February 2016 – Football News India

Chennai – Schools Premier League returns with ISL champions Chennaiyin FC as the partners

February 25, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Rated one of the best grassroots initiatives, Schools Premier League which was launched in the city in 2014, is back again. After being a massive hit with schools in the first season, the second edition of the league returns with Indian Super League champions Chennaiyin FC as the partners.

It kicked off today at MCC schools. Radiance Sports are title sponsors this season and the league will be called ‘ Radiance Sports – Schools Premier League ‘, whileArtemis Cars have agreed to be associate sponsors.Vidya Mandir won the first edition of the Schools Premier League, beating Velammal School in a nail biting encounter under lights at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The league will see 16 schools from the city compete in the under-14 age category. The 16 teams will be split into two groups with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals. There are plans to expand the league next year to target more age-group categories and also increase the number of participants.

Chennaiyin FC will provide complete match kits for all the schools in the league. The top performing kids in this league will have a chance to be selected for Chennaiyin FC’s Centre of Excellence program. Newly-appointed Chennaiyin FC assistant coach and technical directorof grassroots Syed Sabir Pasha and the club’s development officers will be closely following the tournament to identify the best talents.

Varun Tripuraneni, Chennaiyin FC Chief Operating Officer and Founder of Schools Premier League commented, “The league was a massive hit in season one and schools were constantly behind us to organise the second edition of the league. We are now happy to return with Chennaiyin FC as the partners.

“We had terrific participation from schools in the first season where we had players, parents, school principals glued to the website for constant updates on matches, statistics, points table and we believe that this season, the league will be even bigger. The introduction of the schools league was something we felt was paramount for the development of football in local schools and this was the motive behind us starting such an initiative.

“The Radiance Sports – Schools Premier League, in partnership with Chennaiyin FC, is an opportunity to provide these hopeful youngsters a platform to showcase and refine their football talents. The response from the schools has been extremely positive from the first season and it was extremely tough shortliting the 16 school teams this season. I would like to thank Radiance Sports, for buying into our vision and supporting us in what will be a first of its kind league in the country.

“Having Chennaiyin FC as the partners will also give the participants extra motivation as our club will closely monitor the matches and select the best performers for our Centre of Excellence.”

Chennaiyin FC assistant coach and technical director of grassroots Syed Sabir Pasha said, “We at Chennaiyin FC are always looking to develop the best talent of the state and partnering with this league gives us an opportunity to see more talented young footballers in action. I encourage all the schools, kids, coaches, teachers and parents to give their very best in this tournament.”

Mr Varun Manian, Managing Director – Radiance Developers Pct Ltd commented, “We are very proud to associate with Schools Premier League as principal sponsor. We were associated with this initiative in the first season as well and we believe that this initiative will go a long way in developing the young talent in the country. We wish all the participating teams the best of luck. “

SportsMechanics – Schools Premier League : Strategic Partnership

Schools Premier league along with SportsMechanics India a leader in Sports Analytics, Consulting, technology services today announced a strategic partnership with the schools premier league to leverage the latest technological advances, fan engagement and analytics to transform the experience of local football fans in the city, teams and players in the grassroots segment.

As part of this Deal, Sports Mechanics will become the Fan Engagement Partner and Technology Sponsor of the Schools Premier league for the next two years.

Varun Tripuraneni, Founder, Schools Premier League said, “ we welcome an industry leader in SportsMechanics to this league and take an important step towards exploring new opportunities in this area “.

‘’ Our partnership with Sports Mechanics will focus on fan engagement across various digital mediums.An important part of developing players is ensuring they are prepared in the best possible way. The players can watch highlights of the goals scored, look at the other important statistics like shots on target, minutes played and also analyse the opposition by knowing their performance in the previous games which will all be available on the website,” added Varun.

C.K.M.Dhananjai, One of the Founding Members and Vice President, SportsMechanics, said, “ We are looking forward to create a unique digital platform and think about how we can discover and execute differential and engaging experiences for fans for a unique tournament like this.

Playing sports in school is something we would have all cherished and enjoyed. SportsMechanics would like to re invent and bring these memories using our Platforms to give schools, players, coaches and fans with an immersive experience across the schools premier league’s digital channel.

This will also mean that the information available can be used by coaches, players and teams to analyse their own performances too.

