournament, however, lost its earlier charm during the past two decades. Neither did quality teams participate nor was the crowd turnout ever encouraging during the period. The turnout in the final of the last edition was a mere 2,000.