Nothing but football.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club to tie up with Indian IT firm St Angelo’s Oce. Reports suggest chairman Phil Gartside will be in Mumbai to ink a deal for a 10-day residential football coaching and personality development camp in England.
Image Courtesy : AIFF
After completing four of their matches in group A in the AFC U-19 qualifiers held in Qatar, India managed only a solitary win against Nepal (1-0), tied the match against Turkmenistan (2-2) and conceded defeats against Uzbekistan (3-0) and Qatar (2-0).
Although tied on points with Turkmenistan, with a superior goal difference, India finished 3rd in their group.
[matches league_id=3 team=19]
[standings league_id=3]
India 1 – 0 Nepal. Due credits to the the folks at Indian Football Home
Imphal, October 01 2013: The AIFF/AMFA Grassroots course is scheduled to be held from 12 to 14 October, 2013 .
All the DSAs/DFAs have been informed to submit lists of their players to take part in the course.
Football aspirants who want to participate in the course are to pay Rs.500/- as fee.
The schedule for holding the course would be notified on 7/10/2013 .
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Image Courtesy : i-league.org
Anthony Pereira who acrimoniously parted ways with Mohun Bagan has joined Churchill Brothers if reports from Goa are anything to go by.
“He trained with us today and should be available for the next match (against Mumbai FC) on Saturday. He is a good addition to the team and will give us options in midfield,” said team boss Churchill Alemao to TOI.
It is understood that it will be a loan move.
Kuwait SC defeated East Bengal 4-2 in the first leg of AFC Cup semfinal that took place in Kuwait.
The match started off slowly and East Bengal had the first shot on goal when Chidi’s tame shot was stopped by the Kuwait SC goal keeper. Then on Kuwait SC dominated the proceedings all through the 1st half of the match. They opened scoring in the 17th minute through Issam Jemaa, he went to add another one in the 33rd minute and Waleed Ali made it 3-0 before the half-time whistle.
When play resumed after the break, thanks to East Bengal custodian Gurpreet’s silly mistake Kuwait SC increased their tally to four through Chadi Hammami’s simple tap in. At that stage it looked like Kuwait SC is heading to a massive victory.
However East Bengal managed to turn around the match partially by scoring two crucial away goals after their Brazilian coach Marcos Falopa brought in two substitutions. One among the substitutes Lalrindika Ralte swung in a very good corner kick which was headed in by Uga Okpara in the 66th minute. In the 87th minute Lalrindika Ralte himself got on the score sheet with a superbly taken goal.
While Kuwait SC home stadium was almost barren with only a handful of supporter cheering them, they will come across a different proposition when they visit Kolkota in the second leg of the semi-final on October 22nd. With good home support and if East Bengal can replicate their second half performance in Kuwait they stand a slender chance to overturn this tie.
Team line-up and stats here.
Watch all the goals from the match here. Due credits to the folks at Indian Football home.
140 academies spread over 14 districts of Kerala will fight it out in an Academy league that has commenced in Kochi. Read more details on the same from the news clipping taken from Indian Express Kochi edition. Due credits to Adwaidh Rajan on reporting this interesting development from Kerala.
Clipping from http://newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/
Itanagar, Sept. 30 : Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki set yet another record today, by ensuring the signing of an MoU between English Premier League club Reading FC and the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) for promoting hidden soccer talent in the state.Reading FC adviser Tomo Nomuk and APFA president and Lok Sabha member Takam Sanjoy signed the MoU in the presence of Chief Minister Tuki, Sports Authority of Arunachal Pradesh Chairman Tapuk Taku and Vice Chairman Likha Tara, several lawmakers and state government officials in Itanagar.
Expressing his happiness, Tuki said despite the procedural and bureaucratic delay, Arunachal has become the first state in India to ink such agreement with an Englsih Premier League club.
He informed that his government would provide grant of Rs 35 lakh to the APFA through the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs (DoSYA) for meeting the expenses of to and fro expenses, training, lodging and the boarding and lodging of two senior coaches the club would be engaging for six months for hunting soccer talent throughout the state.
The club would also assist and advice in the setting up of a football academy in the state.
