Second Season of The Amateur League (TAL) is Underway

The Amateur League ,TAL, Football, Bangalore, bengaluru, soccer, india, Indianfootball, Amateur,)The Amateur League (TAL) is an 11-a-side football league that takes place in Bangalore and is open to all amateur and professional footballers. The aim of The Amateur League is to provide footballers with constant 11-a-side (that’s where all the fun is!) action throughout the year. The Amateur League takes place only on weekends

TAL (Season 1) took place during June 2014 – September 2014 at BGS IRS with 12 teams participating in a round robin format. Teams were made of up players from all walks of life. Schoolkids, college students, professional footballers, expatriates and corporate individuals all came together to provide diverse footballing action. The season went down to the wire, with Horizons FC and Sunday FC going head-to-head on the final day to determine the winner. Sunday FC needed a win to lift the trophy but a draw ensued thereby crowning Horizons FC as the champions of the inaugural season.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATAL (Season 2 – Division 1) is currently underway with the opening game-week taking place on 22nd March at Holy Ghost Church grounds, Fraser Town. The new season started with more than half of the teams returning from Season 1 while a couple of teams merged to form new teams as well welcoming some new exciting teams. The season is almost at its mid-way point and the quality of action has only gotten better. Defending champions, Horizons FC sit at the top of the table albeit only goal difference from Saints FC. Gremio FC is also in the picture to lift the title only 3 points behind Horizons FC and Saints FC. New additions to the league included the likes of Flipkart FC, Project 7 and Rare Dare FC. Division 1 takes place on Sundays

With the increase of people wanting to play in the league, The Amateur League has decided to create Division 2, which will begin in the second week of May at the same ground as Division 1. With the division system created, TAL plans to have promotion and relegation within the league to increase competitiveness. The bottom two teams of Division 1 will be relegated and the top two teams of Division 2 will be promoted. With teams signing up quickly, Division 2 has only a few spots open. Division 2 takes place on Saturdays.

The Amateur League was created with the objective of providing all footballers a chance to experience the game at a professional standard.All teams get customized jerseys with players’ name and numbers adding league experience. Reports, photos, video highlights and statistics all of which add to the experience of the league accompany the game-days. The Amateur League website, www.theamateurleague.com is currently under construction but all of the data can be accessed on TAL Facebook page as well (www.facebook.com/TheAmateurLeague).

Kerala to kick start women’s football league

Kerala, football, women, girs, soccer, wayanad, Kerala football federation is planning to kick-start a women’s football league in the state. The first ever league for women will kick off in Wayanad later this month according to reports in Malayalam media.

Kerala football federation is acting at the behest of AIFF, who has instructed all state associations to set up women’s football league. Apparently, the national body is planning for a Women’s league in the lines of Indian Super League.

Wayanad, the hilly district in the north of Kerala will also be hosting the second season of Kerala Premier League. KFA is planning to start the women’s league before the finals of Kerala Premier League. Reports suggest that teams from ten districts have already registered for the Women’s league. Ernakulam, Idukki, Kasaragode and Palakkad are the districts that do not have a team now. While all district associations are enthusiastic about the league, they are facing problems in finding sponsors for the teams.

The championship will kick-off on 22nd April and the finals will be played on 30 April 2015. Teams are divided in two groups – A & B. Group A consists of Wayanad FC, Alleppey Womens FC, Kottayam Dinesh Soccer Club and Kozhikode Quartz FC. Group B will consist of Kovalam FC, Marthoma College FC (Pathanamthitta), Kollam Football Academy and Kannur WFC.

The main attraction would be the Wayanad FC team who apparently has recruited a host of national level players in to their team. P.V Priya who has earlier coached Indian U-19 team also coaches them. Other strong contender for the title would be Kovalam FC from Thrivananthapuram.

Hopefully this league will provide much needed fillip for women’s football in the state.

Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai FC aftermath -Abusive Chants – Ok or Not Ok?

Abuse, Chants, Football, Bengaluru, Bangalore, Mumbai, Bengaluru FC, bottle, thrown, incident, Khalid Jamil, Ashley Westwood, fine, Verdict, Pradyum Reddy, Amoes, Gowtham PuraAIFF has pronounced its verdict on what transpired in Bengaluru during the Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai FC match. A lot has been discussed on the social media and other forums about the conduct of the fans and officials.

Now that the verdict is out, we are publishing a short note from a person who is closely connected to football in Bangalore. He knows the Bangalore football scene very well and this is his take on whether the fans should indulge in abusive chants and if so what is the limit. He wish to remain anonymous, so we are not going to publish his name.

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This write up is after the BFC vs. Mumbai FC game in Kanteerava stadium, which ended in a 1-1 draw. I decided to write this for all the fans who have been supporting their club to the best, but also indulge in abusing and use foul language on opponents and their staff.

My friends and I sat in west block A to watch the game and as the players entered, there were cheers and claps for players of BFC, which was a nice thing. Once the Mumbai FC players entered the field and as the game kicked off, I was kind of feeling very bad to hear abuses being hurled at Khali Jamil and their player right from the start whistle. Families who turned up with their kids for the match were feeling discomfort because of the abusive nature of the chants and I did even see some families who had come for the match moving away from the crowd.

Come on, are we cheering the club and encouraging them or the fans wants to just have fun abusing and using foul language on the opponents and coaches, make them furious and in the end get to see what happened in that game?

India is not a country where football is the richest game unlike cricket. If it were, then no one would even bother about all the nonsense people talk. Most of the clubs in India are run with less funds, no proper facilities, unlike a professional setup like BFC who has made huge investments and provide best facilities for players to perform to their best. Most clubs do not even pay salaries to players on a regular basis and not all football players are from well-to-do families to let go everything. Most players are struggling to live a good life and they have to struggle and sacrifice a lot to play in our top tier league – I-league.

Let us also not to forget that BFC is one of the first corporate entities to have invested in Indian football, and they have all the means to provide the best facilities for players to perform well, which is very much appreciated, but that doesn’t mean fans who go to watch matches abuse and insult other clubs and players who are struggling every year to sign good players and form a decent team to play in the league.

Most of the clubs are operating with a much lesser budget/investment than that of BFC. Mumbai FC was about to be shut down like Mahindra United and had not signed a single player even when they had just one month for the deadline as they couldn’t rope in a sponsor for the club. Finally, after roping in a sponsor, they mostly signed players who were either rejected by other clubs and a few were retained from their previous squad.

They struggle so much and though being an underdog club, when they take on most clubs, they still manage to put in decent to good performances. In all their four matches against BFC before this, they managed a draw and I consider that a commendable feat.

Therefore, how the fans behave in stadiums is what the outcome they get too. Abusing, provoking and using foul language on players and coaches for no reason would definitely leave anyone angered and flustered. The composition of players in I-league is seeing a drastic change now. We have some foreigners who have played world cup for their nations. Abusing and taunting players of such stature does not hold good for our football. We have to learn from better players and start playing good football because football should not end just with clubs. It has to take Indian football to higher standards.

Go out in large numbers to support BFC but never indulge in abusing or insulting opponents. We may never know the struggle of the club and the players are undergoing to keep them going at this level.

Football can become a popular game in any country only when there are more number of people attending matches and if that has to happen, the fans who go the to cheer the teams should cheer good football . When I mean good football, even if the away team plays fair and good football we should have the heart to appreciate that too. Now, if cheering or appreciating the opponent team is difficult, let us not indulge in mindless abuse. Let us all enjoy the beautiful game in a beautiful way.