Nagaland United to add a new chapter to Talimeren Ao’s legacy by becoming first club from Nagaland on national stage with IFL debut

On the 107th anniversary of independent India’s first captain, Talimeren Ao, on Jan 28 last year, a new football stadium was inaugurated at the foothills of the Naga Hills in Chümoukedima, and a one-year-old club from the municipality played its first competitive match.Nagaland United FC lost that game 2-3 to Barak FC but wrote a new chapter in the football fate of the state that had given India the skipper who led the country from the front barefoot at the 1948 Olympics in London, carrying with him a nascent nation’s hopes in its first international campaign.And, on a chilly evening in Srinagar on Friday, Nagaland United will continue that legacy, albeit after a gap of 78 years, when they take on hosts Real Kashmir in the Indian Football League opener at TRC Stadium and become the first club to represent the northeastern state on the national stage.“Our aim in our debut IFL season is to build a competitive, disciplined, and fearless team that represents Nagaland with pride,” coach Kaizad Ambapardiwalla told TOI. “We want to compete strongly in every match, establish our identity through attacking football, high intensity, and teamwork, and challenge ourselves against the best teams in the league.”This promotion of a two-year-old club into the second-tier competition was courtesy of another club from the region that stamped its authority at the top tier by winning the I-League in 2017 – Aizawl FC.Having won their first tournament in October last year with the NSF Martyrs’ Memorial Trophy title, the club from Chümoukedima got the chance to face Aizawl FC on June 6, who came calling to their neighbours under the banner of Football for Peace and a “Match for Peace, Goal for Hope”.The visitors won that game 2-0, but three months later, on September 9, the All India Football Federation approved a goodwill agreement for Nagaland United to take a cash-strapped Aizawl’s place in the IFL, as the Mizoram club pledged technical and development support.Taking on the baton from a former I-League champion that has represented northeast for eleven straight seasons in the national league without relegation, Nagaland United will look to add another chapter in the football history of Nagaland, but of the football-loving northeast.“For me, it’s more than just playing at a higher level: it’s an opportunity to give back to the club that gave me my start, represent my state with pride, and hopefully inspire the young players back home to believe that their dreams, too, are possible,” 19-year-old Nagaland United defender Thejangulie Zatsu told TOI.“I know my journey is far from over, and I just want to keep growing, give everything I have for this badge, and make everyone who has believed in me proud.”On the evening of October 30, across Nagaland, people will gather around the screens: in community halls, in living rooms, in shops with their shutters half down as Nagaland FC get the opportunity to add another chapter to the story that started a hundred years ago with a Naga boy chasing a pomelo across a mission playground in the Naga Hills.“As a defender myself, his journey means even more to me because I play in the same position (as Amo). It gives me something to look up to and reminds me that where we come from should never limit how far we can dream,” added Zatsu.Friday will see that dream continue its journey from the foot of the Naga Hills to the Himalayan valley in Kashmir.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.