By Our Reporter
Shillong: The second edition of the Meghalaya State League will begin on 25 November, with four venues around the state hosting the matches between the top clubs of Meghalaya.
MSL Season 2 will feature up to 20 clubs (final number to be confirmed) from the associations affiliated with the MFA. Mawkyrwat will be the venue for the season-opening fixture, while the final, which will be held towards the end of December, will be held in Khliehriat. Resubelpara and Jowai are the other venues. Niaw Wasa were the champions of the first season of the MSL in 2017-18 and Tynrongmawsaw the runners-up. Clubs qualify for the MSL by winning the various local leagues organised by the affiliated associations. The teams will be divided into four groups and play each other once, with the top club from each group progressing to the two-leg semifinal stage.
Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, MFA Treasurer and MSL Tournament Director Wanshan Kharkrang said that the majority of local leagues are almost complete. “Prior to the season beginning we will have another press conference to announce the teams and the grouping.” he added. Meanwhile, MFA CEO Arki Nongrum said that after the first edition of the MSL, more associations have expressed an interest in taking part.“The financial incentives are to encourage associations to conduct leagues properly,” Nongrum said. “Next year we envision streamlining the structure of football leagues conducted by the local associations. We will provide guidelines from the level of the players to the association as a whole to streamline the way the sport is conducted in the state.”
Meanwhile, the MFA also stated that the planned introduction of an U-15 MSL would help bridge the gap between the Meghalaya Baby League and senior tournaments. Nongrum said that associations that are running senior leagues are also interested in the U-15 MSL.