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JULY NEWS - 2008 Celebration of Mohun Bagan Day 29.07.2008 : :With great pomp and glory, Mohan Bagan Football Club celebrated its 119th birth anniversary on 29th July 08 at Mohunbagan-CFC ground, Kolkata. The day’s celebration was marked by a couple of friendly football matches featuring the junior players of the team, cine-stars, sports journalists, veteran footballers followed by award-ceremony where Ex Olympian -M.Sattar, was awarded the prestigious “Mohan Bagan Ratna” award as a mark of acknowledgement of his outstanding contribution to the growth and success of Mohan Bagan Club. Large number of Mohan Bagan members and fans turned up at the show with their family members and enjoyed the day in the true “Mohan- Bagani” spirit and fashion by displaying a horde of banners, festoons, models of boats etc. India Captain Bhaichung Bhutia (Now he is playing AFC Challenge Cup) and the members of our Junior Team which won the Sahara Nursery League and Yakult Danone nations' Cup Qualifiers at Delhi recently has been felicitated in this ceremony. Last but not the least the dinner served at the end of the programme was really delicious . The Mohan Bagan authority indeed deserve kudos for the sleek and entertaining evening which will be remembered for long. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was established in the year 1889. It is the first-ever Indian Club to have won the IFA Shield defeating East Yorkshire Regiment by 2-1 on 29th July 1911 to create history and make the whole world sit up and take notice of the Indian struggle for freedom against imperial Britain. The Government of India released a postage stamp in 1989 to commemorate this famous victory and to honour the Club and it's Immortal Eleven for the fight for an oppressed country. This is the only postage stamp in India based on a Club. The Club was also declared as the “National Soccer Club of India”. :::

Indian children visit Tottenham Hotspurs training ground.

28.07.2008 : :Children from the Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) had the privilege to visit the Spurs training ground as well as be trained for a day by ex Tottenham Hotspur manager – Peter Shreeves. Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) organized the second PIFA - London tour to England – a football tour for children 10-18 years. This was their seventeenth camp to Europe. Fifteen children participated in this exciting camp from 4th July to 13 July 2008, mainly made up of children from International schools in India. The children were accommodated in a hotel in London. The tour was specifically designed by PIFA to help children appreciate and understand the history of Arsenal FC as well as Chelsea FC and what makes them so special. The children got a guided tour of the Emirates Stadium & Stamford Bridge. PIFA Foundation for the benefit of sports fully sponsored a young talented football player -Hussain Vahanvaty for the camp. The training was organized by Inspire Academy. Coaches Gary Lewis, (UEFA A) a coach with the Everton Youth Academy & Tony Leatherborrow (UEFA B) from Liverpool conducted the sessions through the week on 4G all weather artificial grass pitches at the Football Academy in Loughton. The children were privileged to a two hour long session by Peter Shreaves (ex Tottenham Hotpsurs Manager). Later in the week, the boys got a guided tour of the Tottenham Hotspurs FC training ground at Luxborough Lane by Chris Ramsey (Assistant Academy Manager/Head of Player Development). The campers got to use the Soccer Park & Ice Rink at the Football Academy. Skills test, fitness test as well as some fun quiz contests were conducted at the camp. The children played friendly’s against the Boca Juniors U-15. Every child underwent fitness and skill tests. The Inpsire skills test was won by PIFA student Ryuju Osamura. Each participant received a Certificate. The group was accompanied by two adults from India ensuring that the children totally focus on football and enjoy themselves

AFC Challange Cup 2008 ::: Latest Fixture

26.07.2008 : :In the Final Round of the AFC Challenge Cup – India 2008 , Apart form India the other participant Countries are DPR Korea ,Turkmenistan ,Myanmar ,Srilanka ,Tajikistan ,Afghanistan & Nepal to be held in Hyderabad from 30th July to 10th Aug in Lal Bahadur Stadium. The details of the matches and their dates are given below .............. HOST BROADCASTER :: ESPN India Fixture 30.07.2008 : India Vs Afganisthan::01.08.2008: India Vs Tajikisthan ::03.08.2008 : India Vs Turkmenisthan GROUP A: Turkmenistan, India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan GROUP B: DPR Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka THE SCHEDULE

India U- 16 :Late Match Drama Leads to Great Finish…

25.07.2008 :Charleston, WV : West Virginia Soccer International 2008 wrapped up the exposure and training tour for the India Under 16 National Team with one final match against the United Soccer Leagues Super Y League Reading Rage from Reading, Pennsylvania. The highly anticipated pitted a three time National Super Y League Finalist against the Asian Federation Cup Finals qualified and undefeated India National Team. The international match would not be the first for the Reading, Pennsylvania team, in the previous match the Rage defeated a Bermuda team that featured players from the Bermuda Under 17 National Team, 2-0. India held an unprecedented 13 wins and one draw coming into the match over their pervious 14 matches that has spanned three continents and seven countries. After FS Sports WV, LLC contacted the Bermuda National team, Bermuda’s Technical Director Derek Broadley used the common connection that he and FS Sports WV, LLC’s Technical Director Rudy Roediger had with the Premier Development League (PDL) of the United Soccer Leagues (USL). Broadley previously was the Technical Director for the Reading Rage’s PDL and Super Y League teams while Roediger had been the West Virginia Chaos PDL Director of Operations/Media Relations. Broadley used the connection to put FS Sports WV, LLC in touch with Reading Rage’s Coach, Kevin Costello.

India would take advantage first in the 14th minute with a Prem Kumar (Namashahar, Punjab, India) goal. Kumar became the benefactor of a Malasawmfela “Fela” (Aizawl, Mizoram, India) challenge to Rage Goalkeeper Tim White. Fela went up for a header against White and won the challenge sending the ball to the waiting Kumar who sent the ball sailing into the back of the old onion bag giving India the lead. The Rage would answer with a goal of their own just seven minute later when Kevin Mathews got a toe on a miss played ball and flicked it over the outstretched arms of 6’4” India keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The teams would continue to battle in the midfield creating a number of chances but would go to the break deadlocked at one a piece.

