Nangkiew Irat, Mawlai to square-off in Shillong Premier League opener

Shillong, June 2: Nangkiew Irat will take on Mawlai in the season opener of the Officer’s Choice Blue Shillong Premier League 2021-22 on June 15.
Following a two-year break owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, Meghalaya’s biggest football league is all set to kick-off. With the JN Stadium undergoing an upgrade and work in progress to lay an artificial pitch at the SSA Stadium (First Ground), the first leg of the league this will be played at the MFA Turf (Ground 3). All games will kick-off at 4 pm.
The tournament will offer Rs 3 lakh in prize money to the champions, an increase of 50 percent from the previous season.
Four-time winners Shillong Lajong are the defending champions but the two-year hiatus means that this season’s SPL remains wide open. Runners-up in 2019 Rangdajied United, two-time winners Langsning, Ryntih and Nangkiew Irat return from the previous season, while Malki are back in the top tier for the first time since the end of the 2018 edition.
Mawkhar and Mawlai also join the list. Mawkhar won the 2019 First Division, with Mawlai finishing runners-up. The latter are making their return to the SPL for the first time since 2013.
As was introduced in 2019, the SPL will operate on a pure league basis – i.e. there will be no playoffs or final. After two legs – 14 games per side and 56 overall – the new champions will be crowned.
There will be limitations to the number of spectators at Ground 3. The organisers will livestream the matches this year via T7 news channel.