NEROCA FC

NEROCA Football Club (known fully as North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association Football Club) is an Indian professional football club based in Imphal, Manipur, that currently competes in the I-League 2. It previously competed in the I-League, the second tier of the Indian football league system. Founded in 1965, and nicknamed "Orange Brigade", the club made their I-League 2nd Division debut in the 2015–16 season. Winning the 2016–17 league, they secured promotion to the I-League.

NEROCA is the first club from Northeast India to reach the final of the coveted Durand Cup. The club also competes in the Manipur State League.

History

Formation and early years

North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association (abbreviated as NEROCA) was established in 1965, with the hope of improving quality in the field of cultural activities and sports in the Indian state of Manipur. It was registered under the Manipur State co-operative Society Registration Act bearing registration No. 1016 of 1972. NEROCA is a registered football club of the Imphal East District Football Association, and affiliated with All Manipur Football Association (AMFA). NEROCA has participated in every edition of the Manipur State League since its inception. The club has a record of second-place finish for the first time in the 2007 edition. The club is also a regular participant of Sir Churachand Singh Memorial Football Tournament.

2014–present

In the 9th season of Manipur State League (2014), NEROCA won championship trophy. The club as per norms of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), changed the nomenclature from "NEROCA" to "NEROCA Football Club Imphal", aiming to join I-League 2nd Division. NEROCA then went on to compete in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division seasons. They emerged as champions of the 2016–17 season with 26 points in 10 matches from the final round, and qualified for the 2017–18 season of the I-League. They also clinched the title of Manipur State League in 2016.

The biggest achievement of NEROCA is emerging as the runners-up in the 2017–18 I-League. Under the coaching of Gift Raikhan, they finished campaign with 32 points from 18 matches. In that season, NEROCA brought Vector X as their official shirt sponsor. In the 2020–21 I-League, NEROCA finished bottom of the Relegation Stage and got formally relegated, but were reinstated by AIFF after viewing the situation of COVID-19 pandemic.

On 4 July 2021, NEROCA signed Khogen Singh as their head coach for the 2021–22 I-League season, and began the league journey with a 3–2 win against Sreenidi Deccan on 27 December 2021. They achieved seventh position in league table. They later participated in 2022 Durand Cup. In 2022–23 I-League, NEROCA they finished on tenth position, and later, failed to qualify for the 2023 Indian Super Cup. In October, the club roped in Malaysian manager Jacob Joseph as head coach for 2023–24 league season. In April 2024, NEROCA along with TRAU, refused to travel to Mizoram to play Aizawl in their away matches and the games were cancelled by the AIFF; Both the teams from Manipur were relegated to I-League 2. The club took part in the 2024–25 I-League 2, in which they later fought in the relegation stage alongside city rival TRAU.

Crest, colours & kits

In the official club crest, there is map of Manipur in background and an anchor of sailing boat in foreground.

The official colours of NEROCA are orange and green.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Stadium

Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal, Manipur, is used as the home ground of NEROCA Football Club for all their home matches in both the domestic and regional leagues. Opened in 1999, the stadium is owned by All Manipur Football Association and has a capacity of 35,285 spectators. Their first home match in the I-League was played on 15 December 2017 against Chennai City FC.

Support and rivalry

Supporters

NEROCA had the 2nd highest average attendance for the 2018–19 I League season. In the 2017–18 season, NEROCA had the highest attendance in the I-League, with the record attendance of 35,285 at the Khuman Lampak Stadium.

Rivalries

NEROCA have participated in the Imphal Derby with city rival TRAU. The two clubs are the only two from Imphal to have played professional league football. 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. The Government of Manipur declared a half-holiday for all governmental and educational institutions in build-up to the match on 18 August, where NEROCA defeated TRAU by 3–1 in Group-C opener. However, in 2025 Durand Cup Group F, opening again, held at Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal, TRAU and NEROCA clashed ferrociously. Notably, TRAU played with only 10 men from 80 minutes onwards due to a red card. The opening match ended in a 1–1 draw.

In the Northeast Derby (I-League), they have a rivalry with Mizoram-based club Aizawl.

Players

First-team squad

As of 30 January 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Personnel

Current technical staff

As of 20 July 2022

Team records

Key

• Tms. = Number of teams
• Pos. = Position in league
• Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Overall records

updated on 28 May 2017

Top scorers

As of 4 May 2023

Other records

• Fastest goal for the club in I-League: Japan Katsumi Yusa — 13 seconds; NEROCA vs Churchill Brothers (2018–19)

Notable players

Past and present internationals

• The players below had senior/youth international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for NEROCA FC.

