Nothing but football.
League India Football Experience (LIFE) is an initiative by Network 18 for college students. Here is a video which charts out the plans from Network 18. It also includes snippets from former India Striker Abhishek Yadav and Former Indian Captain Shangmugham venkatesh.
Media reports suggest that Inter Milan, the Italian club is to conduct a two day coaching camp in Chennai. The event slated to be on March 19th and 20th will have theory and practical classes.
This would be a joint effort of Tamil Nadu Football Association, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu and Inter Milan. The Inter Milan contingent will consist of technical director Marco Monti, fitness coach Stefano Rapetti and youth coach Andrea Ratti.
Read More : Inter Milan team coming to Chennai in search of talent – TOI
Media reports suggest that the first edition of Kerala Premier League will kick-off on March 15th. Twelve teams from the state will take part in the tournament that will be conducted in two stages. Kottayam and Malappuram will host these stages.
AG’s office, KSEB, Kerala Police, Eagles FC and Cochin Port trust will compete in the kottayam stage and Titanium, SBT, Central Excise and Goldent Threads in the Manjeri stage.
The report also mentions that the winners of state inter-district U-21 Football Tournament will be given a direct entry into KPL. Top two slots from another qualifying round of matches starting on March 10th will complete the line-up of KPL.
SEPT, t
he Kerala based academy that trains around 2000 kids all over Kerala through their 17 centers across the state is planning to form a professional club.
With this the SEPT trust will transform into a company that field teams in the professional leagues of the country. SEPT, involved in grassroots football development for over a decade has the necessary background to graduate their efforts to a professional club.
SEPT recently signed a collaboration agreement with the UAE club Al-Ahli. They have already fielded a team in Kozhikode “E” Division league in 2014 and are the winners, there by earning a promotion to the “D” division. A website has gone live and we get to know that ONGC and Faizal & Shabana Foundation are the sponsors of the club.
More news in the coming days….
18th February 2014: Zamorin’s Football Ground was the host for IFB Boca Football Champs in Kozhikode as India’s latest football development project reached down south looking for India’s next Diego Maradona.
Kerala known not only for its serene beauty and culture it is also a dominant force in Indian football thanks to few of the great National level footballers hailing from the same region. Talent was evident as Kozhikode exhibited some amazing show of football skills and prowess over the last two days.
Malabar Special Police Higher Secondary School of Malapuram emerged as Champions of 
the school leg as they beat Farook High School in an evenly contest final match held at the Zamorin’s ground in association with Kozhikode Football Association.
MSP High School’s young goalkeeper Deepu Benny was adjudged as the Most Promising player of the School leg of Kozhikode while his team mates Jishnu Balakrishnan and Abhijit EM was selected to attend the coaching camp to be conducted by coaches from Boca Juniors of Argentina.
In the College leg of the event MES College Mampad got better of a strong NSS College 
Manjeri to claim the title of Kozhikode Champions of the IFB Boca Juniors Football Champs. Mohammed Safwein of MES College Manjeri was adjudged as the Most Promising player of the college leg.
Meanwhile Subhitlal K of Zamorin Guruvayurapan College and Harif P of MES College Mampad has been shortlisted as those talented boys from the college leg who would get a chance to attend coaching sessions by Boca Juniors coaches from Argentina.
MSP Mallapuram and MES College Mampad will now represent the football crazy city of Kozhikode in the national finals to be held later this year in Goa where they will fight against other region champions.
Mr. T Rajkumar, Business Head of IFB Industries Ltd along with Former India International from Kozhikode Mr. Premnath Philips were present to encourage the young winners by giving away the trophies and medals during the presentation ceremony.
IFB Boca Juniors Football Champs will next travel to Shillong to conduct the regional leg before starting off the National finals in Goa.
If reports in Malayalam media is anything to go by, AIFF’s controversial player registration scheme will kick-in from next season.
It is reported that Kerala Football Association has notified state clubs to register their players through an online system. Clubs will have shell out 100 INR for each player they are registering. The new system allows clubs to register as many players as they want. Clubs can also register Sub-Junior players as part of the new system. Currently a club can only register 30 players.
Kerala Football Association will also conduct workshops in each district to create awareness on the new system that will be kicking in from next season. Player registration scheme from AIFF had earlier received flak from state associations and there was resistance from the associations to implement the scheme. The reduction of registration fee from what was touted earlier is to be seen as a move to placate the state associations.
Depending upon a grading system, clubs will have to shell out money to register their players. I-league clubs will have to shell out 10,000 INR for Indian players and 15,000 INR for foreign players.
While this a good initiative from AIFF as the registration system would allow them to create a database of active footballers across the nation, it should also be kept in mind that remuneration for a match in many of the district leagues would be as low as the registration fee that is being currently implemented.
Cash strapped United SC is planning to divest shares and is looking for potential suitors from Kerala, reports Malayalam media.
United SC official Nabab Bhattacharya is quoted in Malayala Manorama saying that maintaining a foreign coach and foreign players for the last six months without any sponsors has hurt the club massively and hence they are planning to divest shares. Nabab also said that even though there are many footballers in Kerala with some playing in I-league, the state do not have a club representation in the national league. This is also a factor in seeking avenues from Kerala.
C.K Vineeth who is currently on loan to Bengaluru FC and K. Asif were the Malayali players in United SC. Dutch coach Eelco Schattorie quit the club earlier due to financial constraints and reports have surfaced today that their star Nigerian striker Ranti Martins will be moving to the Shillong outfit Rangdajied United on loan.
