Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh, in his younger days, was a talented footballer. He was 18 years old when he was spotted by Border Security Force (BSF) officials during a football match in Manipur capital Imphal. He joined the BSF team and was part of the side that won the Durand Cup in 1981. He quit the BSF team a year later in 1982, but played football for 10 more years in the Manipur state team.

The 2022 edition of the Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, is being held in multiple venues of Kolkata, Imphal and Guwahati. Manipur is hosting 10 group C matches of the Cup. To promote the competition, N Biren Singh posted a video on social media, where he can be seen playing with a football.

Watch: N Biren Singh Shows His Football Skills

Come one come all !

Let’s enjoy the opening ceremony of the Durand Cup today, one of the oldest football tournaments in the world.@PMOIndia @narendramodi @rajnathsingh @adgpi pic.twitter.com/Rl7uhNZRr1

— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) August 18, 2022

Manipur government announced half-day holiday on Thursday for all government offices and institutions including schools and colleges to enable employees to watch the inaugural match between two state based teams of NEROCA FC and TRAU FC.

NEROCA FC beat local rivals TRAU FC 3-1 in a group C fixture of the Durand Cup at the Khuman Lampak stadium here on Thursday. Biren Singh in his speech thanked the Indian Army and tournament authority for making it possible to hold Durand Cup matches in the state.