Durand Cup: Tiger Shroff may turn up for his club Mumbay FC in Shillong

Tiger Shroff, the Baaghi and War star of Bollywood, is set to swap the silver screen for the football pitch — albeit for a few weeks. The 36-year-old action hero, known to be a capable footballer, has been part of the Mumbay FC squad (a club different from Mumbai FC, which competes in the ISL) since its formation in 2024. He has now been registered for the ongoing Durand Cup and could make his debut during the Shillong leg of the tournament next week.

“He’s registered with the squad and we are trying our best to arrange everything. A person like Tiger requires a lot of security in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. People can gather around, and it could become chaotic,” said Zoheb Amrani, the co-owner of the club, in an interview.

Tiger, son of veteran actor Jackie Shroff, has been associated with Mumbay FC since its inception and has regularly featured for the side in the Mumbai District League. However, playing in a tournament like the Durand Cup will present a much tougher challenge.

 ‘’If everything goes well, he will definitely travel for one of the games. He’s training with the team at the moment,’’ Zoheb added.

Zoheb first got a glimpse of Tiger’s abilities during an influencers’ league match in 2023, which also featured the likes of Ranbir Kapoor and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “It was during an influencers’ league involving personalities and former sportspersons in 2023 that I realised Tiger could play; he has a strong technical understanding of the game,” Zoheb recalled.

When he founded the club, Zoheb invited Shroff to join their practice sessions. When Tiger expressed his desire to play football professionally, Zoheb initially thought the actor was joking but eventually agreed to his request. The actor is now a registered footballer under the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) centralised registration system.

Mumbay FC are scheduled to play their Durand Cup group-stage fixtures at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, with their opening game against Langsning SC on 3 August, followed by matches against 2024 semi-finalists Shillong Lajong on 8 August and Nongkseh SS & CC on 11 August.

For Zoheb, the media attention could be particularly valuable for the young players in the squad. He believes Shroff’s association with the club could bring greater visibility to Mumbay FC and potentially give its youngsters an opportunity to be noticed by bigger clubs. The team is currently training at Cooperage Ground and has also set up a small facility at a school ground in Navi Mumbai to help players adapt to playing on natural grass.

Maharashtra once had several professional clubs, including Air India, Mahindra United, Mumbai FC and ONGC, but Zoheb feels the state now offers far fewer avenues for footballers to gain exposure.