Santosh Trophy 2016 : Final Round – Groups & Fixtures

February 24, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Santosh Trophy 2016 : Final Round will be held Nagpur. Two teams qualified from the zonal qualifiers are grouped into two groups.

Venue:

Matches will be played at South East Central Ralway ground in Motibagh and Nagpur University ground

Group A: Services, Mizoram, Jammu & Kashmir, Railways, Maharashtra

Group B: Punjab, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Assam Goa

Matches Group A :

Date	Schedule			Results
Feb. 29	Mizroam	vs	Railways	1-1
Feb. 29	J & K	vs	Maharashtra	1-3
Mar. 02	Services	vs	J & K	1-0
Mar. 02	Maharashtra	vs	Railways	3-0
Mar. 04	Mizoram	vs	Maharashtra	0-1
Mar. 04	Railways	vs	Services	0-2
Mar. 06	Maharashtra	vs	Services	0-1
Mar. 06	J & K	vs	Mizroam	1-4
Mar. 08	Railways	vs	J & K	1-2
Mar. 08	Services		Mizroam	1-

Points Table Group A :

Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
Maharashtra	4	3	0	1	7	2	5	9
Services	4	3	0	0	5	2	3	9
Mizoram	4	2	1	1	7	4	3	7
J & K	4	1	0	3	4	9	-5	3
Railways	4	1	0	3	4	9	-5	1

Matches Group B :

Date	Schedule			Results
Mar. 01	Tamil Nadu	vs	Assam	3-0
Mar. 01	West Bengal	vs	Goa	1-3
Mar. 03	Punjab	vs	West Bengal	0-1
Mar. 03	Goa	vs	Assam	1-0
Mar. 05	Tamil Nadu	vs	Goa	0-0
Mar. 05	Assam	vs	Punjab	0-2
Mar. 07	Goa	vs	Punjab	1-0
Mar. 07	West Bengal	vs	Tamil Nadu	0-1
Mar. 09	Assam	vs	West Bengal	1-5
Mar. 09	Punjab	vs	Tamil Nadu	0-5

Points Table Group B :

Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
Tamil Nadu	4	3	1	0	7	0	7	10
Goa	4	3	1	0	5	1	4	10
Bengal	4	2	0	2	7	5	2	6
Punjab	4	1	0	3	2	7	-5	3
Assam	4	0	0	4	1	9	-8	0

Semi final :

Date	Schedule			Results
Mar. 11	Tamil Nadu	vs	Maharashtra	0-1
Mar. 11	Services	vs	Goa	1-0 (ET)

Final :

Date	Schedule			Results
Mar. 13	Maharashtra	vs	Services	2-1

Kerala – Just Play Project Manager Applications invited

February 22, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

The Australian Football Federation with the support of Australian Govt along with the Oceania Football Confederation have with the approval of AIFF decided to implement the award winning grassroots football development program “JUST PLAY” in Kerala on a pilot project basis.

The “JUST PLAY” program will be implemented by a Project Manager which will be a full time position based in Kochi. The Kerala Football Association on behalf of “JUST PLAY” invites applications from candidates who are interested to take up the posting.

The Project Manager will co-ordinate with the KFA as well as the Oceania Football Confederation to implement the program, he/she will also be responsible for expanding the program across the state, consult and work the state government, monitor and evaluate the program and report the same.

The candidate must be a Master’s Degree holder in Program Management/MBA/Economics/ Social Science and have 2 years professional experience in Program Management.

Selected candidate will be trained by Oceania Football Confederation and provided competitive remuneration package based on Skills and experience.

Applications must be mailed to KFA office by post or email on fakerala@rediffmail.com by latest Feb 25th evening.

Job Description & How to apply :

Santosh Trophy 2016 : West Zone Qualifiers – Groups & Fixtures

February 10, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

West Zone qualifiers for Santosh Trophy 2016 are held Goa. Following are the team participating in the West zone qualifiers.

Goa and Maharashtra qualified for the final rounds in Nagpur.

Teams : Goa, Daman & Diu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat

Date	Schedule			Results
Feb. 9	Goa	vs	Gujarat	6-0
Feb. 10	Daman & Diu	vs	Madhya Pradesh	0-3
Feb. 11	Gujarat	vs	Maharashtra	2-6
Feb. 12	Daman & Diu	vs	Goa	1-11
Feb.13	Madhya Pradesh	vs	Maharashtra	0-8
Feb.14	Gujarat	vs	Daman & Diu	8-0
Feb.15	Goa	vs	Madhya Pradesh	1-0
Feb.16	Maharashtra	vs	Daman & Diu	9-0
Feb.17	Madhya Pradesh	vs	Gujarat	1-2
Feb.18	Maharashtra	vs	Goa	4-1

Santosh Trophy 2016 : East Zone Qualifiers – Groups & Fixtures

February 10, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

East Zone qualifiers for Santosh Trophy 2016 will be held Kolkata. Teams in the East zone are divided into two groups.

