Kohima Premier League aims to revive local football scene

KOHIMA — The 3E Nagaland, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kohima District Football Association (KDFA), is gearing up to organise the much-anticipated Kohima Premier League (KPL).

The league aims to rejuvenate the state of local football in Kohima, which has experienced a decline in recent times.

In an interview with Eastern Mirror, Kethosituo Elvis Mephfüo, director of 3E Nagaland, expressed a desire to elevate the local football scene.

The primary objective, Mephfüo stressed, is to nurture local talent while leveraging the expertise of football bodies. He highlighted concerns regarding the declining participation of local players in tournaments in Kohima, attributing it partly to the influx of outside players.

While acknowledging the benefits of exposure to skilled footballers, he emphasised the need to strike a balance by limiting the number of external players.

The league aims to provide opportunities for local talent to thrive without being overshadowed and allows only five players from outside of Kohima.

Mepfhüo disclosed that deliberations took place regarding the team’s roster composition. Teams are afforded the choice to structure their squads with either 25 local players alone or with a blend of 25 local players and up to five outstation players.

However, he informed that local players in Kohima must meet stringent citizenship requirements and undergo necessary registration under the KDFA to be eligible to participate in the league.

Mephfüo apprised that they have been holding meetings with local communities, and stakeholders have been coming forward to support the initiative aimed at elevating local sports and nurturing homegrown talent.

Invitation for teams to reserve slots

On Tuesday, 3E Nagaland and KDFA extended invitations to colony, ward, village, and range football teams interested in participating in the upcoming league.

Teams are encouraged to secure their slots, which are allocated as follows:

The KPL will feature 10 teams with a round-robin league championship followed by a top-four knockout playoff. At the end of the season, the top eight teams will qualify for the next season, while the bottom two teams will be relegated and two new teams will be introduced to complete the roster.

The slots are allotted in such a manner as to cover all the urban and rural areas of Kohima. However, if an allotted slot is not taken up, it will be offered to any other interested team so long as the players belong to Kohima district and are registered under KDFA, with the exception of five players from outside Kohima.

Each slot will carry a base price, and colonies, wards, or villages can jointly form a team and book their respective slot, but if there are two or more interested teams in a particular slot, auction rules will be applied to determine the slot.

In order to ensure that teams obtain revenue to manage themselves besides cash prizes and team sponsors, a minimum of 500 seasonal tickets and 1000 gallery tickets per match will be distributed to all the teams for the league stage.

Further, the top four teams that proceed to the knockout playoffs will be given match allowances and separate cash prizes.

Team formation rules and bylaws will be communicated after team allocations are finalised.

The last date for booking the allotted slots will be March 31, after which unclaimed slots will be offered to any interested team.

Colony, ward, village, and range youth bodies have been informed to call the following numbers to express their interest: 7005785990, 9862181431.

Also read: MoU inked to launch Kohima Premier League