Shillong, Nov. 3: A marvellous rise and Shillong Lajong Football Club is on its way to turning soccer glory into business success — armed with a red jersey.

Taking a leaf out of the book of soccer giants Manchester United and Juventus — who have their own football merchandise — the mercurial rise of the Shillong outfit has spawned its very own goods.

Call it the united colours of Lajong Football Club, just like its motto, “One team, one passion, one colour”.

Apart from the 11 players taking the field against top football teams in the country, thousands of die-hard fans will now don the red jersey of Shillong Lajong Football Club to back the home team.

In fact, the red jersey of the club has become the object of desire for all sport fans.

Sporting business is unseen and unheard of in this part of the country but then, Lajong FC’s success story, too, has never been scripted by anyone in the Northeast.

The club was the first from the Northeast to be elevated to the elite I-League of Indian football and Lajong is in the midst of a very good run in the competition. On home ground, it first beat Air India 3-0, went down fighting 1-2 to Mohun Bagan and then held Salgaocar to a goal-less draw yesterday. The Telegraph is one of the sponsors of the Shillong club.

A leading sports apparel manufacturer is merchandising the Lajong jersey in Shillong, which sells at Rs 799 for fans. The official price of the player jersey is, however, Rs 1,099 as it is made from an expensive sweat absorbent material.

Larsing Ming, the spirit behind the team and its general secretary, said, “It is for the first time that any football club in India is getting its jersey merchandised by a leading multinational”.

Sunny Tamang, in-charge of a showroom selling the jerseys in Shillong, said there has been a very high demand for the red jersey from fans all over the state.

“We had brought only a limited number of jerseys as we were not sure whether the fans would accept it or not. But we had to send back fans disappointed ahead of yesterday’s match. We hope to get fresh stock very soon,” he added.

However, he did not divulge how many jerseys have been sold so far.

Fans who got their hands on the jersey proudly displayed the Lajong colours.

Sergius Marak, who came all the way from Garo Hills to watch Lajong play at home, said wearing the red jersey gave him a feeling of oneness with the team and the players.

According to Valery Lyngdoh of Shillong, another Lajong fan, the red jersey “symbolises vigour and will give an impetus to the team to perform well in many matches”.

Apart from the jersey, the club has also launched an SMS campaign to drum up as much support as it can. “Going for Shillong Lajong FC Home Match? Then support your team by wearing red. Make a difference. One team, one passion, one colour,” the SMS reads.

On why red was chosen, Ming said it was the symbol of passion to excel in life.

According to Ming, when the club started off it was a microscopic entity and just emerging. After qualifying for the I-League “we needed a lot of support from the corporate houses and one of them was The Telegraph, which acted as a platform to provide us the backing”, Ming added.