Nothing but football.
Pakistan football team put up a great show in Bangalore to defeat a shambolic Indian side. India did not have an answer for the two goals Pakistan scored and looked totally lost in most parts of the match.
We went about doing this match review a bit differently. Here we took a look how the match was played out on twitter.
Delhi Dynamos FC today announced the signing of Belgian Kristof Van Hout for the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League. An accomplished goalkeeper, Van Hout played for Belgian powerhouse 
last season.
With the signing of Van Hout, the New Delhi based club has made a fine addition to one of the most vital positions in football. At 6ft10 (2.08m), he also has the distinction of being the tallest professional football player in the world, making him an imposing figure at the goalpost. At the age of 27, he is at the peak of his footballing prowess and will have plenty to offer to the club.
Van Hout burst on to the scene in 2008, becoming the hero of Kortrijk after saving three penalties in the shootout against league champions Standard Liege to help his team progress to the Quarterfinals. This earned him a transfer to none other than Standard Liege itself, with whom he won the Belgian Cup in 2010-11. Van Hout was on the bench for Liege’s matches in the Champions League, including two games against Premier League giants Arsenal.
In 2012, Van Hout made the move to another Belgian superclub, Racing Genk, one year after the club sold prodigious talent Thibaut Courtois to Chelsea. That season, Van Hout led Genk to a 3rd place finish in the Pro League, earning them a place in the Europa League. He also won his second Belgian Cup.
Van Hout will arrive in Delhi fully fit and raring to go. He featured in the Europa League for Genk as recently as February 27 of this year, playing the full 90 minutes against Russian club, Anzhi Makhachkala.
Commenting on his inclusion in the Delhi squad, Van Hout said, “I am eagerly looking forward to playing in India, which has a sizeable fan following for the game of football. I am confident that it will be an enjoyable and fruitful experience to play in Indian conditions.”
On Van Hout joining the team, Delhi Dynamos FC Coach Harm van Veldhoven said, “Van Hout is a seasoned player, who has contributed immensely to his teams in the past due to his fine goalkeeping skills. We are sure that he will display the same alacrity and judgement when defending Delhi Dynamos’ goalpost. His height is a big advantage, especially in close games that go down to penalty shootouts.”
Kristof Van Hout has added to the already impressive line up of international talent assembled at the Delhi Dynamos under the guidance of fellow countryman Harm van Veldhoven. The club has signed prolific strikers Mads Junker and Morten Skoubo, as well as experienced Belgian defender Wim Raymaekers following their strategic tie up with Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Hero MotoCorp Ltd has signed a three-year deal to be the Title Sponsor of the Indian Super League – the first-of-its-kind franchise-based football league in the country. With this sponsorship, the much-awaited new football league, promoted by IMG-Reliance and Star India, will be called the ‘Hero Indian Super League’.
According to a PTI report, Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, said:
“Football is not just the world’s most popular game, it has today become a phenomenon sweeping across continents.
“I witnessed this myself while moving from one Brazilian city to another to watch the games at the recent World Cup. Like every other part of the world, India is also in the grip of this magic called football as millions of youngsters across the country are taking to the game with enthusiasm,” he said.
“The Indian Super League, therefore, is a timely initiative, and we are delighted to be partners in this journey for the common goal of promoting football in the country. As the title sponsor of the league, we are happy to being catalysts in bringing in much-needed professionalism and promote the game at the grass roots level to help identify and promote local talent,”
Star India CEO Uday Shankar, was also quoted in the report :
“The Hero name brings with it credibility, commitment and passion to the cause of sports. I am deeply pleased because Hero and Pawan Munjal are true ambassadors of sports with a commitment that goes beyond sponsorship. It is great to see them take centre-forward position to support ISL and the future of Indian football.”
Ten clubs will fight it out in Shillong’s first division football league that will start on July 4th. Shillong Sports Association has released the first twenty fixtures of the league. The participating clubs are Mawlai, Pohkseh, Lawmali Pyllun SC, Nongkrem SC, Smit SC, Laitlyngkot SC, Shillong United FC, Imson FC, Laban and Laitumkhrah.
