Guwahati: As the referee blew the final whistle in Aizawl on Monday, he marked the end of a chapter in the journey of a much-loved club from the northeast that had set the tone for a revolution of sorts in the region. The 4-1 loss to rivals Aizawl FC meant that after 10 seasons, Shillong Lajong had been relegated from the top league of the country.

The tweets and messages that kept flooding the social media spoke volumes of the football-lovers’ attachment to a club that scripted history on a February afternoon in 2009, when they clinched the second-division I-League to become the first northeastern club to qualify for the I-League.

The significance of that feat could not be overestimated as Lajong owner Larsing Ming Sawyan had explained in an interview with the TOI.

“For 25 years, since our inception in 1983, our aim was to produce local talent. But with the dawn of the 21st century, we found that boys from the region were playing in all major clubs in the country, but there was not a single club representing the northeast. So in 2008, we went for restructuring with the objective of creating a club that could harness the talent of the entire northeast and represent the region in the national league.”

Till then, Lajong — at their academy in Shillong — were regularly producing footballers who were shining in the national jersey and being taken in by the giants of Indian football. One of the earliest such Lajong products was midfielder Rocus Lamare, whose performance in the Indian junior and Olympic teams earned him a call from Mohun Bagan, and then from Salgaocar. The list kept growing every year until the decision by Lajong to not just bask in the glory of titles they regularly won in local leagues and age-level tournaments.

Once that decision was taken, it did not take the northeast club very long to clinch a spot in the top league.

“We went for the licensing criteria, sat back and built the team. We got more players from various parts of the northeast. And then on our first serious attempt, we qualified for the I-League in 2009. Immediately, we realised that we had reached that level because of our focus on scouting and youth development. And if we had to continue at that level, we would have to invest further upon youth development. Northeast may not have many avenues for corporate funding or sponsorship but there is a strong football culture and is a reservoir of talent,” explained Ming.

And that reservoir of talent kept nourishing Indian football once Lajong had proved their resilience and merit. So, in the years that followed, more clubs from the region kept emerging and making their talent felt. Aizawl FC qualified for the I-League in 2015-16, followed by NEROCA FC, who did the same two years later. This fairy tale development, kicked off by Shillong Lajong, culminated with their Mizoram neighbours winning the I-League crown in 2016-17.

Incidentally, that was also the year that got Lajong their best-ever league finish — the fifth spot.

But Lajong — a word that means “our own” in Khashi — never strayed from their goal of nurturing their “own”. So at the start of the current season, the club management decided to play I-league with no foreigners. Relying only on academy players in the most competitive league of the country was undoubtedly a daunting task and their place on the points table is just a part of the story. For it does not reveal the resilience of the young Lajong players against their more decorated opponents or that of coach Alison Kharsyntiew, who never backed out from the job at hand.

As a tweet on Monday read: “Every club from #NorthEastIndia still looks up to them 4 inspiration. Courageous performance 4m the kids this year too. You can’t kill this club. It’s #ourown #lajong”.

The fans will keep rooting for them and the club is sure to keep being a destination for youth development in the region. As another tweet put it: “They came, they fought, they won (hearts!)... Go Lajong!” Northeast and Indian football will hope they are back to the top soon. But ‘how’ is the question as the glamorous, flush-with-funds Indian Super League looks set to rule the roost.

Rise and fall of Shillong Lajong

1983: Shillong Lajong founded with the objective of nurturing local talent.

2005: Lajong start bringing in youngsters from other states of the northeast.

2008: Start restructuring with the aim to vie for a place in the national league.

2008-09: Win the second division league and qualify for I-League.

2010: Goal ’14 programme put in place to develop a new generation of Lajong players from U-15 footballers by 2014.

2010: Win Manchester United Cup. Lajong players get a chance to rub shoulders with United stars like Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand et al on exposure trip to Manchester’s Carrington Training Ground.

2014: Start Goal ’18 with the objective of having a new pool of young talent ready by 2018. Give 20 youngsters four-year professional contracts and as well as regular playing time in I-league.

2016-17: Finish fifth in I-League, their best-ever performance in the top league.

2018-19: Relegated from I-League.

