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Thursday, Jan 17, 2008
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A fillip to youth football

Principal Correspondent

Margao: Youth football got a fillip as the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup’s Indian edition’s final leg was launched at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda here on Wednesday.

The final leg of the under-15 tournament will be held at the Duler Football Stadium and will feature eight teams that were short-listed from a pool of over 50 teams.

The tournament will conclude on January 20 and the winner would compete in the South East Asia regional finals in Kuala Lumpur in May.

Last year, East Bengal won the Indian edition and went all the way to compete in the global final leg at Manchester. Mohun Bagan too qualified for the global finals during the tournament’s inaugural edition.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) President, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, unveiled the trophy for the Indian edition besides lauding Nike’s initiative in promoting football at the grassroots.

Later, the Indian football team coach, Bob Houghton, exhorted the youngsters to play in the right spirit.

“Play well and play fair. Bhaichung Bhutia, the Indian captain, who is here, is a great player because he is a good player and at the same time he is also a good team player. You can learn a lot from him,” Houghton said.

Wonderful opportunity

Bhutia, meanwhile, termed the tournament as a “wonderful opportunity” for young players to prove their worth.

“It is a good platform for these players to do well at the global stage. And it is good to know that Indian teams have entered the global finals in the last two years. At this age, it is only talent that matters, but as you grow older, a lot of other factors come into play, may be that’s why at the senior-level we tend to falter,” Bhutia said.

Later in an exhibition match, Mahindra United defeated East Bengal 4-2 through a tie-breaker after the teams were goalless at full-time.

Kalpesh, J. Mehta, Jason Dias and Rohel scored for Mahindra United, while Bikash Hari and A. Chakrobarty scored for East Bengal.

The teams: Salgaocar SC, Cosmos FA, SBHS FA, East Bengal FC, St. Stephen’s FA, SSA FA Mizoram, Mahindra United and Sporting Clube de Goa.

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