From 11,500 feet to the Durand Cup: 1 Ladakh FC make historic entry

A recherché region in India — where cricket has failed to stamp its authority, where it’s commonplace to find a Barcelona or Arsenal motif than one endorsing one of our cricketing stars and where people disregard altitude hindrances to spend the increasingly climate change-affected summers to indulge in the game of football — has finally found its representation on the national stage.The 134th edition of Durand Cup will see participation from the first club from the Himalayan region of Ladakh in 1 Ladakh FC."It’s a massive opportunity, not just for 1 Ladakh FC but also for the UT of Ladakh to be playing at Durand Cup for the first time ever. A huge thanks to the organisers," 1 Ladakh FC co-founder and general secretary of Ladakh Football Association (LFA), Tsering Angmo, told TOI."We are the team from topmost part of India and Durand Cup is an opportunity for us to bring Ladakh on the Indian football map and use this opportunity to spread the message of awareness on climate change.""And you will see we will be very unique in how we play football and carry our message to the people of the country," she added.Its uniqueness, in fact, is what has made this club – a brainchild of Tsering and former Real Kashmir co-owner Shamim Meraj — a pop-culture phenomenon abroad intertwining Ladakh’s culture, the black-necked crane on the crest, traditional motifs on the jerseys, and Buddhist principles of compassion, with bold social action.Their eco-friendly jerseys, unveiled by the Dalai Lama, have already sold in thousands outside India, especially in Europe.But the opportunity to bring their football from an altitude of 11,500ft-high to the mainland national stage is one that the two-year-old club has cherished since its inception."Our expectations are very grounded. We like to dream, too, but for now we just want to compete well and give a good show at Durand Cup and then hope for some magic and miracles!" was how Tsering explained their upcoming sojourn.However, 1 Ladakh FC are not leaving stones unturned in their endeavour to compete with some of the best clubs in the country. The dearth of professionals from the region has led them to recruit 10 footballers from around the country to guide their challenge, along with the Ladakhi players.Former Chennaiyin FC assistant coach, Rajan Mani, will be at the helm of the club with his experience in youth setup, having been a youth coach at Bengaluru FC as well as the ex-head of youth development with the U16 Indian team."Playing on the mainland, with the huge difference in weather conditions from Ladakh, can be a deterrent to the players’ performance. So, we are taking steps to nullify those effects," Tsering explained.Hence, the team will be travelling to Delhi on Friday and undergo a 10-day conditioning camp at IMT Ghaziabad. They will then avoid unnecessary air travel emissions and travel by train to Jamshedpur, the destination of their Group C clashes, and hold a five-day camp in collaboration with Jamshedpur FC, ahead of their Durand Cup opener against Foreign Services Team at JRD Tata Sports Complex on Aug 2.But the very existence of the club, touted "the greenest club in South Asia" with its mission to hit net-zero carbon in four years, challenges the status quo. Apart from their goal of eventually playing in the I-League and becoming the first club from Ladakh in India’s top-tiers, it’s their environmental message that makes them the club to watch out for at Durand Cup."It’s the perfect opportunity for us to amplify our message, and some plans are being worked out on that," Tsering agreed."We will be the team using minimum plastic and have a carbon footprint calculator to measure our carbon footprint. Then we will offset that with measures both back home in Ladakh as well as through our fans all over the country contributing towards offsetting our emissions."In a world where performance and profits dictate a football club’s trajectory, 1 Ladakh FC is a testimony that sports and sustainability can merge in hopes of a cleaner future.