The Hindu : Sport / Football : Footballers' Forum launched

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Friday, Aug 18, 2006

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Footballers' Forum launched

NEW DELHI: The Footballers Forum of Delhi (FFD) was launched on Thursday with the aim of protesting the "politicisation" of Delhi football.

Convenor Syed Shaheen said the FFD was associated with no faction and insisted it was just a platform to bring former players together and work towards improving the state of the game in the capital.

"We hold no grudge against politicians, but are against those who prefer to eat the cake without sacrificing anything for the cause," said Mr. Shaheen at a press conference here. He was obviously referring to the nomination of Mr. Subhash Chopra as one of the candidates for the post of the president of the Delhi Soccer Association, the elections for which are scheduled for Sunday.

The charge of "politicisation of the DSA" was rebuffed by the current secretary of the association, N.K. Bhatia. "He (Mr. Chopra) has headed the DSA for two terms in the past and is chairman of the National Sports Club of India. The NSCI is known to conduct sports events," Mr. Bhatia added.

"The development of football has been hampered and it can never prosper under politicians," stressed Mr. Shaheen.

"Mr. Chopra has always helped in sports promotion among the under-privileged. We need a strong man at the helm for the smooth and successful conduct of the association," said Mr. Bhatia.

Subroto Cup from Sept. 14

The 47th edition of the Subroto Cup football tournament will be held at the Ambedkar Stadium here from September 14 to October 13. The tournament will be conducted in junior (under-17) and sub-junior (under-14) age categories.

Schools from all the states and union territories have confirmed participation in the annual event. Schools from Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh would also participate, the Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society said in a release here on Thursday.

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