Northeast Derby (India)

Northeast Derby or North-East Derby is the name given to the football matches played among the northeastern teams in the national leagues (ISL, I-League, I-League 2, and I-League 3) and cup competitions (Durand Cup and Super Cup).

North-East Derby

The North East
Location	Northeast India
Teams	All-time: NEUFC Aizawl FC NEROCA FC TRAU FC Shillong Lajong FC KLASA FC Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC Southern Sporting Union United Sikkim Gangtok Himalayan SC Royal Wahingdoh FC Rangdajied United FC Langsning SC Ryntih FC Chanmari FC
First meeting	United Sikkim 0-0 Shillong Lajong (8 December 2012)
Latest meeting	TRAU 1-0 Aizawl (9 February 2021)
Stadiums	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium Khuman Lampak Main Stadium Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Statistics
Meetings total	Total: 36 Competitive: 34
Most wins	Shillong Lajong FC (10 wins)
All-time series (I-League only)	Shillong Lajong: 6 NEROCA: 6 Aizawl: 4 TRAU: 3 Royal Wahingdoh: 1 Rangdajied United: 0 United Sikkim: 0 Drawn: 10
Largest victory	NEROCA 5-0 TRAU (I-League, 8 February 2020) Royal Wahingdoh 0-5 Shillong Lajong (Shillong Premier League, 26 September 2017)

History

The first match of a northeast derby in I-League was played between Shillong Lajong of Meghalaya and United Sikkim of Sikkim in Paljor Stadium, Gangtok on 8 December 2012 which ended in a goalless draw. United Sikkim got relegated at the end of the season while Shillong Lajong got relegated in 2018-19. Aizawl from Mizoram got promoted in 2015-16 but again got relegated at the end. They were promoted once again in the next season due to some reasons and became the champions. 2017-18 season saw the promotion of another northeastern team NEROCA from Manipur.^[1][2][3]

Shillong Derby

From 2013 to 2015 there were consecutive promotions and relegations of Meghalayan teams Rangdajied United (2013-14) and Royal Wahingdoh (2014-15). During this short tenure the two teams played against Shillong Lajong respectively in the Shillong Derby. The first match of the derby in I-League to be played was on 22 November 2013 between Shillong Lajong and Rangdajied United that ended in a 1–1 draw. The next season the derby was played between Shillong Lajong and Royal Wahingdoh, with the first meeting in I-League on 18 January 2015 that ended with Royal Wahingdoh as the winner by 1–2. Both the rivalries continued thereafter in Shillong Premier League for a brief period until the teams were dissolved.

Imphal Derby

In 2019–20, another Manipuri team, TRAU got promoted, thus the beginning of Imphal Derby.^[4] The derby is contested between NEROCA and TRAU, and was first played on 8 January 2020, in which TRAU emerged as the maiden winner of the derby by the scoreline of 2–1. The derby had already begun even before the inclusion of TRAU in I-League, when the two local rivals contested against each other in Manipur State League. The Imphal Derby gained fame in 2022 during the 131st edition of Durand Cup when competitive football returned to the city after COVID-19 pandemic in India.^[5][6] The Government of Manipur declared a half-holiday for all governmental and educational institutions in build-up to the match on 18 August,^[7] in which TRAU was defeated by NEROCA 3–1 in Group-C opener.^[8]

Teams

Current Teams (2024–25 season)

Team	City	State	Home Stadium	League (Tier)
NorthEast United	Guwahati	Assam	Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium	Indian Super League (I)
Aizawl	Aizawl	Mizoram	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium	I-League (II)
Shillong Lajong	Shillong	Meghalaya	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
NEROCA	Imphal	Manipur	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium	I-League 2 (III)
TRAU	Imphal	Manipur	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium
Chanmari	Aizawl	Mizoram	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium	I-League 3 (IV), promoted to I-League 2 (III)
KLASA	Keinou	Manipur	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium
Karbi Anglong Morning Star	Diphu	Assam	KASA Stadium	I-League 3 (IV)
Southern Sporting Union	Imphal	Manipur	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium

Statistics

Current Teams

Updated on 11 March 2021

Aizawl vs NEROCA^[9]

Competition	Aizawl wins	Draw	NEROCA wins
I-League	2	3	2
Other	0	0	1
Total	2	3	3

Matches

Season	Competition	Date	Home team	Result	Away team
2016–17	Other	3 September 2016	Aizawl	0–1	NEROCA
2017–18	I-League	20 January 2018	Aizawl	1–2	NEROCA
		10 February 2018	NEROCA	0–0	Aizawl
2018–19	I-League	7 November 2018	Aizawl	0–0	NEROCA
		27 January 2019	NEROCA	0–0	Aizawl
2019–20	I-League	6 December 2019	NEROCA	1–0	Aizawl
2020–21	I-League	30 January 2021	NEROCA	1–2	Aizawl
		11 March 2021	NEROCA	0–1	Aizawl

