About this time last year, Subhash Singh had to make a choice. His contract with Mohun Bagan had just ended but there was still plenty of interest in the 27-year-old striker, who was a mainstay in Indian football over the past 10 years. His agent told him he had offers from Mumbai FC in the I-League and NEROCA FC - North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association Football club - in the second division.
"I said I wanted to play for NEROCA," recalls Subhash, who has just guided NEROCA to an unbeaten season in the second division. His choice of going to his hometown, Manipur, wasn't one his agent was particularly thrilled about. Mumbai FC had been competing in the country's highest football division since 2008 and regularly finished mid-table. On the other hand, NEROCA - one of the oldest clubs in Manipur (founded in 1965) - had little national level experience. They were competing in only their second season of the second division and till then, no club from Manipur had ever qualified for the I-League.
Subhash's decision would prove to be the right one. While Mumbai FC were relegated at the end of this season, NEROCA were promoted to the I-League. Subhash was one of the key figures for them. He signed off with a goal in a 4-1 victory over Southern Samity in the final game of the season, capping an unbeaten run for NEROCA.
Despite the uncertainty in his future, Subhash says he wouldn't have made any other decision. "When I was growing up in Manipur, NEROCA was the club everyone wanted to play for," he tells ESPN. "When we had to make a career out of football we had to leave the state because there was no national level club in the state then. When I realised I had the chance to play for them and perhaps even bring them to the I-League, it was an easy choice to make."
NEROCA's ascent to the top is a success story but it isn't a fairytale. It was a promotion that was long overdue. Manipur is an undisputed powerhouse of football in the country and a regular pool of talent for players in the I-League and national team.
Arata Izumi, former India international who plays as a midfielder for NEROCA , says it was a statistic that he often wondered about. "There were so many talents from Manipur and I would always wonder why they didn't have a club from the state. They would play all across the country but never at home," Izumi told ESPN.
The director of NEROCA says it's the "knowledge" that had been lacking. "Manipur is the factory of players. But there was no platform. We are rich in talent but poor in resources and knowledge," says Naoba Thangjam Singh. "We didn't even know how to fill up the paperwork or even what the licensing requirements were.
"After Shillong Lajong from Meghalaya got in and then Aizawl FC of Mizoram, it was bothering me that we didn't have a club from Manipur there. That's when we decided to push," he says.
On the other side of the management divide, Gift Raikhan, NEROCA's coach, had similar intentions. After a long career as a player and then as an assistant coach with the Pune FC team, Raikhan wanted more. "I had played for Churchill Brothers, Pune FC and Vasco but in my heart I wanted to go back to Manipur," he tells ESPN.
And so when Pune FC shut down in 2015, Raikhan's mind was made. "I didn't know Pune FC would shut down but when they did, it gave me a chance to return to Manipur football. I had a meeting with NEROCA on 19th December 2015. Having worked with an I-League team for many years I knew what the requirements was and what sort of paperwork was needed. I gave a presentation on how to become an I-League team. And that was when we started dreaming," he recalls.
The dream would be interrupted with a dose of reality. In their first season, it was clear NEROCA had potential but were simply raw. "Quite frankly we had no experience. Our players were very good playing at home but when they went outside the state, they were unable to perform. Maybe they were unused to the weather, but they were inexperienced. We played our home matches in 27 degrees. We were playing in 42 degree heat in Goa. So in the first round at home we won 2-0 against Dempo. When we played there, we lost 3-0. We learned a lot from that season," Raikhan says.
And so Raikhan went about getting players to steel his brittle side. Izumi and Subhash seem like scoops for a second division team, but Raikhan explains it wasn't just footballing terms on which he managed to convince them. "I had to call in a lot of favours. When I was assistant coach at Pune FC, Izumi was the star player but he was also my friend. Subhash wanted to come back simply because he wanted to do something for Manipur. Even when he was playing with Mohun Bagan, he would be sending us messages of support on Facebook."
Izumi agrees as much. "I want to be a coach someday. I saw playing in Manipur as a chance to experience another level of Indian football and learn something that will help me in the future. And I see this as one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I think this is a pivotal moment of Manipur football. This is the first time in 50 years they will play in the top division. If I could help make this happen, if I can be a part of history, that is something isn't it," he says.
Creating history wasn't going to be easy of course. The problems with Manipur football are the same as the ones that affect its society as a whole. A four-month long economic blockade of the state beginning in December last year had an impact on the entire team. "Food supplies were running low and at one point we ran out of eggs for our players. There were times when there was simply no fuel and so we couldn't arrange team buses," recalls the owner Thangjam.
The team managed to find a way however. "There was nothing to do but adapt. If we couldn't arrange fuel for vehicles, our players walked to the ground. If diet was an issue we weren't going to stop playing were we?" Raikhan says.
It wasn't just the players who had to make sacrifices. "Everyone did their best. There was a unity in the club that I never saw anywhere else," recalls Izumi.
He explains through an incident that occurred early in the season ahead of a home game against Delhi United.
"It was raining really heavily and for a time I thought the ground would be unplayable. But I found out that the team director was himself in the rain arranging and covering the pitch with plastic sheets. I've played in Japan, Singapore and India and that was the first time I saw so much attachment from someone who was a director. I was so touched. When a player sees the management having so much [dedication] you feel like you want to win for them," he says.
That attachment has been reciprocated by NEROCA fans as well. The club has amongst the most vociferous crowd support of any football team in India. "It was eye opening for us to see the kind of support we enjoyed across the country," Thangjam says.
"We have a strong student base. A lot of them help us out. They go on social media and do our publicity for us. All we had to do was inform them that Neroca will be playing in their city and they come out and support us. We sometimes do what we can to help the fans by arranging transport but mostly they do it because they care."
The fans have come in the unlikeliest of places. There were thousands in Delhi where they beat Delhi United 3-1. There were even some die-hard supporters in Srinagar on the penultimate match day when NEROCA beat Lonestar Kashmir 4-1 to seal the title. "I wasn't expecting many fans in Srinagar, but a lot of the BSF soldiers from Manipur had come to support us. That was a special moment," Raikhan says.
Having made it to the I-League, the club faces a new set of challenges, according to him. "It's one thing to get into the I-League and another to stay there. I don't want to be relegated after a single season. That is what will motivate us."
Regardless how the team does the rest of the season, Raikhan knows there will be a couple of days where they absolutely will have to win. "The derby between Aizawl FC and NEROCA will be the highlight of the season. We have already beaten them once (at the 2016 Durand Cup) but they are the champions. That will be the North-Eastern derby to watch out for," he says.
Raikhan takes the opportunity to talk a bit of trash about Lajong along the way. "Don't tell me Aizawl FC playing Shillong Lajong is the North-East derby. Manipur and Mizoram are the two big powers of football. Who exactly has Meghalaya produced?" he jokes.
Subhash is looking forward to the derby as well. But inspired by Aizawl, he has his sights set on even bigger achievements now: "We have already created history by qualifying for the I-League. Perhaps we can create even more history and win the title too."