# NEROCA FC
**NEROCA FC** (North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association Football Club) is an Indian football club based in Imphal, Manipur, best known for winning the 2016-17 I-League 2nd Division and becoming the first club from Manipur to play in the I-League, then India's top division.[1](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/i-league-2nd-division-neroca-fc-become-first-manipuri-club-to-achieve-promotion-to-the-i-league/ne4n1t3jk5vr1o2fww1uhoxrp) The club was set up in 1965 and for most of its history competed only in state football before entering the national league structure in the mid-2010s.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/neroca-fc-takes-top-flight-4685039/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association Football Club[1](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/i-league-2nd-division-neroca-fc-become-first-manipuri-club-to-achieve-promotion-to-the-i-league/ne4n1t3jk5vr1o2fww1uhoxrp) |
| Founded / home | Set up in 1965; based in Imphal, Manipur, playing at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/neroca-fc-takes-top-flight-4685039/) • [3](https://www.mykhel.com/football/i-league-neroca-fc-edge-gokulam-kerala-go-top-080492.html) |
| Breakthrough | Won the 2016-17 I-League 2nd Division unbeaten, sealing promotion with a 4-1 win over Lonestar Kashmir[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/neroca-fc-takes-top-flight-4685039/) • [4](https://khelnow.com/football/i-league-2017-18-neroca-fc-remarkable-season-celebrated) |
| Best I-League finish | 2nd in 2017-18, the club's debut top-flight season (9 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses, 32 points)[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History) |
| Relegations | Relegated from the I-League in 2020-21 and again in 2023-24[6](https://i-league.org/defeat-against-sudeva-delhi-relegates-neroca-fc-from-the-hero-i-league/) • [7](https://www.the-aiff.com/article/i-league-2023-24-relegation) |
| League record, 2017-18 to 2023-24 | 38 wins, 30 draws, 64 losses across 7 recorded seasons[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History) |
## Origins and the road to the I-League
Manipur produced a steady stream of national-level footballers from the early 1990s, when the state became a scouting ground for institutional clubs such as [Air India](https://www.edgepedia.org/air-india) and BSF, but until the 2010s it had no prominent club of its own; young players had to leave for Kolkata, Goa, or other centers. NEROCA, founded in 1965, had long been content to play in the state league and local championships.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/neroca-fc-takes-top-flight-4685039/)
The push into national football came under coach Gift Raikhan, whose earlier experience with I-League side Pune FC, which shut down in 2015, was credited with helping NEROCA reach the second division and win it in their second campaign. In their debut I-League 2nd Division season in 2015-16 the club finished 3rd and missed promotion.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/neroca-fc-takes-top-flight-4685039/) • [8](https://khelnow.com/football/i-league-2017-18-neroca-fc-season-preview)
**Promotion, 2017.** In May 2017 NEROCA clinched the 2nd Division League title with a 4-1 win over Lonestar Kashmir that gave the club an unassailable lead at the top of the standings, and the season ended with a 4-1 victory over Southern Samity in front of a large home crowd at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal.[9](https://www.hindustantimes.com/football/manipur-s-neroca-fc-revel-in-2nd-division-league-success-aim-big-for-i-league/story-Gy947YxD8jUq6Cjluk1RBP.html) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/neroca-fc-takes-top-flight-4685039/) The title was won with an undefeated record, and NEROCA became the first Manipuri club to reach the I-League.[4](https://khelnow.com/football/i-league-2017-18-neroca-fc-remarkable-season-celebrated) • [1](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/i-league-2nd-division-neroca-fc-become-first-manipuri-club-to-achieve-promotion-to-the-i-league/ne4n1t3jk5vr1o2fww1uhoxrp) The promotion followed within a month of Aizawl FC winning the I-League title, a period Sporting News described as a remarkable year for clubs from India's North-East.[10](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/i-league/news/i-league-2017-neroca-fcs-success-in-the-top-tier-is-no-fluke/7nf6gg87cvlo1rsmr7iln13yz)
## The 2017-18 debut season
NEROCA retained the core of its promotion-winning squad for the 2017-18 I-League.[11](https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/indian-football-i-league-debutants-neroca-fc-retain-core-of-their-team/ps1exh7ovh9y10g0j7pntdr1k) Few expected the debutants to compete for the title, but the club finished second with 9 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses in 18 matches, scoring 20 and conceding 13 for 32 points, behind champions Minerva Punjab.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History) • [4](https://khelnow.com/football/i-league-2017-18-neroca-fc-remarkable-season-celebrated) Felix Chidi Odili was the team's top scorer with 7 goals and Lalit Thapa the first-choice goalkeeper.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History) In February 2018 a 1-0 win over Gokulam Kerala at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium briefly took NEROCA to the top of the table.[3](https://www.mykhel.com/football/i-league-neroca-fc-edge-gokulam-kerala-go-top-080492.html) The club's average home attendance that season was 21,382, the highest figure recorded for any of its league seasons in the FBref data.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History)
