India thrash Nepal 6-0 to become 3rd time SAFF Champions

India, Nepal, Womens, SAFF, Indianfootball, Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Bala Devi, Manipur, South Asia, Womens Football, SoccerIndian women’s football team put on a splendid performance to thrash Nepal 6-0 in the finals to lift the cup the third time in a succession. Bala Devi scored four goals for India in the finals.

After a relatively slow start to the match, India started their goal glut by the 26th minute through Kamala Devi. From then on the hapless Nepal team wilted under Indian dominance. In the last five minutes of the first half, Bala Devi struck twice as India lead 3-0 at halftime.

Within two minutes into the second half India scored again through Romi Devi. From then on, India scored at will till the final minutes taking the tally to half a dozen goals. Bala Devi doubled her tally to four in the match by scoring in the 51st and 92nd minute of the match.

India was in Group A of the tournament along with Bangladesh, Maldives and Afghanistan. In the group matches India defeated Maldives 8-0, Bangladesh 5-1, Afghanistan 12-0. And in the semi finals they routed Sri Lanka 5-0.

India Squad Finals :

India played 5 matches, scored 36 goals and conceded one. Baladevi who has been in terrific form had earlier told the Pakistan media that her target is to score 16 goals in the tournament. In fact she did achieve her target and 16 goals is the highest tally in a single edition of the championship, since its inception in 2010.

 

Asian Games 2014 : Men’s Football Schedule

After all the uncertainty, Indian Football team will start their 2014 Asian Games 2014 sojourn on September 15th, when they take on a formidable opposition in UAE.  India is grouped along UAE and Jordan in Group G and their matches take place at the Hwaseong Stadium and the Incheon Munhak Stadium. Two teams will qualify to the round 16 from the group.

India, Football, Asian Games, 2014,  UAE, Jordan,  Group G, Indianfootball, Mens, Incheon

Indian Football team may miss out on Asian Games 2014

Asian Games, Football, India, Indianfootball, team, south koreaReports are surfacing that the Indian football team may miss out on participating in the upcoming Incheon Asian games 2014. With Indian Olympic Association submitting a bumper list of 900 people including athletes and officials, to the sports ministry for approval for travelling to the Sept. 19-Oct. 4 Games in the South Korean city of Incheon, sports ministry would be forced to prune the list.  

Lacklustre performance against Pakistan in the recently friendlies have also not helped the team’s chances. SAI director Jiji Thomson was in attendance at the Bangalore stadium when the Indian team comprising  mainly under-23 players took on the Pakistan team.  

Jiji Thomoson was quoted in Times of India saying  :

“I am a football fan and I was present at the match. I can only say that the performance was very disappointing,”

If the team is not cleared by the ministry, All India Football Federation would be forced to pay from their pockets to send the team for Asian games 2014. In an article in The Telegraph a senior official is quoted that the government will not bear the cost of the men’s and women’s football teams in the Asian Games 2014.

“A final decision would only be taken after a week, but there is every chance the government would not bear the cost of the men’s and women’s football teams in the Asian Games. Of course, the AIFF (All India Football Federation) can send the team on their own,” 

However this is not the first time that the football team is being forced out of Asian Games by government. In 1990 and 1994 the government had stopped the football team from going for the Asian Games.

Delhi Dynamos starts grassroots initiative

Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, Indianfootball, Den Networks, sameer manchandaIn line with its philosophy of creating a difference in the sphere of sports, especially Soccer. Delhi Dynamos Football Club today announced the launch of a novel initiative to take football to the grassroots by tying up with schools of National Capital Region of Delhi. This initiative is of utmost importance to Delhi Dynamos, as it will help identify, nurture and train talent. It will also provide the necessary   platform to the talented young children across Delhi/NCR & the North region. Under this programme, Delhi Dynamos will organize training camps and inter-school tournaments and create opportunities for the young generation. The campaign will kick start with the first ever Junior Dynamos Inter-School Championship, a 7-a-side football tournament, to be played in 4 zones of Delhi/NCR across 3 different age categories (U12, U14 & U17).

Delhi Dynamos FC, Founded and developed by DEN Soccer Pvt. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of DEN Networks Ltd.), will compete in the Indian Super League (ISL) for top honors against other clubs from India.

LtoR StepbyStep VS DPSThe first leg of the junior championship will be played from 19th-22nd August at Jaypee Sports Complex, Greater Noida and Ajanta Public School, Gurgaon. It will feature the top schools from East Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Gurgaon. A week later, action will shift to DDA Sports Complex, Vasant Kunj & Ganga International School as the young prodigies from schools of Central, South, North & West Delhi will showcase their football skills. The Zonal Champions of the Junior Dynamos Inter-School Championship would then get the opportunity to play at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium training ground as they face each other in a knockout format to seize the ultimate crown – The Junior Dynamos School Champion.

While these players will attack and defend on the field, the Junior Dynamos Scouts will constantly analyze their performance to select the best 100 players (U14 & U17) to be trained under the Junior Dynamos Coaches for the next 2-months on full scholarship. These young players will then play in the Junior Dynamos Elite League at JLN Stadium training ground during ISL match days.

Based on the performance, Scouts would then select the top 30 players (U14) who would form the Delhi Dynamos Youth Team. The chosen stars will undergo a 6-month long training program under the Junior Dynamos Coaches on full scholarship. These players will represent Delhi Dynamos in Youth Leagues across India. Scouting exercise will also continue for the U17 FIFA World Cup 2017 – India Dream Team.

