Shillong Lajong FC

Formation and journey

During the finals of the Meghalaya Invitation Cup in 1982, two football enthusiasts Shri Kitdor Syiem and Shri P. D. Sawyan saddened by the continuous failure of the Shillong teams to make it to the final stages of the tournament formed a football club to reverse the trend.

Together with a group of friends and supporters, they commissioned a semi-professional club in 1983, aptly called Lajong Football Club (lit. 'Our own' or 'Of the people'). The club was also known as the Lajong Sports Social and Cultural Club.

In 1983, the club played in the 3rd Division of the Shillong Sports Association League and was the champion, being promoted to the 2nd Division. Similarly in 1984 it was promoted to the First Division. Things started to change rapidly after the title clash for the Shillong Championship was inevitably poised against the Blue Max FC, another professionally organized club which later changed itself to Langsning SC of today. It was only in 1989 that Lajong FC finally annexed the championship for the first time. In 1990, Lajong FC became the Meghalaya Invitation Cup champion, beating Nabajyoti FC of Guwahati in the final, seven years after its maiden entry.

In 2009, Lajong FC joined the I-League 2nd Division, which then was the second highest national league in India. After one season in the second division, Lajong was promoted to the I-League. Shillong Lajong gained promotion for the 2009–10 season, and had appointed former Salgaocar and East Bengal coach Stanley Rozario for their first season in then India's top flight.

They played their first match in I-League in 2009 and lost to JCT FC 1–5. In their first ever home match, they defeated Air India 3–0 in front of 30,000 people. In their second home match, they lost to Mohun Bagan 2–1, again in front of a home crowd of about 30,000. At the end of the I-League season, Shillong was relegated to the 2nd division, after finishing in last place.

2010–present

In the 2009–10 Indian Federation Cup, Shillong Lajong reached to the final but lost to East Bengal in penalty-shootout. For the 2011 season, Shillong Lajong managed by Pradyum Reddy, participated in the I-League 2nd Division. Due to Shillong hosting the 2011 I-League 2nd Division final round, they were able to skip the Group stages and go straight into the final round. They ended one-year stint in the I-League 2nd Division with a 1–0 victory over Mohammedan SC on 13 May 2011, after which they got promoted back to the I-League, and appointed Scottish manager Desmond Bulpin. The club clinched Mizoram Independence Day Cup title in that season, defeating Royal Wahingdoh in final.

In June 2013, the club roped former Trinidadian international Cornell Glen who represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Thus he became club's first ever World Cup player. In the 2013–14 I-League, on 22 September, Lajong thrashed Dempo by 3–0. In 2014–15 season, they ended up in ninth position, in which Glen scored 16 goals and finished as second highest goal scorer.

In regional stages, Shillong achieved success and emerged as champions of Shillong Premier League in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019. They also emerged champions of the Bodousa Cup in 2016 defeating Assam State Electricity Board SC by 2–0. In the same year, the club won Meghalaya Invitation Football Tournament. In 2017 edition of state league, Shillong Lajong didn't appear in the semi-finals. Ahead of the 2017–18 I-League season, the club built a strong squad, signing Lawrence Doe, Abdoulaye Koffi, Daniel Odafin, Saihou Jagne and Asian quota player Oh Joo-ho from South Korea. In 2018 edition of Shillong Premier League, they secured runners-up position, losing the final to Langsning.

Alison Kharsyntiew was appointed as interim head coach for the Super Cup, following the dismissal of Bobby Nongbet. He succeeded Thangboi Singto, who managed the club from 2013 to 2017. Nongbet's first game in charge was on 4 April 2018 against Indian Super League side Pune City. Despite going down by two goals early in the match, Shillong Lajong came back to win the match 3–2. Going into the 2018–19 season, Kharsyntiew was announced as the club's head coach. His first league match in charge was on 28 October 2018 against Aizawl. A brace from Naorem Mahesh Singh saw Shillong Lajong win 2–1. The 2018–19 season was not suitable for Shillong Lajong as they were relegated from the league, after suffering a 1–4 defeat at the hands of former champions Aizawl in the last match. In that season, Lajong fielded an all Indian squad and appointed Spaniard José Carlos Hevia as technical director and head of youth development.

At the end of the league, Lajong remained at the bottom of the 11-team table, with 11 points from 19 matches. They won league's Fair Play Award. In 2019 Shillong Premier League, they again emerged champions with 27 points in 12 matches. Shillong Lajong then became a regular participant in the newly formed Meghalaya State League, since 2017. They club later clinched second edition of Meghalaya State League, defeating arch-rivals Rangdajied United. In 2021, the club participated in the Shirui Lily Cup in Manipur, organized by the Ukhrul District Sports Association, from November 22 to December 4. They won the 29th edition of the tournament by defeating KLASA 4–3 in the final.

On 21 May 2023, Shillong Lajong defeated Bengaluru United by 2–1 at the 2022–23 I-League 2 to secure promotion to the 2023–24 I-League, thereby securing promotion into India's second tier after a gap of 4 years. As the league began in November, the club kicked-off their campaign with an 1–1 draw against Mohammedan Sporting in Kolkata. Shillong Lajong gained their first victory on 19 November, beating Gokulam Kerala 3–1 in home.