The Hindu : Sport / Football : 12 teams to vie for Nations Cup berth

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12 teams to vie for Nations Cup berth

NEW DELHI: Twelve teams from across the country will fight it out at the Ambedkar Stadium here on July 11 and 12 for a place in the Yakult Danone Nations Cup football tournament in Paris.

For the first time, India has been included in the league of 40 countries that will play the tournament meant for children under 10-12 years. The All India Football Federation has selected 12 clubs and academies. The winner of the national leg of the competition will qualify for the main event to be held at Parc des Princes, Paris, from September 4 to 7.

The tournament, in its ninth year, has the backing of French football great Zinedine Zidane.

Addressing newspersons here on Friday, Danone India’s Managing Director Jochen Ebert hoped the tournament would become more widespread in times to come.

The teams have been divided into four groups. At the preliminary stage, they will play each other once and the top-side from each group will qualify for the semifinals, followed by the final.

The matches, of 15 minutes duration, will be played on one half of a regular football field. Each team can field nine players.

The teams: JCT Football Academy (Punjab), Shimla Young Football Club (Delhi), Salgaocar Club (Goa), PSNA Football Academy (Dindigul), Olympian Rahman Memorial Academy (Kozhikode), Chandigarh Football Academy, Sikkim Football Academy, Dhau Football Club (Manipur), Hindustan Football Academy, Mumbai Football Club, Rohit Football Academy (Cuttack) and Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur).

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