(All matches at 4:00pm at JN Sports Complex)
July 4: Mawlai SC vs Pohkseh SS&CC
July 5: Lawmali Pyllun SC vs Nongkrem SC
July 7: Smit SC vs Laitlyngkot SC
July 8: Shillong United FC vs Imson FC
July 9: Laban SC vs Laitumkhrah S&CC
July 10: Nongkrem SC vs Mawlai SC
July 11: Pohkseh SS&CC vs Lawmali Pyllun SC
July 12: Laitlyngkot SC vs Shillong United FC
July 14: Laitumkhrah S&CC vs Smit SC
July 15: Imson FC vs Laban SC
July 16: Mawlai SC vs Shillong United FC
July 17: Smit SC vs Lawmali Pyllun SC
July 18: Laban SC vs Nongkrem SC
July 19: Pohkseh SS&CC vs Laitumkhrah S&CC
July 21: Laitlyngkot SC vs Imson FC
July 22: Lawmali Pyllun SC vs Mawlai SC
July 23: Shillong United FC vs Laban SC
July 24: Nongkrem SC vs Smit SC
July 25: Laitumkhrah S&CC vs Laitlyngkot SC
July 26: Imson FC vs Pohkseh SS&CC
According 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,
Unofficial image. representation by us.
According to a report in PTI, AIFF vice-president Subhas Chopra, was quoted saying, “For the U-17 World Cup in 2017, FIFA officials have told us that they have kept around $38 million for organizational purpose only.”
Subash Chopra, treasurer Hardev Jadeja and executive committee member Ankur Dutta attended the FIFA congress in Sao Paolo just two days before the start of the 2014 World Cup.
More here : Fifa earmarks $38 million for Under-17 World Cup in India
Keeping youth football as the primary focus, Sunil Chhetri today announced that he would be representing Eric Benny Sports Management and all Eric Benny’s initiatives across the country.
In a press conference held at the Football House, the AIFF witnessed Sunil Chhetri and Eric Benny making their collaboration public, a partnership that will help Indianfootball at the grass-roots level reach the next stage. Sunil Chhetri, Captain of the National Football Team, shared his thoughts and feelings on why the development of youth football in India is important, and how Eric Benny is one of the few people in this country who shares a similar focus with him. Chhetri discussed that although he has seen and heard of a lot of academies and collaborations, he was really impressed by FC Metz, a French Ligue 1 club with whom Eric has partnered to help improve the quality of football, with education a priority. Chhetri said, “Everyone wants to do well, but no one knows how. This collaboration with Eric Benny Sports Management is a small step towards a greater cause.” He then emphasised on providing education, the right values and discipline to the players, as he believes that only then will a player go on and become a better human being. “Over the years I have seen many players vanishing because they did not have the discipline and the right values.”
Mr Kushal Das, General Secretary of the AIFF, was also a part of the panel, andhe acknowledged and appreciated the work and effort put in by Eric Benny. “More people like Eric is what India needs and I’m glad that there are people such as Chhetri and Eric who are doing such great things.” Mr Das also mentioned that the next big focus for the AIFF is investing in football at the grass-roots level.
Eric Benny, Chief Executive – Eric Benny Sports Management, spoke about his time spent in Europe to search for the right club to partner with, a club that looks at a collaboration beyond money and profit, and actually wants to invest time in India. He said, “It took me a while to find the club, but I did it, and FC Metz was on the same wavelength as me. They do not differentiate between French and Indian players and that is extremely important, as is keeping education as a priority.”
Eric also took time to announce Metrifit as an official partner. He said, “It is important to link technology and sport, and Metrifit will help us to achieve our goals in terms of preventing injuries, looking after lifestyle, and other aspects important to a player.”
Rudoph Monnet, Counsellor of Sports and General Affairs – French Embassy in India, was a part of the panel, and he assured the support of the French Embassy in all ventures in the future. “We at the Embassy believe in Eric’s work and have also seen why his work makes him stand out. This Indo-French relationship in the field of sports will not only enable to leverage more youth in the right direction but also educate and nurture, as we and Eric believe.”
Many 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 
(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.
With AIFF set to introduce the “Marquee player” policy in the next season’s I-League, here is a graphic by us which explains what kind of players will qualify as a Marquee player.
Here is AIFF’s definition of Marquee Player – Marquee Player Defined.