Junior Dynamos City Championship

With a mission to identify talented players and train them using international methods, the Club will also organise the Junior Dynamos Inter-School City Championship at Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jaipur & Kanpur in North India. These inter-school championships will be played in the months of September, October and November 2014.

Junior Dynamos Train the Trainers Program

The success of a footballer’s career depends on the quality of coaching imparted by his gurus. Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, Indianfootball, Den Networks, sameer manchanda, grassrootsWith an aim to create the next generation of specialized football coaches and equip them with all necessary tools to produce top quality players, the Club has put in motion the Junior Dynamos Train The Trainers initiative. Under this exclusive program, the Junior Dynamos Coaches will conduct a series of 2-day workshops for over 100 P.E. Teachers in Delhi & NCR throughout the year.

Commenting on the Junior Dynamos program, Mr Piyush Goyal, Head new Initiatives-DEN Networks & Director-DEN Soccer, said: “Aligning with schools is the best way to identify and promote talent and football is no exception. We are kick starting this elaborate campaign across NCR and four other cities in the very first edition of ISL .We have seen the passion for Football growing by leaps and bounds. There is raw talent & energy in the youngsters and we are here to channelize this energy. I am confident that with guidance from top notch coaches, and our commitment, these players will surely make a mark at various levels including international tournaments.”

Dutch Coach for Delhi Dynamos?

As we reported earlier,

The Delhi franchise of the upcoming Indian Super League, Delhi Dynamos was unveiled today.  They unveiled the team name, the team philosophy, anthem and the Delhi Dynamos’ alliance with Feyenoord Rotterdam at an event held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the home stadium of the Dynamos. There was no announcements regarding the coach or players.Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, Indianfootball, Den Networks,  sameer manchanda

Harm van Veldhoven, Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, IndianfootballNow the Dutch media is abuzz that Harm van Veldhoven a Dutch-Belgian coach whose last stint was with KV Mechelen, a team in the top tier Belgian league. Earlier Danish media had reported that forwards Morten Skoubo & Mads Junker will be joining the Delhi ISL franchise. Harm van Veldhoven was associated with these players during their stints with Roda and Mechelen

Heartbreak for Kashmir, Federation Cup to be hosted in Goa

Football, Indianfootball, Federation Cup, Kerala, SoccerAccording to a report in Times of India, Federation Cup which was to be hosted in Kashmir in May 2015 will be postponed to December 2015 and  will be shifted to Goa.

A senior official from AIFF was quoted in TOI saying “We have asked Goa if they are willing to host the tournament in December 2014. Unfortunately, there is now a change in plan and the Federation Cup cannot be played in May (2015) since the Indian team has international assignments and many players consider May as off-season,”

AIFF is finding it difficult to squeeze in different tournaments, the internationals and the upcoming Indian Super league in next year’s calendar. The report in TOI says that Federation cup was postponed because many players are busy with Asian Games preparations and the lined up International friendlies. Clubs like Dempo and Sporting Clube De Goa will be in a highly disadvantageous position if Federation Cup takes place in May. They have 5 and 4 players respectively in the Asian Games preparatory squad.

More on the same here,

 

Six Kerala kids in Goa Academy for the 2017 U-17 World Cup Camp

AIFF, FIFA. Goa, U-17, World Cup, India, Football, Indianfootball, Soccer, AcademyMany lists came and went, but there were no names from Kerala any more in the Indian football team in the recent years.  This development is a much need solace for that existential agony Kerala Football was facing for some years now.

Malayalam media reports  that 6 kids from Kerala has been selected for the 2nd batch that will train in AIFF Goa Academy, the preparatory camp for the 2017 U-17 World Cup that will be hosted in India. There are already two Kerala boys training at the academy – Rishi Dutt from Thrissur and Abu Thahir from Idukki.

They are joined by Rahul (Thrissur), Inayat (Kozhikode), Favad (Malappuram) and Ajin Tom Kerala, Premier, League, KPL, Football, Soccer, AGs Office, Excise, Police, Customs, Eagles FC, india, Indianfootball,(Wayanad). These kids were selected from the sub-junior national championships that took place in May 2013. The selected bunch were screened in Goa and an 18 member squad was selected.

Four of these kids are part of SEPT training centers in the state. Rahul from Thrissur trains at the Parappur Center, Favad from the Therattammal center, Inayat from the Mavoor center in Kozhikode and Ajin Tom through the Naduval center of SEPT. This a splendid achievement for SEPT who has been involved in grassroots football development in the state.

The preparatory camp in goa will start this monday.

French Club Paris Saint-Germain [PSG] to Open Academy in India

zlatan ibrahimovic, Laurent Blanc, Paris Saint-Germain, Academy, Football, NCR, Delhi, India, Indianfootball, Europe, France, ParisFrench Club Paris Saint-Germain will open their first academy in the NCR region in July.

Here are the excerpts of PSG coach Laurent Blanc’s teleconference with PTI :

“Well, the goal of the academy is to get the people to know French football and try to develop youth football in India,” .

“But the academy more strongly has a social objective to allow the young players of India and may be, the kid in need to know social success through football and we are pretty sure that academy will bring such a thing forward.”

“India is a great country, great population, very strong youth population. So sports has to be present. Football is the most popular sports in the world. Therefore, I’m not really surprised that India decides to open up to football and that’s why I’m really happy at the launch of PSG academy in India.”

“I think it’s a good thing for French football to open up to India and gain some interest in India and most importantly it’s a very good thing for the youth of the country.”

Foreign clubs are making a bee-line to set up academies in India. PSG being the latest in that list!

More information on the academy here – http://psgfootballacademy.in/

 

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