Waht does DNC Really Stand for

Diligent Neighbours Club or Delightful Neighbours Club?

We have been receiving emails from our readers asking what do the initials DNC really stand for. The question has arisen due to the fact that DNC was mentioned in two different ways in the site.

We have referred to DNC as Delightful Neighbours Club in the article “DNC, the Football Phenomenon of the 70s”. In a photo which is an extraction of a copy of Viyafaari Miadhu, the most famous newspaper of the time, it was printed as Diligent Neighbours Club. Why is the difference? Is this a factual error in the site as one has claimed? Why more people know the club as Delightful Neighbours Club even though a contemporary newspaper of DNC says otherwise? Were there two different clubs?

We did a little research on the matter and found out that interestingly the latter was exactly the reason.

In 1969 the late Ibrahim Hassan Mnikufaanu (Aaraamuge) registered a club named Diligent Neighbours Club and in the same year a football team from that club took part in the National Football Tournament. However, this club existed only for a short period. The jealousy and animosity between the two clubs, namely CMC and DNC, led to the demise of DNC. We are not sure about whether or not CMC had the same fate.

So the time came for a brand new DNC.

Diligent Neighbours Club, known to many people as DNC, had become so famous all over the country because of their amazing football that the members came to a conclusion that the new club should also be a DNC since this could easily be done by changing only one word. Hence, “Diligent” became “Delightful”. The new DNC won the championship jointly with Zamaanee Music of Male. They won one more joint-championship with Victory in 1972 and the club existed until 1975 or 1976.

Most people are not aware of the fact that there were two DNCs. They don’t even bother to know. For them DNC was DNC. Whether it was the Diligent Neighbours Club or the Delightful Neighbours Club, it doesn’t matter. Most people remember them as a football team which made the people of Feydhoo / Addu proud.

Source: Hussain Thaufeeq and Abdullah Mufeed.

Related Articles:

DNC Song (Dhivehi)
Trophies of the Victorious DNC of 1972.
DNC's First Match 1969.
The 20th Football Tournament Held in S. Hithadhoo, 1970.

Phototoes:

DNC.

The Soccer Golden Boys of Addu.