The second period’s score line would be opened by Tirthankar Sarkar (Kolkata, West Bengal, India) in the 50th minute. Tirthankar would smash home a volley just inside the penalty area. The teams would battle against one another looking for the decisive goal that would change the match. With just three minutes remaining the teams continued to battle. The Rage then India would nearly be gifted goals, the Rage first would see Indian miss clear slip out for a corner nearly missing the goal mouth, then Rage midfielder Kevin Mathews would get a through ball eluding the India defense leaving him with a one on one chance against India keeper Jayanta Paul (Kolkata, West Bengal, India). The shot would get by Paul only to have it cleared off the line by India Defender Tonmoy Gosh (Kolkata, West Bengal, India). India who had been reeling for the previous 5 minutes would then see a Rage’s defender back header to their keeper nearly sail past him for an own goal, but after a fumble the ball would be secured. Just after the announcement of three added minutes, Kevin Mathews would get around the India defense, sliding the ball across the box towards a host of Rage attackers. Rage front man Tyler Regan would finish the chance drawing the visitors level. Despite several more attacking chances neither team would break the draw through stoppage time ending the match level 2-2. West Virginia Soccer International 2008 matches hosted by FS Sports WV, LLC and supported by the City of Charleston, Terradon Communications, Embassy Suites of Charleston, India AIFF, Central West Virginia Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Kanawha County Commission. India U-16:Won 6 matches out of 7 at Virginia - Canada July 6 :India U-16 6 - 1 Metro Football Club Ohio SCORER of India :A.Raegan,Akshay Bimal Mall, Mamandeep Singh,Malswamfela 2,Biru Yadav July 7 :India U-16 11 - 0 NCAA Blast Football Club ,Dayton, Ohio SCORER of India :Bikramjeet singh,Malswamfela 2,Prem Kumar 2,Abhishek Das 2,Manandeep Singh,Milan singh,R.Lalrindika,Deepak Devrani. July 12 :India U-16 5 - 1 West Virginia Rowdies, Dayton, Huntington SCORER of India :A.Raegan,R.Lalrindika,Malswamfela 3 July 13 :India U-16 6 - 0 Columbia United of Columbia, S.C. SCORER of India :Malswamfela 2,Tirthankar Sarkar,A.Raegan,Manandeep Singh,Taranjeet Kumar July 18:India U-16 10 - 0 West Virginia Olympic Team. SCORER of India :Taranjeet Kumar,Malswamfela 4,Prem Kumar 2,R.Lalrindika 2,Bikramjeet singh July 19:India U-16 6 - 0 Fort Wayne Fever SCORER of India :R.Lalrindika,Malswamfela 3,Prem Kumar,Deepak Devrani. July 24:India U-16 2 - 2 Reading (Pa.) Rage Super Y League Team . SCORER of India :Prem Kumar,Tirthankar Sarkar India Team Scored 46 goals ::: Malswamfela scored 16 individual Goals Courtesy :Rudy Roediger:Technical Director:FS Sports WV, LLC

Riyas Komu does it for Indian Football, again…

24.07.2008 :Riyas Komu, eminent photographer and painter who was in the news recently having organized a photo exhibition at Gallery 88,Park Street, Kolkata involving prominent Indian Footballers, has been doing yeoman’s service for Indian Football. This time Riyas who hails from Goa, where Football is a passion just as in West Bengal, has sponsored Manoj Mishra in his zeal to set a Guinness World Record. Manoj, a football juggler who has featured in programmes in Shabash India before and has numerous records in the Limca Book of Records and Alternatie World Records, wants to break the existing Guinness World Records for juggling. However in the absence of a Sponsor, Manoj who hails from a peasant family in Panskura, West Bengal was finding it extremely difficult to prepare for his feat. He approached Riyas through our Website www.kolkatafootball.com and Riyas was kind enough to sponsor Manoj and wished him luck in his endeaour. Manoj has been running from pillar to post in search of Sponsors but to no avail and so he is very grateful to Riyas who till yesterday did not know him. Our Website thanks Riyas for the timely and much-needed support extended to Manoj and hopes that the juggler too will achieve his Goal soon. CLICK HERE TO -- READ DETAILS ABOUT MANOJ MISHRA

“My aim is to touch the football sky”- Mithun Chakraborty

23.07.2008 :Subhransu Roy and Swarnava Nandy: Dada was on song. He was loud confident and determined. Because it was his first love and he was sure the people of Bengal Will stand by him What you are guessing ? This dada is not our currently well known cricketer dada Sourouv Ganguly but he is the dada of all time. Yes, the Megastar one and only Mithun Chakraborty ,the ace film actor and great social worker. The occasion was the announcement of a strategic alliance between his royal Bengal Tigers with Bengal’s prominent sports club Howrah Union Club at a press conference held in the city. In the press meet Howrah Union Club President Russi Modi, ICL business Head Himanshu Modi, Howrah Union Club secretary Indranath Dey were present. But it was all Mithunda’s show as everybody from media through there questions to Bengal’s film icon on his new venture.And Mithun was very prompt to address all questions thrown towards him. Why he has chosen football replying to this query Mithun said “ Why not? Football is always my first love and I do personally believe that a lot of potentiality is there. If proper training and infrastructure provided to them the boys from Bengal can bloom. And we are planning to nourish local talent so that they can pride their motherland.” Mithun was not ready to accept his Bengal Football Academy(BFA) was a total failure nor it was his second innings but he was sure of his 100% honest effort. As far as his Aim is concern he said” to touch the football sky is my aim and I would like achieve that goal by playing football “ . It's a 5 years deal and the new club will be called as Royal Bengal Howrah Union under regulation of company named Royal Bengal Sports Pvt.Ltd. Mr. Indranath Dey Secretary, Howrah Union Club, thanked Both Mithun and ICL group for their concern in football and strategic alliance. The other eminent sports personalities present in the press conference was Former Olympian Goubox Sign, cricketer Deep Dasgupta, Abhisek Jhunjhunwala and others. India - Malaysia friendly ended 1 - 1. 