NEROCA FC is an Indian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

, that competes in the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

. The club made its

I-League 2nd Division I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind Indian ...

debut in the 2015–16 season. The club won the

2016–17 I-League 2nd Division The 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division was the tenth season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second-tier Indian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2008. The season began on 21 January 2017 and featured 12 teams which ...

and secured promotion to the I-League. NEROCA is the only club from

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

to reach the final of the coveted

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

. The club also competes in the

Manipur State League The Manipur State League, also known as Manipur Premier League, has been organised since 2006 by the All Manipur Football Association under the Vision India program with guidance from the AFC and the AIFF. It is the highest state-level footba ...

History

Formation and early years

North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association (NEROCA) was established in 1965 with the hope of improving quality in the field of cultural activities and sports in the Indian state of

. 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 ''Imphal East District Football Association'' and affiliated with

All Manipur Football Association All Manipur Football Association (AMFA) is the state governing body of football in Manipur. It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India ...

(AMFA). NEROCA has participated in the

(MSL), since its inception and finished second-placed in the MSL 2007.

2014–present

In the 9th season of Manipur State League (2014), NEROCA won the championship trophy. With the aim of participating in the I-League 2nd Division from 2015–16. As per the norms of

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...

(AIFF), the nomenclature of NEROCA was changed to NEROCA Football Club. NEROCA competed 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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, and qualified for the 2017–18 season of the

. They also clinched the title of Manipur State League in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. The biggest achievement of NEROCA is emerging as the runners-up in the 2017–18 I-League. Under the coaching of

Gift Raikhan Gift Raikhan (born 25 May 1981) is an Indian retired footballer who played as a left-back, and football manager who last managed NEROCA. He also managed Manipur football team in Santosh Trophy. Playing career During a playing career which sp ...

, 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 In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

and got formally relegated, but were reinstated by AIFF after viewing the situation of

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. 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.

Crest and colours

In the official club crest, there is map of

in background and an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

of sailing boat in foreground. The official colours of NEROCA are

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Stadium

Khuman Lampak Main Stadium The Khuman Lampak Main Stadium is a multi-use stadium located in Imphal, Manipur, India. It is used mostly for football and athletics, and host matches of Manipur State League. The stadium holds 35,285 people and was built in 1999. This stadium ...

, 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

and has a capacity of 35,285 spectators. Their first home match in the

was played on 15 December 2017 against

Chennai City FC Chennai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, that last competed in the I-League, then one of the top flights of Indian football league system, and Chennai Football League. Established in ...

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.

Rivalries

NEROCA have participated in the Imphal Derby with city rivals 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

when competitive football returned to the city after

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...

. The

Government of Manipur The Government of Manipur ( mni, Manipur Leingak; /mə.ni.pur lə́i.ŋak/), also known as the State Government of Manipur, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Manipur and its 16 districts. ...

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

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

-based club

Aizawl FC Aizawl FC is an Indian professional football club based in Aizawl, Mizoram, that competes in the I-League. Incorporated in 1984, the club earned the entry in India's top-tier league in 2015–16, after winning 2015 I-League 2nd Division. Nickn ...

Players

First-team squad

On loan

Personnel

Current technical staff

Team records

;Key *Tms. = Number of teams *Pos. = Position in league *Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Overall records

updated on 28 May 2017

Top scorer

updated on 16 August 2021

Past and present internationals

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

India

* Sushil Kumar Singh (2016–2018) *

Govin Singh Moirangthem Govin Singh (born 3 January 1988 in Tentha, Manipur) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender for Southern Samity. He has been capped twice for India at senior level. He was part of the Churchill Brothers S.C. squad tha ...

(2016–2018) *

Gouramangi Singh Gouramangi Singh Moirangthem (born 25 January 1986) is an Indian former professional footballer. He is currently the assistant coach of Indian Super League club Goa. Club career A product of the Tata Football Academy, he has plied his trade ...