The move to seek investors from Kerala could be a last ditch effort to save the sinking club. We will have to wait and watch if any investors from kerala would come and rescue this reasonably successful and established club from Kolkata. If that happens would the club move to Kerala lock, stock and barrel? We will soon find answers.
14th February 2014: On the day of Love it was football that ruled the roost in Bangalore as 30 Schools and 30 colleges from Bangalore took the pitch at the St John’s Hospital Sports Complex for the title of Bangalore Champions of IFB Boca Juniors Football Champs.
With renewed interest of football thanks to the new I League club representing the city, the garden city did not let us down with regards to show of talent, skill and enthusiasm. The stage was set to select new champions who would win a direct entry to the National finals.
Starting off with the school leg, it was the budding footballers from ASC Boys of Bangalore 
that emerged as champions after they defeated their own fellow juniors from ASC Centre of Bangalore. ASC Boys defeated ASC Centre in an all ASC affair by a solitary goal to gain an entry to the National finals.
Rahul Raj from Sacred Heart School was adjudged as the Most Promising Player from the School leg while custodian Guru Raj of Parikrama Centre for Learning has been shortlisted from the city of Bangalore to attend a training camp in Goa which will be conducted by coaches from Boca Juniors of Argentina.
It was battle of supremacy in the College leg finals as two of the best teams from the city battled out for the coveted title. A robust defensive performance from the players of Al Ameen College meant that they go all the way to clinch the title as they beat St Francis De Sales College in the final thanks to the all important goal.
Al Ameen’s Sohas SN has been shortlisted as one of the talented boys along with Shelton Nickson of St Josepsh Indian Composite College to attend the training camp to be conducted in Goa where they will get their chance of a lifetime to get trained by the coaches from Boca Juniors of Argentina.
Mr.Khusnud Khan of Head of IFB Industries Ltd Bangalore along with Mr. Sukhdev Nag of IFB Industries Ltd was present at the venue to give away the awards to the winning members.
Having wrapped up the 6th venue of the IFB Boca Football Champs our team will now travel down south to unearth the talented footballers from Kerala. Zamorin Football Ground of Calicut will be our next venue.
Two girls from Kerala has been selected for India U-14 Football Camp. Aparana Roy from St. Josephs School in Pulloorampara, kozhikode and M. Athira from C.B Higher Secondary School Vallikkunu, Malappuram are selected for the camp.
Aparna is also a gold medal winner in 80 Meter hurdles at the recently concluded School Atheltics meet in Ranchi. She trains with the SEPT center in Koodarinji.
However we are bit late on catching up the news. The camp has already got over in Thiruvananthapuram according to this news piece.
The Educational Football League 2nd week matches were held on Sunday, 3rd February at Chak Muglani, a small village in the Nakodar tehsil of Jalandhar district in east Punjab. Chak Muglani is one of the satellite training centres where Youth Football Club Rurka Kalan imparts coaching to around 200 boys and girls below 16 years. Total 17 matches were conducted in Under 12, 14 and 16 age groups at the mini stadium. ‘Most valuable player’ of every match were awarded a sports jersey. Similarly, players who did well in life skills educational workshop were honoured.
YFC Rurka Kalan president Gurmangal Dass said: ‘’Having already organized 2 editions of EDU Football League for 2000 underprivileged children, we have now taken this further opportunity to use the power of football to change even more children’s lives. We wish to emulate this league in all over Punjab. I hope more people come forward and support this charitable cause.’’
The first match of the 2nd week of the league in Under 12 category between Chak Muglani FA and Village Tigers FA, Kanha Dhesian which the host team lost by 2-0. In other Under 12 encounters, Everwear FA Jalandhar won by 1-0 against Soccer Stars FA Kanha Dhesian, Bilga FA beat Narinder Singh Purewal FA 2-0, Khalsa FC defeated GNA Enterprises FA 2-1, Total Football Academy won 3-0 against YFC Rurka Kalan whereas World Welfare Wing FA & Master Subhdeviraj FA had a goalless draw.
In Under 14 age group, Attari Academy, the farthest team in EDU Football League from Indo-pak border beat Central Bank of India FA Goraya 3-0. Shankar FA had a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Kartar Singh Saraba FA, Capital Bank FA lost to Baba Dhyan Das FA by a solitary goal, Dashmesh Youth FA Chak Muglani pumped 5 goals past Baba Bhai Sadhu FA and Parmar FC Aluna Tola beat Jagbani FA 3-0. The derby match between Cocacola FA Rurka Kalan and YFC Rurka Kalan ended in a 4-0 victory for YFC Rurka Kalan.
In Under 16 age category, Jonex FA beat YFC Bundala 2-0, Head master Ujjagar Singh FA lose to Rabbi Darbar by 1-0, Alive For Football Academy beat YFKC Kanha Dhesian 2-0 and the match between Avon Cycles FA Ludhiana and Guru Nanak Sports Academy ended in a 1-1 draw.
The aim of the league is to promote football as a tool for sustainable development and save youth from drugs. The 1200 registered players of the league are closely monitored in physical, technical and tactical areas. These players are distributed in 50 teams which will play 7 A-Side football every Sunday. The League started on January 12th and end in February 23rd. These kids are awarded with various freebies to keep their motivation levels high.