India

• India Tomba Singh (2016)
• India Sushil Kumar Singh (2016–2018)
• India Govin Singh (2016–2018)
• India Arata Izumi (2017)
• India Gouramangi Singh (2017–2018)

Asia

• Kyrgyzstan Akhlidin Israilov (2017)
• Australia Nick Ward (2018–2019)
• Bhutan Chencho Gyeltshen (2019)
• Nepal Prakash Budhathoki (2020–2021)
• Lebanon Mohamad Kdouh (2020–2022)
• Kyrgyzstan Bektur Talgat Uulu (2022–)
• Uzbekistan Mirjalol Kosimov (2022–2023)

Managerial record

Information correct after match played on 7 March 2022. Only competitive matches are counted.

Honours

League

• I-League Runners-up (1): 2017–18
• I-League 2nd Division Champions (1): 2016–17 Third place (1): 2015–16
• Manipur State League Champions (2): 2014, 2016 Runners-up (2): 2007, 2009

Cup

• Durand Cup Runners-up (1): 2016
• Tiddim Invitation Football Trophy Champions (1): 2004 Runners-up (2): 2005, 2007
• Churachand Singh Trophy Champions (6): 2000, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016, 2018–19, 2019 Runners-up (2): 2002, 2008
• Bodousa Cup Runners-up (2): 2010, 2015
• Shirui Lily Cup Runners-up (1): 2011

Award

• I-League Fair Play Award: 2017–18

Other department

Futsal

NEROCA operates futsal departments and is affiliated to the Futsal Association of India (FAI). The club clinched AMFA (All Manipur Football Association) Futsal Cup in 2005, defeating SSU in final. The club is currently competing in Col. Arunkumar Memorial Inter-club Futsal Tournament, achieved third place in the 2023 edition.

Honours

• AMFA Futsal Cup Champions (1): 2005
• Col. Arunkumar Memorial Championship Third place (1): 2023

See also

• List of football clubs in Manipur
• Sports in Manipur

Cited sources

Bibliography

• Sharma, Nikhil Paramjit; Gupta, Shantanu (4 February 2019). . SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9789353283063. Archived from on 4 October 2022.
• Shreekumar, S. S. (15 August 2020). . HSRA Publications. ISBN 9788194721697. Archived from on 4 February 2023.

Further reading

• Sarkar, Dhiman (25 March 2018). . hindustantimes.com. Kolkata: Hindustan Times. Archived from on 6 January 2022.
• . ESPN. 30 January 2021. Archived from on 6 September 2023.
• Quadri, Abreshmina S. (2 January 2018). . indiatoday.com. India Today. Archived from on 9 June 2023.
• . theindianleague.in. 21 June 2017. Archived from on 7 May 2021.
• . sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. 11 February 2020. Archived from on 19 June 2022.
• Mukherjee, Soham (1 February 2019). . goal.com. Goal. Archived from on 13 May 2021.
• Sharda, Deepankar (12 December 2016). . tribuneindia.com. Chandigarh: The Tribune India News. Archived from on 20 December 2016.
• Bhutkar, Prasad (13 April 2017). . footballcounter.com. Mumbai: Football Counter India. Archived from on 12 February 2018.
• . xtratime.in. Kolkata. 15 December 2018. Archived from on 15 December 2018.
• Guha, Sayantan (8 June 2022). . sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from on 27 December 2022.
• . Facebook.com. 11 March 2019. from the original on 4 May 2023.
• Ingale, Shreyash (4 July 2019). . iftwc.com. Indian Football Team for World Cup. Archived from on 24 September 2020.
• . The Indian Express. PTI. 23 February 2019. Archived from on 28 February 2019.
• . The Times of India. Kolkata. PTI. 27 December 2021. from the original on 6 September 2023.
• . the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. 21 May 2022. Archived from on 22 May 2023.
• . i-league.org. Hyderabad: All India Football Federation. 29 October 2023. Archived from on 29 October 2023.
• . i-league.org. Shillong: All India Football Federation. 9 November 2023. Archived from on 9 November 2023.
• . sportstar.thehindu.com. Shillong: Sportstar. Press Trust of India. 9 November 2023. Archived from on 9 November 2023.
• Media Team, AIFF (18 June 2024). . the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. Archived from on 18 June 2024.
• . i-league.org. 13 November 2022. Archived from on 13 November 2022.

External links

• at BeSoccer
• at Global Sports Archive