It was confirmed by the Durand Cup organising committee this evening that Rangdajied United FC will take Hyderabad FC’s place as a last-minute replacement in Group F here in Shillong.
The rumour mill first started turning last night and the noise amplified further this morning before the organisers officially confirmed it later.
Beleaguered Hyderabad, who have had numerous, longstanding difficulties regarding players and finances, have had to drop out as they cannot put together an 18-man squad. The Indian Super League franchise has been struggling to pay its players and this has resulted in it receiving more than one transfer ban. Hyderabad finished dead last in ISL 2023-24.
Group F already consists of Shillong Lajong FC, Tribhuvan Army FC of Nepal and FC Goa, with the first two having been seen in action on Friday in a match that Lajong won 1-0.
Dempo SC of Goa had also reportedly been offered to take up Hyderabad’s place but it looks like Rangdajied were the only ones prepared to jump in and the advantage for them is they do not have to travel to get here. The only question, though, is are their players ready for a major tournament like this one, having not been training specifically for it.
The schedule remains the same, with a clean replacement of Hyderabad for Rangdajied, so the second Shillong team will be in action on August 5 versus FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here from 7pm. Tickets will go on sale shortly.
The official release this evening made no mention of Hyderabad’s difficulties, merely saying that they had to drop out “due to unforeseen circumstances”. It also said that it was the Meghalaya government’s idea to offer the vacant slot to Rangdajied, who are reigning Meghalaya State League 2023 champions.