22.07.2008: Malaysia hold India 1-1 draw in a friendly football match at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium ,Hyderabad today. Indra Putra scored in the 80th minute through a penalty to make 1-1 after India Captain Bhaichung Bhutia had given India the lead in the 57th minute. First half of the match was goalless. The match was played as part of India's preparation for the forthcoming AFC Challenge Cup to be held from July 30 to August 10. India Team Goalkeepers:: Subhashish Roy Chowdhary , Subrata Paul Defenders: Denzil Franco , I Surkumar Singh ,Gouramangi Singh, Deepak Mondal , Anwar , Syed Rahim Nabi & Sameer Naik. Midfielders: Baldeep Singh (Jr) ,Climax Lawrence ,N P Pradeep , Clifford Miranda , Bungo Singh , Ajayan Krishanan Nair , Mehrajuddin Wadoo & Renedy Singh. Forwards: Baichung Bhutia , Sunil Chhetri , Abhishek Yadav , Sushil Singh & Tarif Ahmed Malaysian Team Goalkeepers:Helmi Eliza Elias, Badrulzaman Abdul Halim Defenders:S. Subramaniam, Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak, Fauzie Nan, Daudsu Jamaluddin, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Irwan Fadzli Idrus, Shafizan Hashim Midfielders:Shukor Adan, Hardi Jaafar, Amirulhadi Zainal, Azi Shahril Azmi Forwards:Hairuddin Omar, Nizaruddin Yusof, Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Khyril Muhymeen Zambri, Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak East Bengal lost to Okoro - Theo duo of Mohammedan S.C 20.07.2008:King fisher East Bengal lost 1 - 3 against Mohammedan Sporting in an exiting encounter of the Sahara CFL premier league 1st leg match at Salt Lake Stadium today.Probably last three goals defeat of East Bengal to Mohammedan in Calcutta Football League was in the year 1940. Mohammedan Sporting started a good pace and put their first goal through Nigerian Theo in the 1 minute of the match. Theo scored the goal off a flag kick taken by Farooq Hyder. East Bengal got a chance to equalise the score when Striker Ashim Biswas's strong header hit the crosspiece by beating Mohammedan custidian Imran Khan in the 32nd minute of the match .Mohammedan S.C was leading 1 - 0 in the first half. In the 75th miinute of 2nd half East Bengal finally managed to equalise off a long floater and Khelemba Singh put the ball into the net after getting the push from Malswamkima in goal mouth milie( 1 - 1 ) Mohammedan Sporting lead again in the 85th minute as Theo dribbled more than 4 defenders of East Bengal defenders andfinally placed the ball into net ( 2 - 1 ). In the injury time 91' when East Bengal Defender Anupam Sarkar brought down Sporting substitute Bimal Pariar inside the box and Mike Okoro done no mistake ( 3 - 1 ). Last 10 Years CFL Head 2 Head Between Two Teams K.F East Bengal::: 1-Abhra Mondal; 20-Poibang Pohshna, 5-Khelemba Singh, 12-Anupam Sarkar, 29-Saumik Dey; 22-Sanju Pradhan ( 6-Dipankar Roy, 28- Malswamkima), 7-Jayanta Sen , 3-Nirmal Chetri (25-Parveen Kumar), 9-Alvito D'Cunha, 14-Mehtab Hussain, 10-Ashim Biswas. Mohammedan S.C: 21-Imran Khan; 23-Rajib Ghosh, 3-Subhas Mondal, 6-Sheikh Azim, 30-Bijoy Das, 5-Mir Farooq Hyder ( 25-Vanlal Rova), 8-Satyajit Bose (18-Vimal Pariyar), 7-Roque Barreto, 12-Prasanta Chakraborty (34-Lalchhuan Awma), 10-Mike Okoro, 11-Theo. IDEAS KPL CLICK - 2008 :: Contest for CFL Premier Photographers 20.07.2008:Ideas Unlimited Sports and Event Management Group is going to take a first of its kind initiative in Kolkata's football history, in the coming days. This is a special interest package for the photo journalists of various Hindi, Bengali and English news papers of Bengal, which currently covering the IFA SAHARA CFL Premier League 2008. They are going to organize a unique photo contest concept - "IDEAS KPL CLICK 2008" . Mr. Sanjay Sribastava, CEO of Ideas Unlimited, which is currently working as marketing partner of Kingfisher East Bengal told our reporter about his coming programme. He told that, every Still photographer of Bengali, English, and Hindi Daily Newspapers can send 3 selected Pictures of Sahara CFL Premier League Matches to IDEAS UNLIMITED Office at 12/3H, Northern Avenue, Kolkata - 700037 by courier or hand to hand. The Photographers can choose their photos up to last match of CFL Premier League 2008 i.e 31st August as per IFA Fixture. He added, there will be Winner and Runners prizes for the contestants of each News Paper Media Photograohers. It means Winner and Runners will be declared for English, Bengali and Hindi News paper Photographers each. Valuable prizes will be the given to the Winner and Runners along with other 20 nos of consolation prizes. There will be no Entry Fees for the contestants. Some famous Footballers and renowned photographers will be juries to select the winners and Runners - up. The results of the contest will be announced with a colourful function in the 2nd week of September in a reputed Hotel in central Kolkata, Sanjay added. The Ex -Tollygunge Agragami and Aryan Club Goalkeeper of his young age and now CEO of Ideas Unlimited Group Mr. Sribastava also added that, they will try to open a photo Diary 2008 to use all photos of the participants if they will give permission to use their's photos. He will announce the total concept,Terms and conditions, rules and regulations about "IDEAS KPL CLICK - 2008" in a press conference at Calcutta Sports Journalist Club next week . 1st Derby of the season enhances soccer fever Image:@Kumar Bose 19.07.2008 ::: Suman Saha:The CFL of this season started off on the last week and after a ten days the day of the 1st derby appears. Its Mohammedan sporting club vs. Kingfisher East Bengal club will face each other on 20th July from 5.00 PM at Salt Lake Stadium. The age old rivalry between the black and whites with Red and Gold will spark off with a new passion. Unlike recent years Mohammedan Sporting will start off as the favorites because of their winning streak and also for the presence of their two foreigners, Theo and Mike Okoro. Mohammedan have already got 6 points from two games and with Mike Okoro already looking in a sublime form. On the other hand East Bengal is already diseased from the last season with the absence of strikers. And with the absence of Edmilson, it showed in their last match against George which they drew 1-1. only Ashim in upfront is not always enough. The overlapping of Sanju Pradhan is an asset but to whom will he pass to score. The defence is working better than the upfront. But with Okoro and Theo in a majestic touch it may not be as easy as it is heard. But East Bengal will pounce up on every opportunity to get three points as it is important to keep up the tempo from the very beginning. Mohammedan will also try to grab the initiatives. It is all set for a good football and it is important for both the teams to grab 3 points from the seasons 1st derby. Premier India Football Academy launches “YOUNG STAR” soccer program 17.07.2008:Young Star is PIFA’s soccer program to help identify and develop talented under privileged children in India. Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) Program Director - Nirvan Shah (UEFA B) was encouraged by the PIFA soccer training program and wanted to reach out to the talented underprivileged children who could not afford to get proper training. He believes that the fire and commitment to succeed is very strong in these children and given the right training in football as well as counselling they will be the future of Indian football. PIFA Foundation for the benefit of sports, an NGO, has launched a soccer program called “Young Star” to develop and train young talented under privileged football players. The players will be recommended by various NGO’s and selected through the annual PIFA Skills contest program. Vedanta Group has been the first donor to the foundation. The donation will help sponsor 11 children for the year 2008-2009. The boys & girls are aged 10-12 years. They will be trained & counselled by PIFA coach Father Lawrence twice a week at Our Lady of Nazerath Gymkhana in Bhayander. Indians from USA have also contributed to help 7 more children, the donors are Mr Tulip Shah, Mrs Chong Ae Shah, Zaffer Merchant, Val Sequeira & Dr Francis Saldhana who has also helped sponsor the India U-16 tour to USA. The children received full football gear, food and travel allowance during their training period. They will be prepared for their school team, PIFA team and for state trials. The Vedanta group has also contributed towards the maintenance of the training ground in Bhayander. PIFA foundation for the benefit of sports is looking to raise funds to help develop soccer in India in the form of players, coaches & facilities from individuals & companies. They will be running a similar program in South Mumbai as well. A contribution of Rs 20,000 towards the YOUNG STAR Program, will help a talented child between 10-14 years of age by providing Year long training at the academy 2 kits with uniforms (sponsor name) a pair of football shoes travel allowance / food allowance on training days LIST OF CHILDREN in the current program. 1. Subrato N. Debnath (1996) 2. Pranav Bhoir (1997) 3. Raneal C Rodricks (1996) 4. Nigel Faria (1997) 5. Glenn Fernandes (1997) 6. Andrew D’souza (1997) 7. Miss Jovita D’souza (1997) 8. Miss Ruleta Pinto (1997) 9. Miss Louiz Mendis (1997) 10. Darel Fonseca (1996) 11. Alroy D’Souza (1997) 12. Granvil D’Silva (1997) 13. Albert Fernandes (1997) 14. Rakshit Shetty (1996) 15. Rohan Robert (1997) 16. Robin Robert (1996) 17. Agnel Fernandes (1995) 18. Ralph Faria (1997) Tollygunge Agragami ties up with JAIN Group of Companies 15.07.2008:Abhishek Bhattacharyya, Kolkata :Today in Sports Journalist Club renowned club Tollygunge Agragami tied up with JAIN Group of Companies.Indian football legends like PK Bannerjee, Sukumar Samajpati,Krishnendu Roy,Hemanta Dora and last but not the least Head of Jain Group of companies-Mr.Manoj Kumar Jain was also present in this great occasion. The team was founded in 1943 as Russa Agragami Samity, then later renamed to Tollygunge Agragami in 1955. Club President and ex-player Montu Ghosh also announced the team.Ranjan Chowdhary is their new coach for the upcoming season. Sanku Ghosh is their Captain.Among the big stars they have signed Chandan Das,the former Kingfisher East Bengal player. Their jersey was also unveiled in this occasion.Tollygunge Agragami played 6 times in National Football League(1999-2000,2000-2001,2001-2002, 2002-2003,2003-2004,2004-2005). Now they are playing in IFA Sahara CFL Super Division League and their first match will take place at Kalyani Stadium against Trades Cup Champion West Bengal Police on 17th July. When Mr.Manoj Kumar Jain was asked why he is sponsoring this club.He said that football needs the support of corporate houses as it is coming up.He seemed to be very optimistic and said that he is only looking forward to dish out money in football and not cricket as there are many people to manage cricket and cricketers but there are none in football. Mr.PK Bannerjee proudly recollected the glorious history of the club.How the club has been a giant slayer in Kolkata Premier League and National football league in the past and has beaten big teams like East Bengal,Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan S.C.He also said that clubs like Tolly Agragami are mother figure clubs.They create talented players which the bigs club like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan take up to win leagues and be at the top. President Montu Ghosh also seemed to very proud of the club as he said that they have performed pretty well in the past without dishing big money compared to the big clubs. He also said that they have always lacked finance and that’s why they have never been able to put their very best but now he seemed confident as Jain Group of Companies are all set to sponsor and we hope that this relationship last long so that Tolly Agragami can get back their glorious days again. Tracer "Bullets" into Indian soccer 15.07.2008:Abhishek Bhattacharyya, Kolkata :HIKE SHOE PVT.LTD has been maintaining smart reputation in the Footwear Industry across India.It has established an exclusive “TRACER” in sports Shoes and Sandals,which has becom a brand to reckon within eight years. Today in Golden Park Hotel,Kolkata ,HIKE Shoes launched its Leather range of shoes (Casual/Formal)and also unveiled it Brand Ambassador “ALVITO D’ COUNHA, the experienced medio of King Fisher East Bengal Club of Kolkata. Mr. Rajesh Bhatia,CEO of HIKE Shoe, Mr. Gagan Sachdev – Director Bodyline Group, Mr. Kalyan Mazumdar – General Secretary of Kingfisher East Bengal and Mr.Sanjay Sribastav,Director of Ideas Unlimited Sports Management Group were also present in this auspicious occasion. Ideas Unlimited, who is the marketing partner of Kingfisher East Bengal has played a very important part on this bringing TRACER shoes in the field of Indian Soccer Arena. According to Mr. Sanjay Sribastava,D'Counha will act as an Brand Ambassador of TRACER for next 1 Year. According to Mr.Rajesh Bhatia CEO,Tracer Shoes that, they are looking for establishing 200 or more outlets all over India within 2009.At this moment they have 20 outlets in kolkata and also have their outlets in Pune,Mumbai,Jalandhar,Jaipur,Ghopal,Delhi. Bhatia added that they have chosen Footballer like Alvito to promote their product as the game of Football is again getting popular among the Indian Mass. D’Counha – said , he is honoured after being announced as the brand ambassador of TRACER Shoes. India U- 16 trounced Marshall Elite Camp 5 - 1 12.07.2008:India U - 16 boys beat Marshall University Elite Camp All-Stars by 5 - 1 at Sam Hood Field on Saturday evening. First Goal came for India U-16 through a header by Tamil Boy A Raegan in the 12th minutes of the match after the ball got past MU Elite Camp All-Stars goalie Dane Wilson (1 - 0). IFA -CSF Football Academy of West Bengal star student Lalrin Dika then scored on a penalty kick to lead the team to ( 2 - 0 ) in the 19th minute. MU Elite Camp All-Stars got its lone goal in 21st minutes by Joseph O'Connell off a long throw-in by his team