The Hindu : Sport / Football : NFL kicks off again

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Saturday, Feb 17, 2007
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NFL kicks off again

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: The 11th edition of the National Football League did not fetch the desired start to most of the fancied teams as it got off to a subdued beginning early in January.

In the first four rounds - which were held between January 5 and 22 - all the teams faced reversals at some stage or the other. The tournament was forced into an unscheduled sabbatical for almost a month. The break, though unwarranted, gave the teams time and scope to regroup and realign their strategies.

The tournament starts again on Saturday with the defending champion Mahindra United taking on Mohammedan Sporting.

Mahindra is currently sharing the top spot on seven points with Dempo SC, Kingfisher East Bengal and Air-India.

Mohun Bagan, the newly crowned Federation Cup champion, takes on the current leader Dempo, on Sunday. The same day Sporting Clube de Goa takes on HAL SC, Bangalore, while in Mumbai, Air India meets Churchill Brothers, Goa.

The last match of the round comes up at Ludhiana where JCT Mills will take on East Bengal.

Meanwhile, the second training camp for the Olympic qualifying match against Iraq has been shifted to Kolkata with the players asked to report on Feb. 20, informed the AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco.

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