West Bengal and Railways qualified for the final round in Nagpur.

Group A : West Bengal, Orissa, Sikkim

Group B : Jharkhand, Railways, Chattisgarh, Bihar

Date	Schedule			Results
Feb. 08	West Bengal	vs	Sikkim	2-1
Feb. 9	Railways	vs	Chattisgarh	1-0
Feb. 9	Bihar	vs	Jharkhand	0-3
Feb. 10	Sikkim	vs	Orissa	1-2
Feb.11	Bihar	vs	Railways	0-3
Feb.11	Chattisgarh	vs	Jharkhand	1-2
Feb.12	Orissa	vs	West Bengal	0-3
Feb.13	Chattisgarh	vs	Bihar	1-2
Feb.13	Jharkhand	vs	Railways	0-0

From the Street to Santosh trophy – Inspiring Story of Bibin Ajayan, Jharkhand’s Santosh Trophy player

February 9, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

When Bibin’s mother Vasantha left their home, with her toddlers after persistent harassment from her husband, she would have never imagined what lay in store for her son, Bibin.

Her misery did not end after leaving home either – She was brutally attacked by some people on the street in Kochi in June 2006 and was shifted to a near-by hospital. She left her four kids including Bibin in Janaseva Sisubahavan in Aluva, a care-home for street children.

Bibin learned the basics of football from the Janaseva sports academy under the guidance of former Kerala Santosh trophy player Soly Xavier. He then went on to captain Ernakulam district team and then the Kerala state team. In 2014, Bibin was selected to the SAIL football academy in Bokaro. Since then he has been training with the academy in Jharkhand.

Now, his talent has been recognized and is being rewarded as he got selected to represent Jharkhand in the 2016 Santosh Trophy East Zone qualifiers taking place in Kolkata. Bibin is only 17 and is probably one of the youngest players ever to play in Santosh Trophy. He has a long career ahead and we wish him all the best!

Santosh Trophy 2016 : North-East Zone Qualifiers – Groups & Fixtures

February 7, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

North-East Zone qualifiers for Santosh Trophy 2016 will be held in Lammual Stadium in Aizawl starting from February 17. Teams in the south zone are divided into two groups.

Group A : Mizoram, Manipur & Arunachal Pradesh

Group B : Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura

Date	Schedule			Results
Feb. 17	Mizoram	vs	Arunachal Pradesh	Cancelled
Feb. 18	Assam	vs	Nagaland	2-0
Feb. 18	Meghalaya	vs	Tripura	4-0
Feb. 19	Arunachal Pradesh	vs	Manipur	Cancelled
Feb. 20	Tripura	vs	Assam	0-2
Feb. 20	Nagaland	vs	Meghalaya	0-4
Feb. 21	Manipur	vs	Mizoram	0-1
Feb. 23	Nagaland	vs	Tripura
Feb. 23	Assam	vs	Meghalaya

Kerala announce team for Santosh Trophy 2016

February 4, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Kerala has announced the 20 member squad for the Santosh Trophy South Zone qualifying rounds which is to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium from February 9 to 14. Shibin Lal of State Bank of Travancore will lead the team.

Squad :

Goalkeepers : Hajmal S, Mithun, Shahin Lal

Defenders : Surjith V.V, Lijo S, Sarath B.T, Rahul V Raj, Sreerag, Sherin Sam

Midfielders: Jijo Joseph, Shibin Lal, Muhammed Rafi, Praveen Kumar, Ashkar V.S

Forwards : Jipson, Firoz K, Sumesh, Seesan, V.P Suhair, Shaijumon

Chief Coach: Narayana Menon

coaches: Haary Benny and Firoz Sherif

Physician: Shijin TT

Tamil Nadu announce Squad for Santosh Trophy 2016

February 4, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Tamil Nadu has announced the 20 member squad for the South Zone qualifiers of Santosh Trophy 2016.

