Hoardings for the Bordoloi Trophy inaugural match being readied in Guwahati on Tuesday. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

BORDOLOI TROPHY

The stage is set for the 52nd edition of the Lokopriya Bordoloi Trophy football championship. For the next 15 days from today (November 19) the Nehru Stadium will witness 18 teams slugging it out for the coveted trophy. But, unlike the good old days, not all roads will lead to the ground.

This does not make a pleasant sight for a tournament steeped in history. This tournament has not only attracted the crowd from Guwahati but from across the state and outside and it’s on a par with the IFA Shield of Calcutta, Rovers Cup of Mumbai, DCM Trophy and Durand Cup of Delhi. It saw the introduction of Assamese radio commentary and construction of the Nehru Stadium under the pioneering efforts of R.G. Baruah.

To a large extent the boom in satellite TV and one-day cricket are responsible for the sad state of affairs. The trophy has survived the test of time and indifference of the people and sponsors. All credit must go to the Guwahati Sports Association, which has kept the show alive despite taking a few hard financial knocks. Until and unless the people and the state government pitch in with their mite, it will be an uphill task to keep the show going.

The meet was once the cynosure of all eyes just because it was the only one in the Northeast where foreign and leading Indian teams participated, while Assam Police remained the home favourites. Foreign outfits like Port Authority of Bangkok and Rajprasha SC of Thailand, Dhaka XI, those from Nepal, Iran and Bhutan have plied their trade and so have Indian sides like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Aryans, Eastern Railway and Kidderpur.

Gone are the days when it was almost a Herculean task to get hold of a ticket for a match in the Bordoloi Trophy. Fans used to stand in serpentine queues from early morning till the turnstiles opened. Mounted police had been pressed into action to control the rowdies, who often gatecrashed. The tournament was first organised by the Guwahati Football Association at Judges Field — barricaded with corrugated iron sheets and timber planks. Ticket prices have risen from 25 paise to Rs 10, but not the crowd.

Though the meet will be sans national first division teams, it will still have leading outfits of the Northeast and four from outside the region — Tata Football Academy of Jamshedpur, Fransa of Goa and Everready and Steel Authority of India of Calcutta. Matches from the quarterfinals will be staged under floodlights. Diphu-based 2nd Assam State Reserve Force (ASRF) will kick-off the meet, playing against Sports Authority of India, Guwahati, at 1.45 pm.