In an unprecedented move, the Shillong Premier League (SPL) 2023, already delayed by several months, will finally begin in the next few days but will only be played over one leg as time to hold the tournament is fast running out.
The exact launch day has yet to be decided but it could be within the next two weeks.
The SPL, the top tier of the Shillong Sports Association’s (SSA) football structure, was supposed to begin in the middle of last year but was pushed back numerous times.
The main issue was the ground – the new artificial turf at the SSA Stadium at First Ground took longer than expected to install and drainage during heavy rain is a problem. The stadium was also in higher demand than usual, with Shillong Lajong FC and even NEROCA playing their I-League home matches there this season.
Meghalaya’s participation in the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy was the latest delaying factor, with many of the players in the state team contracted to SPL clubs.
Starting the tournament this month poses its own set of problems, however.
A double leg league with 56 matches would take approximately three months to complete (it took three and a half months in 2022). But that means that the SPL would only finish in May-June and there is the Meghalaya State League to follow after that, the winners of which would qualify for the All India Football Federation’s I-League 3, which is meant to begin in early August.
The SPL also needs to be held before the local inter-club transfer can take place. And only then can the 2024 season’s SSA tournaments begin, starting with the Fourth Division.
Waiting for the SPL to finish a full season is therefore really not an option.
So, the SSA in a meeting with representatives of the eight SPL clubs on Tuesday suggested a compromise solution – a single leg tournament. They would also hold semifinals and a final, for a total of 31 matches.
The clubs were unwilling or unable to give their answer to that suggestion immediately, so a further meeting was scheduled for Saturday.
After an hour-long sit-down, it was decided that there will be no relegation for this truncated season, meaning that there will be 10 clubs (including two promoted from the First Division 2023) in SPL 2024.
Prize money will also stay at Rs 3 lakh for the champions and Rs 1.5 lakh for the runners-up. The matches will likely be played only in the afternoons and not under the new floodlights.
The opening fixture will be between Rangdajied United FC and promoted Nongthymmai SC. The exact schedule has to be worked out as the matches have to be played around the remaining Lajong and NEROCA I-League games but will be announced shortly.