During the recent U-19 football tournament, the Arunachal team beat all states except Kerala and Mizoram, which reflected the abundance of hidden talent in the state, Tuki said, adding that the MoU is in tune with his government’s policy to promote sports and games, and to convert the negative energies of the Arunachalee youth to positive to make them vibrant and self-reliant while contributing to nation building.
The chief minister also proposed that state’s best soccer team could be taken to London to play with the Reading Club on an exposure trip or vice versa.
Sanjoy joined Tuki in appreciating Nomuk for his initiative that led to the agreement. He said the coaches would conduct week-long camp in cluster basis to hunt talent before training them and assured that the APFA would ensure the dream of the state government to produce national and global level footballers turn a reality.
Pointing out that physical fitness and diet hold the key to become a top footballer, Pollution Control Board chairman Ralom Borang suggested to set up a gym and an artificial turf for the players to practice.
Shillong in the entire North East region has two turfs, he said, and welcomed the exposure trip of state’s soccer team.
“The MoA would be a unique opportunity for the young footballers of the state with the huge impact of the training by both the coaches. Besides coaching the coaches would educate them about healthy living. Football is more about tactical, technical, physical and social,” Nomuk said.
Assuring the best efforts of the club to offer world class training, Nomuk said that the club has decided to set up a football academy in Jharkhand soon and the same expertise could be given to Arunachal as well.
Agriculture Marketing Board chairman Techi Kaso, DoSYA assistant director Tadar Apa and OSD Ramesh Lingi were present on the occasion.
“Arunachal Pradesh can produce world-class footballers if the abundant talent is properly harnessed. There is no reason why budding footballers in the state cannot graduate to the world level”, was the comment of Eamonn Dolan and Lee Heron, both renowned coaches of Reading FC.
The duo had during their maiden tour of the state in October last year had interacted with the students of Sange Lhaden Sports Academy and watched many football matches including of the famous Tadar Tang Memorial State Level Football Tournament at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Naharlagun.
Eamonn, also director of the Club, is one of the top football academy managers in the world, credited with playing for the Republic of Ireland under 21.
Report sourced from : ANI – EPL club Reading-APFA sign MoU to help Arunachal soccer soar
Even though India lost the final game against Kuwait 2-1 and failed to qualify, our boys played some scintillating football in the tournament. Krishna Pandit’s sublime goal against Kuwait is a testimony for the talent India has at hand.
Check out Krishna’s goal that was scored in the 64th minute of the match. Also listen to the rapturous cheer from 2000 strong NRIs that came to support the team in the stadium.
East Bengal has registered a formal complaint to AFC against Kuwait SC over the shabby treatment meted out to the Indian team so far.
First there was the visa issue where 3 players and 4 officials did not receive visas on time. This left captain Mehtab Hossain, defender Arnan Mondal and Gurwinder Singh in lurch and they could only travel to Kuwait late last night.
East Bengal is also unhappy about the accommodation as they accused not enough drinking water was available in the players’ rooms. East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumdar accused that Kuwait SC is playing games to unsettle East Bengal.
Read more : Fuming East Bengal complain to AFC against Kuwait SC
Image Courtesy : Kerala Coach Purushothaman Thekkathara T G’s facebook profile.
Kerala lost to Sports Authority of India team 5-2 in the finals ( Tier 11) Junior National Football Championship for B.C Roy Trophy that was held at Bokaro in Jharkhand.
Kerala was in fine form throughout the championship, scripting huge margin wins against Jammu Kashmir, Rajasthan and then edged out Arunchal Pradesh on a solitary goal in the group stages. In the semifinal Kerala pipped a strong Chandigarh team 3-0.
By the time the kerala team reached the finals, they had scored over 26 goals and conceded none. However, when it came to the final Kerala fell short and lost to the SAI team. The last time Kerala won the Junior National Football Championship was in 1973. This defeat quashed Kerala’s effort to clinch the title again after 30 years. Even though not an excuse, the ground was almost unplayable due to the torrential rain that lashed in Bokaro the day before the finals.
The silver lining however is that by qualifying for the finals of Tier II, Kerala has secured a place in the Tier I of the next edition of tournament. Kerala’s dismal performance during the recent years had them demoted to the Tier II of the tournament.