(2017–2018)

Asia

Chencho Gyeltshen Chencho Gyeltshen (born 10 May 1996) is a Bhutanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for I-League club RoundGlass Punjab and captains the Bhutan national team. Gyeltshen is the all-time leading international goalscorer for Bhutan ...

(2019) *

Akhlidin Israilov Akhlidin Shukurovich Israilov (russian: Ахлидин Шукурович Исраилов, tr. ''Akhlidin Shukurovich Israilov''; born 16 September 1994) is a Kyrgyz professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Neftchi Kochkor-Ata in ...

(2017) * Abhishek Rijal (2020–2021) *

Prakash Budhathoki Prakash Budhathoki ( ne, प्रकाश बुढाथोकी) (born 21 May 1993) is a Nepali professional association football, footballer from Dharan, Patnali, Sunsari, who currently plays for I-League side NEROCA FC as a midfielder. Int ...

(2020–2021) * Mohamad Kdouh (2020–2022) *

Bektur Talgat Uulu Bektur Talgat Uulu (born 9 September 1994) is a Kyrgyz professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for I-League club NEROCA. Career In January 2017, Uulu signed for Churchill Brothers. Uulu made his professional debut in India, playing ...

(2022–)

North America

Fabien Vorbe Jean Francis Fabien Vorbe (born 4 January 1990) is a Haitian professional footballer who last played for NEROCA F.C. in the I-League. Career Youth and College Vorbe began his career in 2005 with first division Haitian club Violette AC at age ...

(2017–2018) *

Judah García Judah Emmanuel García (born 24 October 2000) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Greek Super League 2 club AEK Athens B and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Club career García born in S ...

(2020–2021) * Marvin Phillip (2019–2020) * Nathaniel Garcia (2020–2021) *

Richard Roy Richard Roy is a Canadian director, actor and screenwriter. He has directed several feature films in French as well as television films and series for the English-language market. He was raised in the village of Saint-Agapit, in Lotbinière Re ...

(2017–2018) * Taryk Sampson (2019–2020) * Jourdaine Fletcher (2022–)

Africa

Varney Kallon Varney Kallon Kiatamba Jr. (born 24 April 1993) is a Liberian professional footballer who plays as a center-back for Calcutta Customs. Career Born in Liberia, Kallon began his career with Liberian Second Division League side Haja Football Club ...

(2016–2019, 2020) *

Eduardo Ferreira Eduardo Soares Ferreira (born October 8, 1983) is a footballer who plays as a centre back. Born in Brazil, he represented the Equatorial Guinea national team. Club career After a stint with South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, Ferreira sign ...

(2018–2019) * Boubacar Diarra (2019–2020) * Gaty Kouami (2019–2020) * David Simbo (2022–)

Managerial record

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

Honours

League

**Runners-up (1): 2017–18 *

**Champions (1): 2016–17 **Third place (1): 2015–16 *

**Champions (2):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

**Runners-up (1): 2009

Cup

**Runners-up (1):

* Tiddim Invitation Football Trophy **Champions (1): 2004 **Runners-up (2): 2005, 2007 *

Churachand Singh Trophy Churachand Singh Trophy, also known as the Churachand Singh Invitation Trophy (Sir Churachand Singh Memorial Football Tournament), is an annual Indian football tournament held in Manipur and organized by All Manipur Football Association (A.M.F ...

**Champions (6): 2000, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016, 2018–19, 2019 **Runners-up (2): 2002, 2008 *

Bodousa Cup The Bodousa Cup is an invitational football tournament in India, held across multiple venues of Assam and organised by Bodousa Sports Club annually under the supervision of Assam Football Association. The tournament was incorporated in 2009 and ...

**Runners-up (2): 2010, 2015 *

Shirui Lily Cup Shirui Lily Cup, also known as the Shirui Lily National Level Football Knockout Cup, is an Indian football tournament held in Ukhrul and organized by Ukhrul District Sports Association (UDSA). Ukhrul District Sports Association had announced ...

**Runners-up (1): 2011