Shillong, Dec 3: Malki SC were presented with their trophy and cheque of Rs 2 lakh for becoming the champions of the Shillong Sports Association’s First Division 2024 in a function at the SSA Stadium at First Ground, Polo, here on Monday.
The league concluded on 28 November with the last round robin fixtures. Like the Shillong Premier League, there were no playoffs – whichever team finished on top of the standings after the round robin became the champions.
Malki ended with seven wins and two defeats, earning 21 points in total. Second place went to Mylliem SC, who garnered 18 points from six wins and three losses, and both teams will be promoted to the 2025 edition of the Shillong Premier League. It will be a return for Malki, who were relegated from the SPL at the end of 2022, and a first season in the local top flight for Mylliem.
Mylliem were presented with a cheque of Rs 1 lakh as runners-up. The prize money this year is a significant increase on previous seasons, part of the SSA’s vision to improve the standard of the game in the local arena.
One individual award was also presented to the Top Scorer of the First Division, Wallambha Kharpran of Sohryngkham SC, who scored nine goals. Somewhat unusually, the Top Scorer came from a club that is to be relegated – Sohryngkham finished second from the bottom, above only Umphyrnai SC. These two clubs will play in next year’s Second Division.
Senior SSA members were present for the programme, led by SSA Working President Robert Dkhar.
The Association also took the opportunity to felicitate local referee Kynsanphar Lyngdoh Nongum for qualifying for the AIFF Elite Panel of Referees and also felicitated the SSA U-14 and U-16 teams and support staff that took part in the Meghalaya Youth League earlier this year. The U-16 boys were champions in their division, while the U-14s were semifinalists.
