Film star Tiger Shroff named in Durand Cup squad, likely to make professional debut
Tiger Shroff is set to trade the silver screen for the football pitch, with the Bollywood actor named in Mumbay FC’s squad for the Durand Cup and potentially in line to make his professional debut in the tournament.
Shroff has been registered with the club and is currently training with the team, according to co-owner Zoheb Amrani. The actor could travel with the squad for at least one of their group-stage matches in Shillong.
“He’s registered with the squad, and we are trying our best to arrange everything. A person like Tiger, we’ll need a lot of security in tier-2, tier-3 cities. People can gather around, and it could be chaotic,” Zoheb told Sportstar.
“And since social media is so ruthless, things can actually escalate. Keeping that in mind, we’ve got a date from him. If everything goes well, he will definitely travel for one of the games. He’s training with the team at the moment,” he added.
Shroff has been associated with Mumbay FC since its inception in 2024 and has regularly featured for the side in the Mumbai District League. His involvement, however, goes beyond simply being a celebrity face attached to the club.
Zoheb first got a look at Tiger Shroff’s abilities in an influencers league game in 2023, which featured the likes of Ranbir Kapoor and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as well.
“It was during an influencers league with personalities and former sportspersons in 2023 that I realised that Tiger can play; he has that technical understanding of the game,” Zoheb recalled.
When he founded the club, Zoheb asked Shroff to come and join them for practice sessions.
“He likes that slide tackle, those dribbling 1v1 moments,” he said.
And soon, Tiger wanted to play the game professionally. Zoheb initially believed that the actor was joking. However, he followed through.
“I got his CRS (Centralised Registration System) registration done. I explained to him that this is not some ordinary tournament that you just go and play. There’s proper registration, there’s a proper ID card, there’s a proper referee who checks everything. I must say he was very professional,” Zoheb said of Shroff’s involvement in the Mumbai District League.
Now, that journey could take Shroff to one of the oldest football tournaments in the world.
MUMBAY FC’S DURAND CUP FIXTURES
Mumbay FC will play its Durand Cup group-stage fixtures at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. The club opens its campaign against Langsning SC on August 3, before facing 2024 semi-finalists Shillong Lajong on August 8 and Nongkseh SS & CC on August 11.
Whether Shroff actually takes to the pitch remains dependent on the club’s arrangements, but his potential presence could bring significant attention to a team looking to make an impact in its first Durand Cup appearance.
For Zoheb, that attention could be particularly valuable for the young players in the squad. He believes Shroff’s association with the club could bring more eyes to Mumbay FC and potentially give its youngsters an opportunity to be spotted by bigger clubs.
“We don’t usually get a platform like this to showcase our talent,” Zoheb said, adding that even one player getting scouted by a bigger club would make the exposure worthwhile for the club, Shroff and the young talent in the squad.
The club, however, has had to work around some very familiar problems faced by football teams in Mumbai. Access to suitable natural-grass facilities remains difficult, while even artificial pitches can be expensive and hard to book.
Mumbay FC are currently training at Cooperage Ground and have also set up a small facility at a school ground in Navi Mumbai to help the players get used to playing on natural grass.
The Durand Cup, therefore, offers Mumbay FC more than just a chance to make its mark nationally. For Zoheb, it is an opportunity to put Maharashtra’s football talent back in the spotlight.
“I want to make a statement that the players of Maharashtra are really talented. The Durand Cup itself is a platform for all the players to show what they’ve got,” he said.
Maharashtra once had several professional clubs, including Air India, Mahindra United, Mumbai FC and ONGC, but Zoheb feels the state now has far fewer avenues for its footballers.
And if everything falls into place, the tournament could also produce one of the most unexpected football debuts of the year. Tiger Shroff, the Bollywood action star, could soon have a professional football appearance to add to his CV.
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