Kohima, June 18 (MExN): The Kohima Football League 2017 initiated by the Kohima Town Club was launched on June 17 at Where is The Food (WTF) Naga Diner, near Cathedral Church, Kohima. The Club which is registered under Kohima District Football Association under the aegis of Nagaland Football Association aims to start a professional league to promote and develop the standard of football, and will further focus on promoting Club culture and professionalism in players. The league matches will begin at Kohima Local Ground from July for which the dates are yet to be fixed. The league which will be colony based, will be played on a daily basis for over a month out of which 40 percent of the daily revenue (10 percent each to all the 4 teams) will be shared with the local clubs per match. Dr. Viketuolie Pienyu, Club President stated that the colony based concept will enable a sustainable venture in the long run. Envisioning to provide opportunities to all talented players to engage in competitive football at a professional level, the League will also provide the platform for the players to springboard to higher clubs in India. The Club viewed that Nagaland is currently going through a serious unemployment crisis, and thus anticipate that the league will create an avenue for talented footballers to earn their livelihood and also hoped to restore Nagaland back to its glory days and find a place in Indian football with the new initiative. Nagaland, which has always been remembered for its football exploits in the northeast region, has declined in recent years compared to its neighboring states of Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram which have progressed in football, such as Aizawl FC (Mizoram) winning the Indian League (I-League) and Neroca FC (Manipur) qualifying to play in the next season of I-League. According to the Club, the decline can be attributed to the lack of infrastructures (standard grounds), lack of comprehensive policy for football development, lack of political will, lack of financial resources and lack of professional league. William Koso, the Technical Head of KTC and Technical Director of NFCA said the league will strictly follow the All India Football Federation (AIFF) rules and that team coaches should have at least a coaching certificate from AIFF. Koso is an AIFF ‘D’ certified coach and a former assistant coach of Aizawl FC. Koso also informed the participating teams that the outside players should meet the criteria from AIFF to join the teams in Kohima and maintained that the league will run in a systematic manner. The league leaders for this year’s edition may receive a slot for 2nd Division I-League playoff where the team will play the qualifying matches if the Kohima Football League gets recognition by AIFF, Koso informed. Eight teams have registered from ten colonies namely United 16 FC Kohima, Forerunners FC Thizama, Khriekesa FC Meriema, Power Comm FC Kohima, New Market FC Kohima, Ziekezuo FC Kohima, Nagabazar Kohima, Addax FC D Khel. The Kohima Town Club (KTC) was formed on December 1, 2016 under the tagline, "For the Community, for the Game" and currently consists of 18 members – mostly ex-professional footballers.
