A screengrab of live updates of a match being played on March 10. (Courtesy: sportsmatrix.in)
SportsMatrix debuts in PDFL 3.0, bringing real-time updates, player profiles and permanent match records
Rebecca Kits Jakhalu
Kohima | March 10
On March 7, 2026, Peren district welcomed another season of the Peren District Football League (PDFL). Organised by the Peren District Football Association (PDFA), this year’s edition marks the league’s third season. The first season in 2022 started as the district’s first structured professional league. In 2024, the league made news yet again with the first-ever player auction system in the state.
Keeping with the tradition, the PDFL has returned in 2026 with another highlight. As the league action unfolds this year, following every twist and turn has been made possible as the league has gone digital.
PDFL 3.0 opened on March 7 with the launch of SportsMatrix, a unified digital platform that manages tournaments, tracks performance, and connects the entire sports ecosystem.
Built and owned by Zeliang Codetech Pvt Ltd, SportsMatrix seeks to replace the traditional ritual of paper documentation of tournament data. “It is designed to support tournament organizers by simplifying match administration and documentation. Organizers can efficiently manage fixtures, match reports, and team registrations while maintaining accurate tournament records,” Zeliang Codetech Pvt. Ltd Founder & CEO Kangzang Zeliang shared in an exclusive interview with The Morung Express.
A visit to sportsmatrix.in will show past match data, player statistics, and real-time tournament updates. The homepage video banner reads: “Today, tournaments end… and the data disappears. Players lose records, clubs lack insights, fans miss the full story.”
With a vision to digitally document, organize, and elevate grassroots sports competitions across regions, Zeliang Codetech Pvt. Ltd developed the SportsMatrix platform, which promises real-time data along with permanency of records.
Explaining how data entry works in the platform, Zeliang shared that the match access dashboard is assigned to the organisers. Club details and player details are collected and entered as master data after clubs register for the tournament. For every match, a match admin is assigned, who will then enter all the match details including line-ups, live updates, etc. The automated timer can also be updated to add stoppage time when required.
“PDFA is quite happy to be the first organisation to introduce and utilise SportsMatrix in our PDFL season 3. Fans can also see player’s list, league statistics, team formation, officials of the matches, team officials etc., anytime, just from their own mobile,” PDFA president Raithu Newmai told this newspaper on Tuesday.
“It is a good digital platform to record statistics on real-time basis. Also, the data will be stored digitally and can be referred to whenever we require in the future. It has also lessened manual paper works. It makes things look more professional,” Newmai added.
About SportsMatrix:
Zeliang said that SportsMatrix has been designed to support tournament organizers by simplifying match administration and documentation. Organizers can efficiently manage fixtures, match reports, and team registrations, while maintaining accurate tournament records. The system also ensures transparency and proper documentation of match outcomes and player statistics throughout the competition, he shared.
For clubs, SportsMatrix provides a centralized platform where team data, match results, and player performances are systematically recorded. This allows clubs to track progress across tournaments and maintain reliable performance records.
According to Zeliang, the ones standing to benefit significantly from the platform are players. Through the creation of digital player profiles and match statistics that highlight their on-field performance, players can have a documented sporting history that may support future opportunities, recognition, and development within the sport, he emphasized.
Match officials and referees are also supported through structured match reporting tools that allow for accurate recording of goals, cards, substitutions, and other match events. This helps maintain integrity and consistency in tournament documentation, he added.
SportsMatrix also aims to enhance the experience of following local football by providing timely match updates, goal scorers, results, and performance highlights. Supporters can now stay connected with the tournament even when they are unable to attend matches physically, Zeliang stated.
Challenges:
“The launch of SportsMatrix during PDFL 3.0 was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from participants and spectators. The platform successfully delivered accurate match updates throughout the opening matches with zero technical glitches,” Zeliang said.
However, none of this happened overnight. Before the league kickstarted, the Zeliang Codetech team landed in Jalukie, and pulled an all-nighter to get the platform running. We initially faced issues with cloud hosting, but that was resolved before we went live, Zeliang said. Match admins assigned to the upcoming matches are also trained on how to use the platform before every match, according to Zeliang.
“Since it is a new technology, it was understandably challenging for the users to adapt at first. But our team worked on certain aspects and made the system more user-friendly”, he shared. The experience was reportedly much better for matches on March 9, after the updates were incorporated. “We are also monitoring every match from our end, and are on a constant watch to fix issues, if any,” he added.
Calling the PDFL 3.0 launch a ‘pilot run’, Zeliang expressed gratitude to the PDFA for agreeing to introduce SportsMatrix in the PDFL. He also highlighted that continuous development is underway to enhance features, strengthen performance capabilities, and achieve the long-term digital infrastructure goals envisioned for SportsMatrix.
Sharing challenges faced on the organisers’ end, Newmai highlighted the need for trained data entry staff. “We need full time staff for data collection and data entry. Also, we need cooperation from teams to obtain data requirements to upload in the system.”
At present, SportsMatrix supports football tournaments. However, the platform has been designed with scalability in mind and will gradually expand to support additional sports including basketball, pickleball, and other competitive disciplines in the future, according to Zeliang.
PDFL 3.0 is currently underway at Turf Ground, Jalukie town, with 7 teams in participation, and will conclude on March 23. With the Peren district’s football league open, timestamped, and visible, it promises to be “more than a league”, as the PDFA claims that, “This is grassroots football digitized, structured, and alive beyond the final whistle.”
The real metric for PDFL 3.0 and SportsMatrix will be whether a player/players from the league will get noticed fairly, and whether the initiative will really bring about better days for sports in the state.
The answer may take more than a season to calcify. For now, SportsMatrix finally reflects the same match to everyone who loves football—and in Nagaland, that is a lot of people.
