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

NUSC Stadium (left) and Talimeren Ao On the occasion of the 107th anniversary of independent India’s first captain, Talimeren Aa, on January 28 last year, a new football stadium was inaugurated at the foot of the Naga Hills in Chümoukedima, and the year-old municipal club played its first competitive match.Nagaland United FC lost that match 2-3 to Barak FC but wrote a new chapter in the footballing fortunes of the state that gave India a captain who led the country from the front barefoot in the 1948 London Olympics and carried the hopes of the nascent nation in its first international campaign.And on a chilly Friday night in Srinagar, Nagaland United will continue that legacy, albeit after 78 years, when they take on Real Kashmir in the Indian Football League opener at the TRC Stadium, becoming the first club to represent the northeastern state on the national stage.“Our aim in our first IFL season is to build a competitive, disciplined and fearless team to represent Nagaland proudly,” coach Kaizad Ambapardiwalla told TOI. “We want to compete strongly in every game, cement our identity with attacking football, high intensity and teamwork and go up against the best teams in the league.”This two-year-old club’s promotion to the second-tier competition was thanks to another club from the region who had established their authority at the highest level in 2017 by winning the I-League – Aizawl FC.The Chümoukedima club, who won their first tournament in October last year with the NSF Martyrs’ Memorial Trophy, got a chance to face Aizawl FC on June 6, who called their neighbors under the banner of Football for Peace and “Match for Peace, Goal for Hope”.The visitors won that match 2–0, but three months later on 9 September, the All India Football Federation approved a goodwill deal for Nagaland United to take Aizawl’s place in the cash-strapped IFL, as the Mizoram club promised technical and development support.Nagaland United will take over from the former I-League champions who have represented the North East for eleven consecutive seasons in the national league without relegation and will look to add another chapter in the football history of Nagaland but in the football loving North East.“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 proudly and hopefully inspire young players back home to believe that even their dreams are possible,” Nagaland United’s 19-year-old 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 believes in me proud.”On the evening of October 30, people across Nagaland will gather around screens: in community halls, in living rooms, in shuttered shops, as Nagaland FC gets the chance to add another chapter to the story that began a hundred years ago when a Naga boy chases a pomelo across a mission field in the Naga Hills.“As a defender, his journey means even more to me because I play 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,” Zatsu added.On Friday, this dream will continue its journey from the foothills of the Naga Mountains to the Himalayan valley of Kashmir.