TRAU vs NEROCA (Imphal Derby)^[10]

Competition	TRAU wins	Draw	NEROCA wins
I-League	1	1	1
Total	1	1	1

Matches

Season	Competition	Date	Home team	Result	Away team
2019–20	I-League	8 January 2020	TRAU	2–1	NEROCA
		8 February 2020	NEROCA	5–0	TRAU
2020–21	I-League	15 January 2021	NEROCA	1–1	TRAU

TRAU vs Aizawl^[11]

Competition	TRAU wins	Draw	AIZAWL wins
I-League	2	0	1
Super Cup	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0
Total	2	0	1

Shillong Lajong vs Aizawl^[12]

Competition	Shillong Lajong wins	Draw	Aizawl wins
I-League	4	2	2
Friendlies	0	0	1
Total	4	2	3

Shillong Lajong vs NEROCA^[13]

Competition	Shillong Lajong wins	Draw	NEROCA wins
I-League	1	0	3
Total	1	0	3

Shillong Lajong vs NorthEast United

Competition	Shillong Lajong wins	Draw	NorthEast United wins
Super Cup	0	0	1
Durand Cup	0	0	3
Total	0	0	4

Former Teams

Other teams include the teams which played in I-League in the past, until they were either dissolved or relegated to lower leagues.

Shillong Lajong vs United Sikkim^[14]

Competition	Shillong Lajong wins	Draw	United Sikkim wins
I-League	1	1	0
Total	1	1	0

Shillong Lajong vs Royal Wahingdoh (Shillong Derby)^[15][16]

Competition	Shillong Lajong wins	Draw	Royal Wahingdoh wins
I-League	0	1	1
Federation Cup	1	0	0
Shillong Premier League	1	0	0
Total	2	1	1

Shillong Lajong vs Rangdajied United (Shillong Derby)^[17][18]

Competition	Shillong Lajong wins	Draw	Rangdajied United wins
I-League	0	2	0
Shillong Premier League	2	1	0
Total	2	3	0

Head-to-head ranking in I-League (2009-present)

 US  - United Sikkim;  RW  - Royal Wahingdoh;  RU  - Rangdajied United;  SL  - Shillong Lajong;  AZ  - Aizawl;  NR  - NEROCA;  TR  - TRAU

R/S	I-League season
	09-10	11-12	12-13	13-14	14-15	15-16	16-17	17-18	18-19	19-20	20-21[a]
1							AZ
2								NR
3					RW						TR
4
5							SL	AZ
6				SL		SL		SL	NR	TR
7									AZ
8
9					SL					NR
10		SL								AZ
11			SL						SL
12
13				RU
14	SL		US

Notes

1. Only the ranks in the Championship Stage (Group A) is taken account of; NEROCA and Aizawl couldn't qualify hence they played in the Relegation Stage (Group B) and NEROCA eventually got relegated after finishing at the bottom of the group. NEROCA were later reinstated by AIFF after viewing the situation of COVID-19 pandemic.

• In 2010-11 season, there were no clubs from Northeast India

Recent meetings (I-League)

2019–20 season

Main article: 2019–20 I-League

Date	Venue	Home team	Result	Away team	Competition	Attendance
6 December 2019	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium	NEROCA	1-0	Aizawl	I League	17,362
8 January 2020	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium	TRAU	2-1	NEROCA	I League	23,682
25 January 2020	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium	TRAU	2-1	Aizawl	I League	7,564
8 February 2020	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium	NEROCA	5-0	TRAU	I League	34,971
11 February 2020	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium	Aizawl	– a	TRAU	I League	–
21 March 2020	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium	Aizawl	– a	NEROCA	I League	–

a.^ ^ Due to COVID-19 pandemic, match was cancelled.

2020–21 season

Main article: 2020–21 I-League

Date	Venue	Home team	Result	Away team	Competition	Attendance
15 January 2021	Kalyani Stadium c	NEROCA	1-1	TRAU	I League	– b
30 January 2021	Mohun Bagan Ground c	NEROCA	1-2	Aizawl	I League	– b
9 February 2021	Kalyani Stadium c	TRAU	1-0	Aizawl	I League	– b
11 March 2021	Kishore Bharati Krirangan c	NEROCA	0-1	Aizawl	I League	– b

b.^ ^ ^ ^ Due to COVID-19 pandemic, matches were played behind closed doors.

c.^ ^ ^ ^ Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all I League matches were played in West Bengal.

Honours

• I-League:
  • Aizawl (2016–17)
• I-League 2nd Division:
  • Shillong Lajong (2011)
  • United Sikkim (2012)
  • Randajied United (2013)
  • Royal Wahingdoh (2014)
  • Aizawl (2015)
  • NEROCA (2016–17)
  • TRAU (2018–19)
• Durand Cup:
  • NorthEast United (2024)

See also

• Imphal Derby
• Kolkata Derby
• South Indian Derby
• I-League
• Super Cup (India)
• List of association football rivalries