For a state that has given the Indian national team more than 50 footballers and provided a steady supply line to the national squad sinceKiren Khongsaibecame the first to don the Indian jersey in 1989, it has been a long wait to host and see the Blue Tigers in an international match.
While it will be a feather in the cap of the 35,000-capacityKhuman Lampark Stadiumwhich has regularly hosted I-League matches as well as the local leagues and been one of the venues for the group stages of the Durand Cup this year, the jewel will be in the crown of the N Biren Singh government whose saffron glow has been marred by recent incidents of social unrest and protests in the state’s hill districts.