## Later I-League years and relegations
The club stayed in the top flight for four seasons after its runner-up debut. It finished 6th in 2018-19 with a positive goal difference (+1) and 9th in 2019-20; the 2019-20 season was curtailed, and a committee recommended no relegation that year, a decision that kept NEROCA, then 9th with 19 points from 17 matches, in the division.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History) • [12](https://www.akkitham.in/uploads/2/8/1/9/28191043/delhi-english-edition-2020-04-19__2___1_.pdf)
**First relegation, 2020-21.** Playing in the COVID-affected season held in [West Bengal](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-bengal), NEROCA lost 0-1 to Sudeva Delhi FC at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium on 16 March 2021, with Gursimrat Singh Gill's first-half added-time header deciding the match. The Gift Raikhan-coached side was confirmed relegated with one match still to play, lying bottom of the league with 8 points from 13 games.[6](https://i-league.org/defeat-against-sudeva-delhi-relegates-neroca-fc-from-the-hero-i-league/)
The club returned to the I-League for 2021-22, finishing 7th with 4 wins, 8 draws, and 6 losses, with Sergio Mendigutxia scoring 10 goals.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History) It then finished 10th in 2022-23.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History)
**Second relegation, 2023-24.** The All India Football Federation imposed relegation in the 13-team I-League 2023-24, and NEROCA, bottom with 14 points, and TRAU FC, with 13 points, were relegated, while Mohammedan Sporting Club won the title with 52 points.[7](https://www.the-aiff.com/article/i-league-2023-24-relegation) NEROCA dropped to I-League 2, the third tier, where it played in the 2024-25 season.[13](https://www.besoccer.com/team/matches/neroca)
## Home ground and notable records
The club's home is the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal, where it has hosted I-League matches and, in 2025, [Durand Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/durand-cup) fixtures against TRAU, Indian Navy, and Real Kashmir.[3](https://www.mykhel.com/football/i-league-neroca-fc-edge-gokulam-kerala-go-top-080492.html) • [13](https://www.besoccer.com/team/matches/neroca)
## References
1. [I-League 2nd Division: NEROCA FC become first Manipuri club to achieve promotion to the I-League, Goal.com](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/i-league-2nd-division-neroca-fc-become-first-manipuri-club-to-achieve-promotion-to-the-i-league/ne4n1t3jk5vr1o2fww1uhoxrp)
2. [Manipur's Neroca FC takes top flight, promoted to I-League, The Indian Express (2 June 2017)](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/neroca-fc-takes-top-flight-4685039/)
3. [I-League: NEROCA FC edge Gokulam Kerala to go top, myKhel](https://www.mykhel.com/football/i-league-neroca-fc-edge-gokulam-kerala-go-top-080492.html)
4. [Chin up NEROCA, you can be proud of your first season in the I-League, Khel Now](https://khelnow.com/football/i-league-2017-18-neroca-fc-remarkable-season-celebrated)
5. [NEROCA FC Stats and History, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/squads/2a38baa5/history/NEROCA-Stats-and-History)
6. [Defeat against Sudeva Delhi relegates NEROCA FC from the Hero I-League, I-League.org (16 March 2021)](https://i-league.org/defeat-against-sudeva-delhi-relegates-neroca-fc-from-the-hero-i-league/)
7. [I-League 2023-24 relegation, All India Football Federation](https://www.the-aiff.com/article/i-league-2023-24-relegation)
8. [I-League 2017-18 Team Profile: NEROCA FC, Khel Now](https://khelnow.com/football/i-league-2017-18-neroca-fc-season-preview)
9. [Manipur's Neroca FC revel in 2nd Division League success, aim big for I-League, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/football/manipur-s-neroca-fc-revel-in-2nd-division-league-success-aim-big-for-i-league/story-Gy947YxD8jUq6Cjluk1RBP.html)
10. [I-League 2017: NEROCA FC's success in the top-tier is no fluke, Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/i-league/news/i-league-2017-neroca-fcs-success-in-the-top-tier-is-no-fluke/7nf6gg87cvlo1rsmr7iln13yz)
11. [Indian football: I-League debutants Neroca FC retain core of their team, Goal.com](https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/indian-football-i-league-debutants-neroca-fc-retain-core-of-their-team/ps1exh7ovh9y10g0j7pntdr1k)
12. [Delhi English edition newspaper, 19 April 2020 (I-League 2019-20 no-relegation recommendation)](https://www.akkitham.in/uploads/2/8/1/9/28191043/delhi-english-edition-2020-04-19__2___1_.pdf)
13. [Neroca fixtures and latest results, BeSoccer](https://www.besoccer.com/team/matches/neroca)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › Teams and sporting organizations › Football clubs of Asia and Oceania › South, Southeast Asia, and Oceania clubs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license