Kolkata's IFA Shield and Shimla's Durand Cup -- both have already celebrated their centenaries -- are the two oldest surviving prestigious football tournaments of the Indian sub-continent. But if you are in Mymensingh, the northern district headquarters in Bangladesh with a rich football culture, the locals will tell you they have their own century-old football tournaments and those were as popular as any prestigious events in this part of the world.

It may sound like something never heard before for someone who has little knowledge of Mymensingh, one of the 18 oldest districts of the country. But as far as its rich sporting culture is concerned the Surya Kanta Shield and the Lila Devi Shield -- the two annual football tournaments with the first one for the men and the second one for the boys -- were introduced simultaneously way back in 1914, 21 years after the IFA Shield and 26 years after the Durand Cup were launched.

Unfortunately however, both tournaments, introduced by Surya Kanta Aacherjee, a Zaminder of Muktaghacha dynasty during the British rule, have now turned into things of the past due to negligence by local authorities.

Lila Devi Shield, named after the wife of Surya Kanta and involving all the schools of the district, was more popular than the Surya Kanta Shield, which had an international flavour following the participation of teams from Kolkata, Karachi, Lahore and Dhaka. And as far as records are concerned, Kolkata Mohun Bagan won the seventh edition of the Shield in 1920.

Although the Muktaghacha dynasty initially sponsored both tournaments and made those silver-embedded Shields from England, it changed hands in a transformed scenario. Mymensingh Sports Association and Mymensingh Zilla School took the responsibility to carry on. But the continuity has long since ceased and those glittering Shields have gathered a lot of dust inside those worn-out trophy cabinets. The Lila Devi Shield, famously known as a 4-feet 8-inch (maximum height for someone to be eligible to compete) event so popular among the school-goers, was last played in 2007. It's a shame that the tournament was only seven years away from completing a magnificent century. The local organisers could not even recall when the last edition of the Surya Kanta Shield was held. Conflicting statements suggest that it was last held 'before or after 2000'.

Lila Devi Shield, if continued, could have been regarded as one of the oldest surviving school football tournaments in the world with Scotland's Airdrie Schools Cup, introduced in 1886, being the trail-blazer.

During the visit to Mymensingh Zilla School yesterday, this reporter saw the replica of the Lila Devi Shield literally wasting away in a wooden safe while the school ground, which staged the tournament, wore a deserted look with those steel posts carrying the legacy of Mymensingh's football glory. 

“Lila Devi Shield was held regularly and it was very popular. But now it is not being held due to the head-teacher [Mymensingh Zilla School], who is not interested to hold the tournament,” said former Mymensingh Zilla School's games teacher Abdul Kashem over the phone.   

Asked how popular the tournament was, sports analyst and commentator Golam Rahman Badal said: “We missed a lot of league games but we never missed a single match of Lila Devi Shield which was competitive and, more importantly, turned Mymensingh into a festive city.”

“They can't realise the importance of the Lila Devi Shield, which was a good platform for the mental growth of students. I had requested them to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the tournament but they did not pay heed to my request,” said Badal, also a former student of the school.