mate. The first half result was 2-1 in favour of India . In thee second half with three unanswered goals scored by Indian Boys . Prem Kumar scored off an assist from Malasawmfela in the 47th minute (3 - 1). Malasawmfela also scored two goals in the 80th (4 - 1 )and 81st minutes (5 - 1) for India. Sourav Ganguly to sign as Footballer of Chirag United 12.07.2008 : :Sourav Ganguly,Former Indian Cricket Captain and a football fan decided to sign as a Footballer of Kolkata Premier Football League Promising Team Chirag United S.C. Chirag United will also play in I-League 1st Division in this year after qualifying from 2nd Divn I-League. "We are very proud about this.The signature of Saurav is a major step of our Club towards the promotion of Bengal football" - Says Chirag United's Chief Recruter and one of the Directors of United F.C Football Club Pvt. Ltd Mr. Nabab Bhattacharyya. Sourav Ganguly who is also a Brand Ambassador of Chirag Compurters Pvt. Ltd will sign in IFA players registration book after returning from currently India Cricket Team's Sri LankaTour.Probably he will play some I-League matches in September by wearing Chirag United's Jersey. Mohammedan S.C will start CFL premier campaign tomorrow 12.07.2008 : :There was a strong historical connection between Mohamme dan Sporting Club and Kolkata Football League as MSC was the first Indian Club to win it in 1934 and defended the title from 1934-1938!!! But those glorious days of unbeatable MSC are gone into oblivion. Now MSC is a struggling side. They won Calcutta League last time in 1981. But after years of disappointment, the scenario looks brighter for Shabbir Ali' team, who confirmed their I-League berth this time. The current team is certainly a promising one. Once again Mike Okoro will hold the backbone of Mohammedan Sporting. If MSC has any hope of winning the Sahara Calcutta Premier League 2008 , then the dashing duo of MSC Mike Okoro and Theodre must click. In their days ,they can wreck any one's defense. The "Chupa Rustam" Jhoty Kumar also has a vital role to play to add flavor to the team. If Shabbir Ali's boys hold the defense and midfield intact , we can believe MSC will startle other big teams definitely. The greatest disease of MSC is "Inconsistency". They are consistently inconsistent in recent past which is the biggest concern for millions of MSC fans. MSC is always unpredictable. Their brilliance is one match often fades into frivolity with a lackluster performance in the very next. Shabbir Ali must tackle this problem. We also get ever reliable Nasim Akhter ( Captain) under the goal post which gives huge confidence to the team. Will Mike Okoro and Theodre deliver? Will they wipe out the drought of 27 long years ? Will they make smile millions of MSC fans? We hope that they can do it . They can quench the millions of MSC fans' thirst, which is long overdue. Written by : Zia Ur Rahaman (Nitu) : Owner Mohammedan Sporting Orkut Fans Club Mohun Bagan Kids win Danone Nations Cup India Qualifiers 12.07.2008 : :Mohun Bagan U - 12 Boys won India Qualifiers of 8th Yakult Danone Nations Cup to be held in France this year. In the Semi final They beat Hindusthan F.A of Delhi by 4 - 0 and reached in the Final where another Semifinalist Team Sikkim F.A beat Simla Youngs by 2 - 0 In the final match schedule time score was 1 - 1 between Mohun Bagan and Sikkim F.A. But in the Tie Breaker Mohun Bagan Keeper's saved 3 shots of the opponents and ultimetly won 3 - 2. First Semi : Mohun Bagan 4 - 0 Hindusthan F.A Delhi 2nd Semi : Sikkim F.A 2 - 0 Simla Youngs F.A FINAL: Mohun Bagan 1 - 1, 3 - 2 (PEN) Sikkim F.A Mohun Bagan Kids wins in Danone Nations Cup India Qualifiers 10.07.2008 : :Mohun Bagan Under 12 Boys enters in the Semifinal of Yakult Danone Nations Cup 2008 India Qualifiers at Delhi Today.They won both two Games today and reach in the semifinal to face Hindusthan Football Academy tomorrow. The 12 teams tournament starts today at Delhi.The other two semi finalists are Simla Youngs and Sikkim football Academy. RESULT Simla Youngs F.A 0 - 0 Salgaocar F.A,Goa Simla Youngs F.A 2 - 0 JCT F.A Mohun Bagan 2 - 0 TFA Mohun Bagan 4 - 0 Rohit F.A ,Orissa Hindusthan F.A,Delhi 2 - 0 ORMA,Kozhikode,Kerala Hindusthan F.A,Delhi 1 - 1 THAU,Manipur Delhi Sikkim F.A 1 - 1 Chandigarh F.A Delhi Sikkim F.A 2 - 0 PSNA F.A,Tamilnadu In the height years since it was created in 2000, the Danone Nations Cup has become the world's top football tournament for children in the 10-12 age group, and has already made 15 million kids' dreams come true. The World Final is the culmination of a year of competition, over five continents. The winners of the national tournaments in the 40 participating countries come together in a prestigious stadium, filled with bigger and bigger crowds, to play their favourite sport under the proud gaze of some of the greatest stars of the international game, and in particular the event's sponsor: Zinedine Zidane. The Previous Champions 2000 : France 2002 : Argentina 2001 : Reunion Island 2003 : South Africa 2004 : Spain 2005 : Russia 2006 : Reunion Island 2007 : South Africa Techno India Group to sponsor Aryan Football Club 10.07.2008 : Swarnava Nandy:Techno India Group, one of the largest knowledge management groups in India has inked a mammoth 10 years agreement to sponsor the 124 years old prestigious football club of Kolkata Maidan - Aryan Football Club. Managing Director of Techno India Group Mr. Satyam Roy Chowdhury and Gen. Sec. of Aryan Football Club Mr. Ashok Mistra signed an agreement in a press conference today at Hotel Peerless Inn, Kolkata.Mr. Roy Chowdhury expressed that he is proud to add the Companies name before Aryan. In an unique effort Techno India has forged are powerful alliance with one of Kolkata's Great Heritage Soccer Club - The legendary Aryan whose reputaion precedes itself.It was from the founder of Sir Dukhiram Majumder coaching center, named after Aryan's founder that many talented soccer players of Bengal have emerged from. Famous Tollywood actor Chiranjeet Chakrabarty has been associated with the venture as Brand Ambassador of Aryan Club. Famous East Bengal ,Mohun Bagan,Mohammedan S.C,Bengal and Indian National Star who starts therir career from Aryan in their early age like,Sudhir Karmakar, Samaresh Chowdhury,Sibaji Banerjee,Bidesh Bose,Manas Bhattacharyya,Sisir Ghosh,Biswajit Bhattacharyya,Ranjit Mukherjee,Bhaskar Ganguly,Amit Bhadra, Sandip Munsi,Arjun Prasun Banerjee,were present and falicited in the ceremony. Among other dignitaries, another famous cine star Rituparna Sengupta, legendary footballer Padmasree P.K. Banerjee,Football Journalist Rupak Saha etc. were present. The group is dedicated to the cause of development of Education, Research and Entrepreneurship in Science, Technology,Management and Medicine and is the most acclaimed education management group, especially in Bengal. Airtel to partner the development of football talent 10.07.2008:Bharti AIRTEL joins hands with AIFF to support the talented Under-16 Indian National Football Team .For the first time in the history of Indian football, a national youth team gets corporate funding support alongwith support to help team get world-class training and international exposure to help them prepare for the Asian Football Championship and also a commitment to develop a powerful football culture in the country. Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business conglomerates with interests in telecom under the brand name Airtel, retail, financial services, manufacturing & agri-sector, today announced that it has signed an agreement with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the official governing body in India for football, to support the development of India’s Under-16 football team. This is the first time ever that an India youth football team is getting corporate funding support. The association highlights the continued commitment of AIFF and Bharti to promote a powerful football and sporting culture in the country. The agreement to support the Under-16 team is for a period of one year and will help the team prepare for the Asian Football Championship to be held in Uzbekistan in October 2008. Commenting on the agreement Mr. Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, President, AIFF said “The current Under-16 team is a promising lot and has performed exceptionally well at the international level. With the right support and exposure they can compete at the highest level and make the country proud. We are very happy with the support from Bharti and this will provide a lot of encouragement to the team.” Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises said “India’s strength today is its vast pool of youth population. Developing a strong youth program is one of the top priorities of our partnership with AIFF to create a powerful football culture in India. We hope that this team’s achievements at the international level will be a major catalyst in further promoting football amongst the youth of India.” The team is currently in West Virginia, USA where it is playing practice matches and will also travel to Europe in the coming months. It has qualified for the Asian Football Championship by defeating established Asian football giants such as Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. If the team reaches the semi finals of Asian Football Championship, they will automatically qualify for the Under-17 World Cup 2009. Bharti already has an MoU with AIFF to build a comprehensive National Football Development Program (NFDP) and work together for the development of Indian football. Source: AIFF Media release Karim's Acid test will begin tomorrow at CFL Premier 10.07.2008: The Mariners are all set to roll the ball from the 11th of this month... and we are all to throng the club in numbers from the very start. All of us are quite anxious to see how the new boys perform under their new illustrious coach - Karim Bencharifa ! Bagan started the transfer season with a bright note by roping 12 of the most promising youngsters of the Nation, 8 from TFA and 4 from MBSFA. Karim, who is famous to yield gold with newly sown seeds, was handed over a very young team with Barreto, Baichung, Lalkamal, Sangram & James Singh being the only notable 'seniors' in the squad. The Mariners toiled hard for 7 odd days at their residential camp in Durgapur. Whilst Shilton Pal was unable to join the squad because of his injury, Sangram and new rookie Chirodeep showed enough sturdiness under the crossbar. The young and new defense line was however yet to get their coordinated act going. Though Vasan (student of the famous Sathyan) and Odafe (who has picked up a few Bengali songs !) showed enough solidarity, but as a combined act, the 4 defenders (the other two being Habibur and Rahul) are yet to get into the groove. Karim wants to fine tune the 'off-side' trap; a trick which the Mariners didnot use that much in the previous seasons. Hence the stoppers are finding a bit difficult to adjust to this scheme, and it has been seen many a times, that one of the 4 defenders are falling out of line. The MBSFA cadet Sumon Bose is great talent, but will have to work much more harder in order to overcome the disadvantage of his short height and to carve a niche for himself in the left back position.. The midfield, however, already looks like a well oiled machine which can only grow smoother. Both the James Singhs, Lalkamal, Tapan Maity, Malswamtulunga are creating enough opportunities for Barreto and Lalampuia upfront. Lalam. however has to increase his marksmanship by quite a few notches, if he wants to convert regularly. Ishfaq Ahmeds runs have been an absolute treat to watch, and if we are not too wrong, Ishfaq is going to dazzle this season. Among the young talents, Branco is yet to justify the tag attached to his name, while the TFA defenders are promising a good show. Amongst the homegrown MBSFA cadets, Sanjay Boro already seems to be in the coach's scheme of things , while Suman & Souvik are leaving no stone un turned to prove their mettle. Malswamzuala, however, is yet to live up to the expectations, that we had with him when he left the Academy Well, as of now, we can all keep our fingers crossed... and be a bit patient with this new team.. We are pretty confident, the Mariners are going to have a great season ! THE SQUAD GK:Sangram Mukherjee,Shilton Paul ,Raju Ekka(Air India),Chirodeep Chatterjee(TFA). Stopper:Rakesh Masih(TFA),Karan Atwal(TFA),J.Anandavasan(Indian Bank) ,Peter Odafe,Deepak Kumar Mandal,N.S.Manju. Sidebacks-Nabin Kumar(TFA),N.Mohan Raj,Habibur Rehman,Rino Anto(TFA), Suman Bose-U-19(Bagan Academy). Midfield:Kartick Kisku(Peerless),James Singh,Malsawmtluanga(Salgaokar), Henry Gangte(TFA),Lalkamal Bhowmick,Tapan Maity,LalRamluaha(TFA),Sagolsem James Singh(Viva Kerala),Rahul Kumar,Souvik Chakroborty-U-19(Bagan Academy), Sanjoy Boro-U-19(Bagan Academy). Forwards:Ishfaq Ahmed,P.C.Lalampuia,Branco Vincent Cardozo(TFA), Baichung Bhutia,Jose Ramirez Barreto,Malsumzwala-U-19(Bagan Academy) Chief Coach :Karim Bencherifa Satyajit Chatterjee(Asst.Coach) Hemanta Dora(Goalkeeper Coach). Guest Writer: Trinanjan Sengupta - www.mohunbaganclub.com Baichung scores double in Goal 4 Africa Match in Allianz Arena,Munich 13.07.2008 ::Baichung scores double in Goal 4 Africa Match at the Allianz Arena, Munich 13.07.2008 ::Team India Captain, Baichung Bhutia of Mohun Bagan A.C. made India proud by scoring two goals for the visiting team named "Edu" against "Cation" at Munich's Allianz Arena in front of 70,000 soccer fans. He scored the first