North Imphal Sporting Association, commonly known as NISA Manipur, is an Indian professional football club based in Thangmeiband,

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 ...

. NISA is five-time champions of 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 ...

, which is a project under the ''Vision Asia'' program by the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...

(AFC). They have also participated in the

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 ...

, then second tier of

Indian football league system The Indian football league system is the league structure of football club competitions in India. The highest level of men's club football competition in India is the Indian Super League. Indian Women's League, founded in 2016, is the highest l ...

History

Formation and journey

North Imphal Sporting Association was originally founded during the 1950s and was revived in 2006. The club is affiliated with the

All Manipur Football Association All Manipur Football Association (AMFA) is the state governing body of football in 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 Nag ...

(AMFA). NISA has been participating in the prestigious Manipur State Football League since its inauguration in 2006 and lifted the trophy on three occasions. After winning the state league in the 2009–10 season, they qualified for the 2nd Division of 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 ...

, then top flight of

Football in India Football in India has historically been among the top 3 most popular sport in terms of players participation and TV viewership, together with long time number one cricket and re-emerging kabaddi. India's current top domestic football league is ...

. NISA lifted prestigious Churachand Singh Invitation Trophy in 2007, defeating AMOFA Moirang, 2–0. They are also two time runners-up in the tournament during its 1969 and 1994 edition. In the 2010 I-League 2nd Division, NISA started by winning four of six matches and secured a berth to the I-League qualification playoffs with 15 points. However, they failed to qualify for the

2010–11 I-League The 2010–11 I-League was the fourth season of the I-League, which waa the highest football league competition in India during the time. It ran from 3 December 2010 to May 2011. Dempo are the defending champions. On 30 May 2011 Salgaocar SC ...

after a heartbreaking bottom finish without a single win.

2011 season

The team again participated in the

of the 2011 season. They were in group A with United Sikkim FC,

Gauhati Town Club Gauhati Town Club is an Indian multi sports club based in Guwahati, Assam. Founded in 1906, the club had participated in the I-League 2nd Division, then second highest level football in India, for two seasons. It currently plays in the GSA Su ...

Southern Samity Southern Samity is an Indian professional football club from Kolkata which was founded in 1945, and is also based in Siliguri in North Bengal. During that time, apart from sports they are also involved in various cultural activities. The club ...

Langsning FC Langsning SC is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya. The club competes in Shillong Premier League and has previously competed in I-League 2nd Division, then second tier of football in India. History Langsning SC i ...

Simla Youngs FC Simla Youngs Football Club was an Indian football club from New Delhi. Formed in 1936, it has been an amateur team, but in January 2011 they participated in the 2nd Division, then second tier of Indian football league system. They also compet ...

, and Golden Threads FC. NISA opened the 2011 I-League 2nd Division with a 3–1 win over Golden Threads FC. NabaChnadra scored 2 goals and N Rakesh scored one. NISA beat Shimla Youngs 3–0. They finished their group A qualifying with 9 points and didn't qualify for final round. Their striker L. Nabachandra emerged as top scorer for the club with three goals. The defending champion North Imphal Sporting Association Thangmeiband retained themselves as the champions in the prestigious

in its sixth edition.

Later years

NISA again lifted Manipur State League title in 2013, defeating SSU Singjamei through penalty-shootout. The club also participated in ''Kohima Royal Gold Cup'' in Nagaland. In 2019, NISA participated in Bodousa Cup in Assam and finished on third place. In that competition, they were given Fair Play Award. Due to the

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 ...

pandemic, Manipur State League was cancelled in 2020 and again in April 2021, but came back in October, in which NISA was in Group B but failed to reach the knock-out stages.

Home grounds

Current venue

NISA Manipur is currently using Thangmeiband Athletic Union Ground (commonly known as ''THAU Ground'') as their home stadium. Built in 2006, the ground is located in Thangmeiband,

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 f ...

, and has a capacity of 5000 spectators.

Former venue

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 stadi ...

, was used as the home ground of NISA for 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.

Rivalry

NISA has a strong rivalry with its fellow Manipuri clubs

NEROCA FC NEROCA FC is an Indian professional football club based in Imphal, Manipur, that competes in the I-League. The club made its I-League 2nd Division debut in the 2015–16 season. The club won the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division and secured p ...

and TRAU FC. This rivalry is visible highly during the

every season. Until 2018, NISA has enjoyed the taste of these rivalries in the

Past internationals

*The player(s) below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for ''NISA Manipur''. * Marcus Julien (2011–2013)

Honours

Domestic tournaments

League *

**Champions (5): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 **Runners-up (1): 2012 Cup *

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 (1): 2007 **Runners-up (2): 1969, 1994 * Mayanglambam Chittamani Memorial Winners Cup **Runners-up (1): 2002

Notes

References

External links

NISA Manipur
at Soccerway
NISA Manipur
at Betsapi
NISA Manipur
at Scorebing
NISA cancels trip as Jetlite cancel flight : 27th apr10 ~ E-Pao! Headlines
{{Football in India I-League clubs Football clubs in Manipur Association football clubs established in 2006 2006 establishments in Manipur