On Thursday, Tseminyu district played its last match as it exited the ongoing Dr. T Ao Trophy 24th Inter-District Football Championship 2025 at the IG Stadium in Kohima with a bittersweet win. The match also happened to be the last for 37-year-old Yhunshalo Kemp, one of most inexhaustible forwards Nagaland has seen in the recent times.
Kemp entered the local football scene in the late 2000s and quickly built his reputation with his clinical precision in the box. Over the years, his goal-poaching skills on the field earned him the nickname “Goal Scoring Machine”.
Born in 1988, Kemp hails from Sendenyu village under Tseminyu district. He started playing football at a very young age and plays primarily as a striker.
As a decorated NCC Cadet, he had represented and led Nagaland state in various national level camps.
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As a footballer, Kemp has represented the state in various national tournaments including the Santosh Trophy, Subroto Cup and North East Dr. T Ao Memorial Football Trophy.
In Nagaland, he has won many individual and team accolades with clubs like Vanguard FC Tseminyu, Kohima Komets, Life Sports FC, Sechü Zubza, Nyenshen FC, New Market FC, Senapati FC, and Red Scars among others.
At the district level, has represented Kohima, Dimapur and Tseminyu districts on various occasions throughout his career.
Kemp is a licenced Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ‘C’ coach as well as an NIS certified sports coach (football). He currently coaches the Khelo India Centre for Football at Tseminyu (Vanguard Academy) and Vanguard FC Tseminyu.
As a football coach, he has already made his mark- he won the Best Coach Award in the Kohima Football League 2019 and also led the Khelo India Centre (Vanguard Academy) to lift the title in the recently concluded Under-16 Inter-KIC Football Tournament Cluster A 2025 at Kohima.
On Thursday, Kemp donned the jersey number 9 of team Tseminyu to play his final match representing his home district in the Dr. T. Ao Trophy, officially retiring from district-level championships. In a symbolic move, Tseminyu team skipper Nyithang Magh handed over his armband to Kemp to led the team, marking his last appearance as captain on the field.
Before kick-off, he was felicitated by the Football Association Tseminyu District vice president and joint secretary Nagaland Football Association Chenonlo Woch in recognition of Kemp’s extraordinary service to the game.
On-field, Kemp did not disappoint as he scored a fantastic brace to lead Tseminyu to a 3-1 victory against Meluri.
After the match, Kemp was given an emotional guard of honour by his teammates, the rival team Meluri, and also team Niuland, who gathered together in a display of a heartfelt gesture of respect and sportsmanship to bid him a farewell worthy of a champion.
“That was my last dance on the (football) field and I enjoyed every bit of it….. I did not expect the guard of honour from the teams. It was very emotional for me. I am humbled and deeply moved by the love and respect they showered on me,” an emotional Kemp told Nagaland Tribune post match.
Looking back on his professional football career spanning two decades, he said his only regret is that he did not get to play for his home district Tseminyu during his prime years. Tseminyu fell under Kohima district earlier and became a separate district in December 2021.
On his future plans, Kemp said his focus is on coaching the grassroots levels to mould raw talents. “Recently, one of my U-12 students got a scholarship to train at Minerva Academy in Punjab. My biggest achievement will be to see my students do well in the nationals,” Kemp added.
Some of Kemp’s individual accomplishments in Nagaland football:
Classic Cup: Highest Scorer– 2013 (Kohima Komets); 2014 (New Market XI)
Player of the Tournament: 2017 (New Market XI)
NSF Martyrs’ Memorial Trophy: Highest Scorer– 2021 (Mhakenyi Khro-u FC); 2023 (Red Scars)
Lt. Capt. N Kenguruse MVC Memorial All Nagaland Football Tournament:
Highest Scorer– 2017 & 2018 (Vanguard FC Tseminyu)
Inter-District Football Championship 2022 (Dr. T. Ao. Trophy): Highest Scorer– 2022 (Tseminyu District)
Nagaland Olympic and Paralympic Games 2022 (Football): Highest Scorer– 2022 (Tseminyu District)
22nd Loyem Memorial Sr. Soccer Open Championship 2014: Highest Scorer: 2014 (Kongkai San FC)
Mokokchung District Football Association Trophy: Highest Scorer– 2016 (Dilong YA); 2018 (Intermingle FC)
Lotha Students’ Union Martyrs’ Trophy: Highest Scorer– 2015, 2016 & 2017 (Vungoju FC)
