Mumbai, Aug 17 (IANS): Playback singers Shaan and Papon have lent their voices to the anthem of the 131st edition of the Durand Cup. The anthem captures the affection and essence of the oldest football competition and the most loved sport.

Durand Cup is an annual domestic football competition in India hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS). First held in 1888 in Shimla, the tournament is the oldest existing club football tournament in Asia and the third oldest in the world.

Commenting on the occasion, Shaan, who is the voice behind iconic tracks such as 'Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan' and 'Dus Bahaane' said in a statement, "Well, the Durand Cup is something that all of us Indians should be very proud of. The Indian Army is associated with the Durand Cup, so I followed this league very closely."

Going down memory lane, the singer added, "I've had the opportunity to sing the anthem in 2019 for Bikram Ghosh, the Durand Cup anthem and again, and to get this opportunity through Papon to sing it again for the 2022 Durand Cup is obviously a matter of pride and I'm very happy to be part of this anthem."

Talking about his collaboration with Papon, he shared, "It's always fun because Papon is not just a great musician, a great singer, but also a very dear friend, a lovely human being, we have a very close connection."

The anthem has been incorporated into 5 languages -- English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali and Manipuri.

Sharing his excitement, Papon said "The reason behind the composition of the anthem, 'Durand Cup' is because I had this opportunity of meeting up with an amazing gentleman and sir Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita. It just came up in our conversation about the Durand Cup and we spoke about the anthem. This was an opportunity I got from the Army to compose and produce the anthem and I grabbed it with both hands."

Papon was faced with a great challenge as the song had to be incorporated in five languages.

"The football trophy this year is going from Kolkata to Guwahati to Imphal, the three cities. I roped in Shaan and approached Rewben Mashangva (Manipuri singer) because he's one person who's really respected and has done amazing work in that region, so, he also agreed so that's how we all came in and I composed the Durand Cup anthem."

The 131st edition of the Indian Oil Durand Cup is being telecast on Sports18 and live streamed on the VOOT platform.