Aphuyemi FC from Zunheboto won the 5th Nagaland Futsal Club Championship, defeating Aspirants FC 5-3 in the final.
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Our Correspondent
KOHIMA — Aphuyemi FC from Zunheboto district defended their title at the Nagaland Futsal Club Championship 2026, defeating debutants Aspirants FC from Kohima district 5-3 in the final match on Saturday. The final was played at Riga Astro-turf, New Terogvunyu, Tseminyu.
The winner received a cash prize of INR 1 lakh, while the runners-up were awarded a cash prize of INR 50,000. Aphuyemi FC, who also won the second and fourth editions of the Nagaland Futsal Championship, will represent Nagaland at the National Futsal Championship scheduled for next year.
During the first half of the final match, Kedovulho Naprantsu from Aspirants FC scored a hat-trick in the 10th, 11th, and 12th minutes. Although Aphuyemi FC failed to equalise in the first half, Pulovi scored two goals for the team in the 13th and 14th minutes.
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In the second half, Pulovi equalised with his hat-trick goal in the 24th minute. Hainding Disuang from Aphuyemi FC put his team in the lead in the 32nd minute to make it 4-3 before Vinato Achumi scored the fifth goal for the team in the 34th minute. Aspirants FC failed to score any goals during the second half of the match. The match also saw two yellow cards, with one issued to each team.
Tournament coordinator Hethanglo Kath updated that Aspirants FC reached the final by defeating TRS FC from Tuensang 15-2 in the semi-finals, while Aphuyemi FC won their semi-final match against SC Nagaland from Mon district with a scoreline of 4-3. He also informed that before the final, the tournament saw 167 goals, nine yellow cards, and one red card across 22 matches.
Prior to the semi-finals and final, Aspirants FC scored 9-3 against Legacy FC, beat CTYO 9-1, lost 0-1 to SC Nagaland, and beat Ipuing FC 5-4. Meanwhile, Aphuyemi FC defeated Vanguard Academy 2-1, beat Vanguard FC 2-0, drew 2-2 against RM Boy's, and drew 3-3 against TRS FC.
A total of 10 teams from eight districts participated in the three-day tournament, playing a total of 23 matches, including the final. The participating teams were RM Boy's FC (Dimapur), Vanguard Academy (Tseminyu), Aphuyemi FC (Zunheboto), Vanguard FC (Tseminyu), TRS FC (Tuensang), Aspirants FC (Kohima), Ipuing FC (Peren), SC Nagaland (Mon), Legacy FC (Wokha), and Chümoukedima Town Youth Club (Chümoukedima).
The tournament was organised by the Nagaland Football Association and hosted by the Football Association Tseminyu District. Obed Kath from Divine Connection performed a special number during the closing ceremony.