Durand Cup 2023: All you need to know about Bodoland FC

Bodoland FC's first major competition will be the Durand Cup 2023.

Bodoland FC, a Kokrajhar-based football club has been one of the new teams to have confirmed their participation in the 132nd edition of the Durand Cup. Bodoland FC are pitted in Group F alongside ISL side Odisha FC, I-League side Rajasthan United FC and Indian Army Football Team.

All the games of Group F will be played at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) stadium in Kokrajhar and the top two teams will qualify for the quarter-final stages which will be played in Kolkata and Guwahati.

In this article we will discuss about the history of the club, including their squad list and their preparation ahead of the Durand Cup 2023.

History

Bodoland FC, as the name suggests is a community club born out of the autonomous Assamese region of Bodoland with an aim to provide opportunities to the youngsters from the region and the state of Assam to pursue a career in football.

The club was officially registered with the AIFF in the year 2022 and competed in the first ever Inter Sixth Schedule Football League 2022 (ISPL) and were crowned champions after defeating LAI Autonomous District Council. The club thereafter, played a friendly game against the Football Association of Odisha in Bhubaneshwar and defeated them.

The club is currently sponsored by the Autonomous Administrative Region of the Bodoland Territorial Region Council and they will continue to provide the financial help during the Durand Cup as well.

Significance of the name and special status to Bodoland

In order to understand the significance of the club's name it is important to know the geopolitics of the region. Bodoland area consists of four Districts of Assam (Kokrajhar, Chirang , Baksa and Udalguri) with neighbours Bhutan from the North and Bangladesh from the south. It is a home to the Bodo Tribe in the state of Assam which occupies 7-8 percent of the state's population.

The Government of India has provided a special autonomous status under the sixth schedule of Indian Constitution which allows autonomy of a certain area for the tribes to preserve their culture and language.

The special status was provided as a guardiancy to preserve the culture of the Bodo tribe as well as against the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and among other various social reasons.

Coach - Daimalu Basumatary

The club has hired a local coach Daimalu Basumataray who is associated with the club ever since its inception. The young coach is an AFC B license holder and has previously worked with another Assam-based outfit known as United Chirang Duar FC. The team, under his leadership, will look to make a mark in Indian Football and with the ‘home support’ at Kokrajhar, the club will look for a good outing in the tournament.

Squad

The official squad list of Bodoland FC is not announced yet however, Khel Now has learnt that the squad will consist of the mix of local players and experienced players. They are also likely to bring experienced foreign players for the century-old tournament. Among the domestic players, Khel Now can exclusively reveal that former NorthEast United full-back, Rakesh Pradhan will be part of the experienced domestic contingent.

What to expect

Bodoland FC have the ability to create some shock turnarounds in Group F as the club has started their practice from last week. Despite some of the players and the coach being quite inexperienced playing at the top level, the team will most likely take advantage of the home support and try to make a dent on the oppositions' hope.