Shillong, Apr 14: The much-anticipated 5th Meghalaya State League (MSL 5) will begin on Wednesday evening with Nongkseh SSCC and Khimusniang SC having the honour of playing in the opening fixture. The match will kick off at 5pm at the SSA Stadium in Polo here and tickets will be available at the venue.
The blockbuster Group A game will be played under floodlights, with plenty of passionate supporters and neutral fans expected to throng the stadium. The Honourable Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Shri Wailadmiki Shylla, has kindly consented to be the chief guest.
Nongkseh are arguably one of the most exciting local clubs at the moment, as they rocketed to huge success in 2025 having won the First Division title and Champions Cup during the Shillong Sports Association’s season, not to mention the Sikkim Gold Cup in January.
Opposite them will be Khimusniang, who want to start on a positive note after lifting the coveted U Kiang Nangbah Memorial Trophy by winning the final of the West Jaintia District Sports Association’s Super Division 2025. They will be looking to replicate the success of fellow WJDSA club Niaw Wasa United, who won the inaugural edition of the MSL in 2017-18.
This will be the debut appearance for both Nongkseh and Khimusniang in the MSL, which is the flagship football competition of the MFA and which has been fully supported by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Meghalaya, since its inception.
In four editions, the pull of the MSL has vastly improved the standard of the game in all corners of Meghalaya.
A tradition of sorts has also been maintained over the four seasons, with different winners every year – Niaw Wasa United in 2017-18, Shillong Lajong (2019), Rangdajied United (2023) and Mawlai (2024-25). Although the last three are all Shillong-based clubs, teams from other districts have also shone – Tynrongmawsaw and Khliehmawlieh Youth Club have been runners-up, while Ladthadlaboh SC and Rymbai Shkenshynriah SC were semifinalists last year.