Squad :

Goalkeepers: Sunesh; Arun Pradeep; Sachidanandam

Defenders: Joffin; Wayne; Vineesh Moury; Santhosh; Mohanraj; Prem; Kalialaudeen

Midfielders: S. Karthick; Edwin; Shajan; Britto; Soosai; Pradeep; Sirajudeen

Forwards: Reagan; Praveendran; Ameerudeen;

Reserve players: Md. Ajmal (Goalkeeper); Sarathraj (Forward); Jude (Midfielder); Sriram (Midfielder);

Coach: Robin Charles Raja

Asst. coach: Aldroy Atkinson

Goalkeeping coach: Muruhuvendan.

LG partners IFA for LG IFA Shield U-19 Tournament 2015-2016

February 2, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Kolkata, 2^nd February 2016 – IFA announced its partnership with LG Electronics for the LG IFA Shield U-19 Tournament today.

The IFA Shield is the most prestigious football competition organized by the Indian Football Association since 1893. It is the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world after the English and Scottish FA cup’s and the Durand cup. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the viewership of football in India and the IFA Shield, which was made into a U-19 Tournament two years ago, is confident of gaining huge popularity.

To spread the popularity of LG IFA Shield U-19 Football Tournament beyond the borders of Bengal, some of the group matches of the tournament will be played in Kerala and Goa. As part of IFA’s commitment of development of youth football, IFA is committed to make the LG IFA Shield U-19 Tournament 2015-2016 into the most popular U-19 tournament in India.

Mr Baichung Bhutia unveiled the shield, which, even though the tournament has been modified into a U-19 tournament, has not changed since its inception. The country’s biggest U-19 sporting spectacle will see ten teams competing with each other over four weeks beginning 16^th Feb.

With 23 matches being played across Bengal, Goa, and Kerala, this tournament celebrates the vibrant spirit of football showcasing some of the best U-19 talent available in the country today. The historical shield will also be taken on a Trophy Tour across various malls and social clubs in Kolkata in bid to bring the game closer to football fans and create more excitement around the tournament.

The participant includes Kingfisher East Bengal Club, Mohun Bagan AC, Md. Sporting Club, United Sports Club and U-19 team of All India Football Federation.

Besides these 5 teams, discussions are on with a team from Kerala, a team from Goa, Crystal Palace FC and one other overseas team.

LG India has also planned various online and on-ground promotional activities to engage with consumers and football aficionados and create a buzz around the tournament. The promotions will happen at all the major brand stores and MBOs. With buy-and-win offers, if you are lucky you could even win a chance to meet the celebrity.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr Niladri Datta, Head Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics India said, “LG has always believed in the spirit of sports and it is a great honour for LG to be associated with the Indian Football Association. We are happy to encourage young sporting talent by providing a platform for them to showcase their skills and spirit. Kolkata is the city of football lovers, where the game is followed ardently and we are thrilled to be here amidst all the positivity. LG salutes the spirit of the game that resonates strength, competition and dynamism. This association with IFA also serves as a platform for LG to connect with consumers who are football fans and passionate about the game.”

Speaking at the Press Conference, Mr UK Ganguli, Hony. Secretary of IFA (WB) said, “We are delighted to have LG Electronics as our partner for LG IFA Shield U-19 Tournament 2015-2016 and are extremely grateful for their support for Bengal football in general, and LG IFA Shield U-19 Tournament 2015-2016 in particular. The development of youth football is essential for improving the performance of Bengal football as well as Indian football and the LG IFA Shield U-19 Tournament 2015-2016 will provide an opportunity for the most talented U-19 players of the country to showcase their performance. LG, apart from supporting the tournament as the Title Sponsor, has planned various promotional activities to create interest for the tournament and we hope that the football loving people of Bengal will extend their support for the tournament by watching the matches in large numbers and cheering for their favourite teams in person.’’

Mr Baichung Bhutia, who attended the Press Conference as Special Invitee, said, “Kolkata and football are synonymous with each other and it is a great honour to be here for the LG IFA Shield U-19 Tournament 2015-2016. It gives me immense pleasure in promoting a game that is close to my heart and embedded into the socio-cultural fabric of the city.”

Ms Mimi Chakraborty, the popular film actress and youth icon said, “I have grown up watching football in Kolkata and I am very happy to be a part of this legendary tournament. I hope to see Kolkatans come together to celebrate the spirit of the game and have an experience of a lifetime.”

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