Nagaland United scored after three minutes of their first IFL game, and beat Real Kashmir 3-1 in Srinagar
Vanlalhriatzuala K scored twice as the debutants from Nagaland won the 2026-27 Indian Football League opener away from home.
Oct 30, 2026
Nagaland United needed three minutes to score their first goal in India’s national league. JH Remlala got it at the TRC Stadium in Srinagar on Friday, 30 October, Vanlalhriatzuala K added a second before the half-hour, and the debutants beat Real Kashmir 3-1 in the opening game of the 2026-27 Indian Football League.
Real Kashmir were at home, on their own artificial pitch, against a club that had never played a minute at this level. They were behind for 87 of the 90 minutes.
Two goals in the first half-hour
Remlala’s opener came before the hosts had settled. The second was Vanlalhriatzuala’s, and Nagaland went in at half-time 2-0 up.
Real Kashmir got back into it on 59 minutes, and Nagaland did it for them. Their captain, the defender Rohmingthanga, turned the ball into his own net to make it 2-1. The day before, he had said the players wanted to make the occasion special for their supporters, “especially the people of Nagaland”. He will not have pictured that part of it.
Vanlalhriatzuala settled it late on, his second of the night.
A seat taken over from Aizawl
Nagaland United did not earn promotion to get here. They took over Aizawl FC’s sporting rights for the league in a goodwill deal the AIFF approved on 9 September, and Rohmingthanga, their captain, used to play for Aizawl. Home games will be at the Chümoukedima Football Stadium, near Dimapur.
The coach is Kaizad Ambapardiwalla, who took Jamshedpur FC to the Durand Cup quarter-finals in August, and he was not shy about the target before kick-off. “Nagaland United have not come to the Indian Football League just to participate; we are here to compete and win,” he said. One away win does not make that a title bid, but a new club could hardly have asked for more from its first night.
For Ishfaq Ahmed’s Real Kashmir it is a poor one. Striker Marcus Joseph, who joined after a season at Dempo, did not score, and the only Real Kashmir goal of the night came off a Nagaland boot.
What comes next
The IFL is a straight home-and-away league this season, with 11 clubs, so one round settles nothing. Real Kashmir are back at the TRC Stadium against Sreenidi Deccan on Saturday, 7 November.