February 2014 – Football News India

Indian Boys Impress at the Nike All-Asia Camp in Doha

February 21, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Every year Nike conducts an All Asia Camp where young talents from Asian countries are trained and scouted by coaches from top clubs like Manchester United, Barcelona and Inter-Milan.

Nike, Asia, India, Football, Aspire Academy, Qatar, Doha, Indianfootball,Gursimrat Singh, Rakesh Oram , Milan Basumatary , Bidyananda Singh, Dheeraj Singh

Rakesh Oram, Dheeraj Singh, Milan Basumatary, Bidyananda Singh, Gursimrat Singh

This time around the camp was conducted at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar. India sent five prodigies to attend the camp. Gursimrat Singh (centre back), Rakesh Oram (winger), Milan Basumatary (striker), Bidyananda Singh (midfielder) and Dheeraj Singh (goalkeeper) attended the three day camp conducted by top coaches from Manchester United, Barcelona and Inter-Milan.On the final day of the camp, players who impressed the coaches are selected to play in an All Stars game. Gursimrat Singh and Bidyananda Singh from India were selected to play in this All-Stars match. Bidyananda Singh scored the opening goal in the match.

Bidyananda Singh, an AIFF Navi-Mumbai academy starlet further impressed the coaches and was selected as the MVP of the camp by Barcelona coaches. Bidyananda Singh who plays in a defensive midfielder role, impressed the Barcelona coaches at the camp and is reportedly to be on their radar.

Bidyananda Singh with his blonde hair was dubbed the Indian Honda while at the Aspire Academy because of his uncanny resemblance with Japanese Intentional Keisuke Honda. “They also called me that because they couldn’t pronounce my name,” said the 16-year-old to TNIE. Such opportunities for players from India will help foreign clubs and scouts to keep a tab on the talent that is available in India.

Ivan Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy, said to The Peninsula, “We are very pleased to host young Asian footballers. The importance of the training is not only the fact that coaches from European Leagues get to identify future stars of football, but also their visit gives them a closer look at amazing sporting facilities at the academy, giving them a feel of the love in the Gulf, especially Qatar.”

IFB Boca Juniors Football Champs : MSP High School and MES College Are New Champions From Kozhikode

February 18, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

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.

AIFF’s Player Registration Mechanism will Kick-in from Next Season

February 15, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

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.

Kolkata’s United SC Seeking Investment from Kerala

February 14, 2014 footballnewsindia

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.

IFB Boca Juniors Football Champs : Al Ameen and Army Sports Company Emerges as Zonal Champions from Bangalore

February 14, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

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.

Kerala FA to tie-up with British Council and Premier League

February 12, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

According to reports in Malayalam media, Kerala Football Association is all set to tie up with British Council and Premier League. Premier League and British Council representatives will conduct talks with Kerala FA starting on February 14th.

This alliance will pave way towards social commitments through football says KFA. Premier League London International development manager Kate Hodgkinson, British Council representative Sophie Patterson, Society of India British Council head Dr. Guru Gujral will conduct talks with Kerala Football Association on this regard.

Representatives from British Council and Premier League will also visit Janaseva Sishu Bhavan, Aluva FA, Maradu FA and FA Kochi as part of this engagement. This tie-up will enable Kerala FA to seek assistance from coaches from Britain to train players and coaches in Kerala. British Council’s programmes will be utilized to help financial backward children in the state.

Kerala Based SEPT Signs Landmark Agreement with UAE Club Al Ahli SC

February 10, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Kerala based football academy SEPT signs landmark agreement with UAE Club Al Ahli SC. SEPT is a byword in Kerala football now. Started in 2004, SEPT now trains around 2000 budding footballers across the state. Take any age-group Kerala team, it is assured that SEPT cadres form a major part of them.

As part of the agreement it is understood that Al Ahli SC will open up their world class training facility and trainers for SEPT kids. In turn, Al Ahli is hoping to tap in to the large swathe of Indian diaspora in UAE. According to reports it is said that after the U-17 World Cup that took place in UAE, Al Ahli noticed the vast number of Indian supporters that turned up for the matches and issued notices in Malayalam media in UAE urging fans to turn for Al Ahli’s matches as well.

The partnership between SEPT was signed today between SEPT UAE coordinator Shanavas CKP and Ahmed Khalifah Hammed (CEO, Al Ahli Club) during a press conference at the Al Ahli Club Media Centre.

Al Ahli is a leading club in the middle-east and has been attracting top players from middle-east and Europe off late.

Two Kerala Girls Selected for India U-14 Football Camp

February 7, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

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.

Facebook Group Constructs House for a Budding Footballer

February 7, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Here is a heart-warming story from Kerala. A young budding footballer who represented Kerala in U-13 category was presented a house by a Facebook Group. This magnanimous gesture was realized by a Facebook group called Koorachund Malayaoram.

Arjun who represented Kerala lived in a Scheduled Caste colony in Kurachund with his family of four. Before the intervention of Koorachund Malayaoram, what his family possessed was a half finished house with no roof. After his exploits at the U-13 national tournament where Arjun managed to score two goals against Manipur, this Facebook group swung in to action to build a house for the budding star.

Through their Facebook Page they mobilized funds and realized Arjun’s dream. He has a house now. Arjun has been selected to Ernakulam Sports hostel and is currently pursuing his studies at Panampilly Nagar Government HSS.

News reports suggests that the house will be handed over to Arjun and his family in a public function to be held in Koorachund on February 10th.

2nd week matches of EDU Football League at Chak Muglani, Punjab

February 6, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

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.

1 2 »