Football Champs, a football tournament for schools and colleges across India and a scouting camp intended to reward talented players with an opportunity to travel to Argentina, train under the CA Boca Junior coaches and play friendlies with the club.14 promising school and college level football players have been selected to fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina and train with the legendary Club Atlético Boca Juniors from Argentina as part of the IFB Boca Football Champs football scouting initiative. The boys will be leaving for Argentina shortly.
Launched in December 2013 by IFB Industries Ltd, the football scouting initiative included a national football tournament for school and college students across the country which culminated with the finals being played in Goa. Sixteen teams from eight cities – Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Shillong, Pune and Goa – battled it out in Goa for the top spot.
IFB roped in the very best technical partners to carry out its sports mission – the Argentinian Club, Club Atlético Boca Juniors who have had players like the legendary Diego Maradona and other players including Gabriel Batistuta, Juan Sebastian Veron, Riquelme, Claudio Canigga, Gago and Carlos Tevez.
30 shortlisted players from the tournament participated in a one week training camp in Goa conducted by coaches from Club Atlético Boca Juniors, Alejandro Javier Blasco and Alberto Jose Estevez along with Head Scout at the IFB Boca Football Champs, Jamshid Nassiri, who has been keeping a keen eye on the players at selections across the country scouting for potential talent.
Said an official from IFB Industries Ltd, “The IFB Boca Football Champs initiative has enabled us to reach out to and bring together talented players from several parts of the country to uncover some of the best and dynamic football talent. Many of the promising players come from economically backward sections of society for whom this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We are happy to facilitate and offer this incredible break to this group of 14 very talented players. We have always believed that India has immense sporting talent. Through our association with one of the world’s best football club Club Atlético Boca Juniors from Argentina and the amazingly talented Jamshid Nassiri we look forward to nurturing football talent in the country.”
Added coach and officials from Club Atlético Boca Juniors, Alejandro Javier Blasco and Alberto Jose Estevez who are down in Goa from Argentina for the final selections, “When we arrived , we had many doubts about the level of the players, but we are very pleased with the results and have seen the efforts the boys have put in. The players can work more on their individual techniques, tactics , strategy and mental strength. In the last week, the players worked hard to improve their level. We are sure that the selected players who will travel to Argentina are prepared to face the next challenge.” They added, “It’s wonderful that IFB is supporting and encouraging football in the country. We appreciate the courtesy and kindness with which we were treated in Goa and look forward to reciprocating the same in Argentina. Thank you Goa and thank you India.
Added Jamshid Nassiri, Head Scout, IFB Boca Football Champs, “The level of football we have seen over the last few months is encouraging. During the course of the selections and trials across cities, we have come across some wonderfully talented football players who could become stars in the future”
The IFB Boca Football Champs initiative kicked off in December 2013 is a grassroots level football tournament organized by IFB Industries in association with Argentinean club, Club Atlético Boca Juniors. The sports initiative drew over 4,000 players from 270 schools and 186 colleges from 8 cities across the country.
| Sl No | Name of the player | City | School |
| 1 | Inonito Zhimomi | Delhi | Genesis Global School |
| 2 | Liam Bain | Kolkata | Frank Anthony Public |
| 3 | Cladeo Nongpluh | Pune | Spicer HS |
| 4 | Domnic Soares | Goa | Fr Agnel School Pilar |
| 5 | Guru Raj | Bangalore | Parikrma Centre for Learning |
| 6 | Jishnu Balakrishnan | Calicut | MSP HSS |
| 7 | Khusen Manger | Shillong | St Anthony’s H.S.S |
| Sl No | Name of the player | City | College |
| 1 | Nikhil Prashar | Chandigarh | SGGS College (Khalsa College) |
| 2 | Yohan Confectioner | Kolkata | St Xavier’s College |
| 3 | Mojaffar Ali | Kolkata | Barasat College |
| 4 | Banpynkhrawnam Nongkhlaw | Shillong | St Anthony’s College |
| 5 | Aibormiky Suchiang | Shillong | Shillong College |
| 6 | Clencio Pinto | Goa | Rosary College |
| 7 | Subithlal M | Calicut | Zamorins Guruvayurappan |
| 8 | Akshay Hurria | Delhi | Venkateshwara College |