Shillong Lajong Football Cub announced ist exit from NorthEast United FC, the Guwahati-based franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL). The stakes have been bought by Bollywood superstar John Abraham.
Shillong Lajong FC and John Abraham had entered into a partnership last year to successfully bid for the Indian Super League franchise which played its inaugural season with a base in Guwahati, Assam. 14 Shillong Lajong players from the various North Eastern states such as Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Sikkim plied their trade for North East United FC.
Shillong Lajong FC pioneered modern day club football in the North East by being the first team from the region to qualify for the I-League and to have also brought the ISL to the region. The club has taken the decision to offload its holding in Northeast United FC in order to focus on Grassroots and Youth Development in the North Eastern region.
Larsing Ming Sawyan, Managing Director of Shillong Lajong FC said, “Lajong has decided to sell its stake in North East United in order to focus on our principal vision of building our youth development programs for the North East region by creating tangible assets on the ground and inculcate the best of modern practices for youth development.”
“We remain committed to supporting the Indian Super League, IMG-R and AIFF and shall continue to release our players for the ISL”, he further added.