one in the 28th minute of the match after receiving a ball in the box, chesting it down and beating Brazilian keeper, Dida, with a left footed volley. In the 67th minute of the match he scored his second, courtesy of a square pass from Team captain and ambassador of the Programme "Goal4africa", Seedorf. Baichung gave a few good passes to Michael Shumacher, the Formula One “legend”, who scored a goal for his team, thus proving his mettle on the football pitch as well. Baichung was in such good form that Italian midfielder, Gennaro Gattuso, had to foul him twice in front of the box. He played the full 90 minutes with his team “Edu” but failed to win the match, his team ultimetly losing 6 - 9 to “Cation.” The other scorers of his Team were Mandela 1',Djemba - Djemba 18', Seedorf 46', and Shumacher 63’ . While the Scorers of "Cation" Teams are Paolo Rink 8',19',Shaun Bartlett 26',Khalid Bou larhouz 36',Moutaung 45',Ballack 61',74',Madouni 81',Stefano Seedorf 85' The dream of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Nelson Mandela: to relieve the poverty of African children through better education. His motto: ‘Education for all – all for education.’ Because: ‘Poverty is an insult to human dignity. Education is the strongest weapon to combat poverty in the long run, and will make a lasting difference to the world.’ (Nelson Mandela) The celebrations held for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday on 18 July 2008 are the kick-off for a worldwide initiative that has a greater goal: to make the dream of Nelson Mandela a reality – to defeat child poverty in Africa. The TEAMS TEAM EDU :22 - Hans Jorg Butt, 2-Karim Saidi, 4-Djamba Djamba,5-Urby Emmanuelson, 27 - Clifford Ngobemi, 8-Nigel De Jong,10 -Clarence Seedorf (CAPTAIN),90 - C. Mandela(7 - Michael Schumacher), 17- Mark Van Bommel, 21 Natto Ferrari, 11-Robin Van Parsie (1' 30 - Baichung Bhutia). Sub:3-Lucio,1-Tony Sylva,,15 - Ze Roberto,20 - Seedorf,12 - Papa Bouba Diop. Manager :Paulo Maldini TEAM CATION:1 - Nelson Dida,5- Daniel Van Buyten,6 - Edmilson,7-Swzwe Moutang,8-Gennaro Gattuso,9-Khalid Boulahrouz,13-Michael Ballack (Captain),14-George Boatang,17-Shaun Bertlett,21-Paolo Rink,28 - Stefano Seedorf. SUB:2 - Willy Sagnol, 0 - Clifford Ngobedi,4 - Madaouni,29 -Casey Keller,30-Simplicio Manager:Ronaldo Union Sports Minister Mr. M.S.Gill is trying to bring Real Madrid in India 09.07.2008 : Recently Sports Minister of India M.S.Gill met the Spanish as well as one of the giant Football Clubs in the World Real Madrid's president Ramon Calderon in London during the Wimbledon Final Match.An online Fan Forum of Real Madrid has released this news. After successful visit of an another World famous German Soccer Club Bayern munich in Kolkata on 27th May where 1,20,000 spectators watched the Match against Indian National Club Mohun Bagan,Mr. Gill is very much interested to bring Real Madrid in India to boost up the Football passion once again. Regarding this, he asked the Real Boss, if they would come to play in India.Gill told to the reporters in Delhi that Real Boss has a keen interest about this. on May 20th Real Madrid lost 1 - 4 against Al Nsar in a Frienship Match where 70,000 Fan were present to watch the Match .Next Friendship match of Real Madrid is against Humburger SV on 2nd August and Sporting Lisbon on 27th August. PIFA children train at the Milan junior camp near Rome. 09.07..2008:Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) organized their fifth AC Milan – Milan Junior Camp football tour for children 10-16 years to Italy. Premier India Football Academy conducted their 16th international camp and their 5th visit to AC Milan's Milan Junior Camp. This time they visited the beautiful town on San Martino Al Cimino in Viterbo 63kms from Rome. The camp was held from 21 June to 30 June 2008 Around 80 children from Mexico, India, Italy participated at this camp. The boys were assigned to their various age groups and everyday underwent training in two sessions of 2 and a half hour and in their spare time played tennis, swam and did various fun activities. The training was conducted by UEFA ‘B’ licensed coaches from the Milan Junior Camp. Their training covered the various aspects of the game and discussed the AC Milan philosophy. Each child received an AC Milan Academy back pack bag & four MJC adidas kits that included jersey, shorts ,track suits, stockings and a football. The PIFA campers got to play a friendly match against the local team from San Martino. The children were taken on a tour of the historical city of San Martino al Cimino and Viterbo. On the last day the children were taken on a tour of the city of Rome, the tour included the AS ROMA stadium, St. Peter’s square, Coliseum, Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, Pantheon etc. The group was accompanied by two adults from India ensuring that the children totally focus on football and enjoy themselves. The details of the next camp can be got at www.pifacademy.com East Bengal win 1 - 0 against IFA XI at Barasat 09.07..2008:Team East Bengal win against IFA XI at Barasat Vidyasagar Krirangan (Barasat Stadium). Mehtab Hossain scored the only goal for East Bengal in first half 15 minutes.Mohun Bagan Brazilian Barreto was the Captain of IFA XI.A benefit match in favour of famous ex-Olympian as well as National Footballer Arun Ghosh organized today by Sports Management Association Kolkata. A sum of Rs.2,00,000 handed over through Brazilian Star Barreto to the legendary footballer Arun Ghosh and another 2,00,000 donated to the Mohun Bagan benevloent fund on the function. Famous Footballers like P.K.Banerjee,Peter Thangaraj,Parimal Dey,Santo Mitra, Samaresh Chowdhury,Goutam Sarkar,Sudhir Karmakar,Sayed Naimuddin,Surojit Sengupta were present in the Function. Arun Ghosh and Peter Thangaraj handed over the Winner and Runners Trophy to East Bengal Captain M.Suresh and IFA Captain Barreto. Previously, the association has organized benefit matches for Legendary Indian National Goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj,Famous Stopper of Indian Soccer Sudhir Karmakar,Famous India International Striker Parimal Dey and they have a plan to repeat this feat next year again, for Goutam Sarkar and Samaresh Chowdhury, Ex - National Footballer as well as former pleyers of Kolkata Football League. Mr. Sarkar added. Brazil And Argentina Soccer Teams for Beijing Olympic 2008 08.07.2008: Kolkata ::Ronaldinho and Robinho will lead Brazil Olympic Football Team at the Beijing Olympic Games. Goalkeepers: Diego Alves (Almeria), Renan (Internacional). Defenders: Ilsinho (Shakhtar Donetsk), Rafinha (Shalke), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Alex Silva (Sao Paulo), Breno (Bayern Munich), Thiago Silva (Fluminense). Midfielders: Anderson (Manchester United), Diego (Werder Bremen), Hernanes (Sao Paulo), Lucas (Liverpool), Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona), Thiago Neves (Fluminense). Forwards: Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Jo (Manchester City), Rafael Sobis (Real Betis), Robinho (Real Madrid) The final squad for Argentina Beijing Olympic 2008 Football Tournament has been announced by Under 23 coach Sergio Batista. Goalkeepers: Oscar Ustari (Getafe, Spain),Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands) Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol, Spain),Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid, Spain),Federico Fazio (Sevilla, Spain),Nicolas Burdisso (Internazionale, Italy) Luciano Monzon (Boca Juniors) Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid),Ever Banega (Valencia, Spain), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England),Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors),Angel Di Maria (Benfica, Portugal),Jose Sosa (Bayern Munich, Germany) Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid-Spain), Lionel Messi (Barcelona -Spain) and Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli-Italy). NIKE MUPC - 15 World Final Teams - 2008 08.07.2008: Kolkata :: South African team SuperSport United is the final team to qualify for the World Finals of the 2008 Manchester United Premier Cup after winning the South African MUPC Championships in Soweto. Young footballers from over 9,400 teams across the globe have been competing in local, national and regional qualification tournaments over the past year, proving their skills and their passion at the very highest level in an effort to win one of just twenty places at the Nike sponsored football competition for under-15’s. Manchester United will host the World Finals from 3rd-6th August 2008 at their training complex in Carrington, England. Dreams will become a reality for the two finalists however, when they walk out onto the hallowed turf at Old Trafford, Manchester, when the MUPC Final takes place as a curtain raiser to the Manchester United v Juventus match on 6th August. The competition is seen as a testing ground for emerging new talent, with a growing list of alumni, five of whom played for Spain at the recent Euro 2008 Championships, i.e. Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas. Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the most renowned Managers in the world, identified additional benefits for coaching staff however. “Games at this competition are played to a very high standard. Just to compete and reach the World Finals is fantastic for any young player and proves that they have talent. “When I look at placing our own young lads into a professional environment like this we can learn so much. How they cope playing against young lads from different countries with different cultures and different habits; how they mix with each other, how they handle being in hotels and what their manners are like. And particularly what kind of self-discipline they have. That aspect of things is very important to us.” Travelling to Manchester this year are young teams from five continents. Africa has two teams through to the World Finals this year; SuperSport United is joined by Right to Dream Academy who secured their place in the first ever Africa Regional Finals held at Nike’s Hilversum Campus in June. From the Americas, San Diego Surf represent the USA whilst South American teams Fluminense, Audax Italiano and FC Atlas are also travelling to Manchester as national MUPC Champions. The South East Asian Qualification Tournament took place in Kuala Lumpur in May, and was won by Villa 2000 Football Academy. Zhejiang Lucheng FC, Shizuoka Gakuen Jr. High School and Ansan Boogok Middle School complete the qualifiers for Asia. Central United makes a repeat visit to the World Finals after securing the MUPC championship title for Australasia. FC Basel 1893, FC Honka and Willem II won their spots at the World Finals as the top three teams from the European regional tournament held in Lodz, Poland in May, whilst Paris Saint Germain, Eintracht Frankfurt, Juventus FC, Real Madrid and Middlesbrough FC secured their places in Manchester by winning their national MUPC tournaments. The final place goes to host team Manchester United. MUPC 2008 World Finalists Teams Africa South Africa: SuperSport United Africa Qualifiers: Right to Dream Academy, Ghana Americas Brazil : Fluminense Chile : Audax Italiano Mexico: FC Atlas USA: San Diego Surf Asia China : Zhejiang Lucheng FC Japan: Shizuoka Gakuen Jr. High School Korea : Ansan Boogok Middle School Asia Pacific Qualifiers : Villa 2000 Football Academy, Indonesia Australasia Central United, New Zealand Europe France :Paris Saint Germain Germany : Eintracht Frankfurt Italy : Juventus FC Spain : Real Madrid FC England : Middlesbrough FC European Qualifiers : FC Basel, Switzerland, FC Honka, Finland, Willem II, Netherlands Host team:Manchester United Courtesy:NIKE MUPC Media Release SAHARA CFL PREMIER LEAGUE KICK STARTED TODAY 08.07.2008: Kolkata: Abhishek Bhattacharyya:The Sahara CFL 2008-Premier Division Football League kicked off in Bengal Club with IFA’s press meet followed by the inaugural match between Camellia George Telegraph and Peerless Sports Club in Mohun Bagan Athletic Club Ground..Mr.Utpal Kumar Ganguly, Hony.Secretary of IFA was present in this grand occasion.Among other important personalities Debashis Sarkar,Vice-President, IFA, Mr.S.S.Dasgupta,Leisure Sports Management, Sanjoy Ghosh, MD,Simoco Mobiles, Rajesh Chugh,Suman De,Senior News Reporter,Star Ananda and last but not the least Deep Dasgupta,Cricketer and Public Communications Head,Sahara India Pariwar was also present in this press meet. Eight Kolkata teams will be taking on each other over 7 weeks. Sanjoy Ghosh MD of Simoco Mobiles have announced Cash prize of Rs.25,000 and a trophy for Best Goalkeeper, Defenders,Midfielder,Highest Goal Scorer and the Emerging player.Mr.Ghosh has also announced a Cash prize of Rs.1 lakhs and a trophy as a Fair Play award Even awards will be introduced for U-19 players in coming days. This is the 3rd year in the row that Sahara Group of Companies is sponsoring this historic football league.Simoco Mobiles and Rain mineral water is the associate sponsor. The second half of this prestigious league is scheduled to change and IFA will inform the media in this matter as soon as possible. Both the winners and the runners-up trophy was unveiled by the notable dignitaries present in this meet.The winner of this years league will receive a cash prize of Rs.5 lakhs and the runners-up will have Rs.2.5 lakhs as their cash prize . Inauguration of Sahara CFL Premier League Champions Trophy According to Mr.Utpal Kumar Ganguly,Hony.Secretary,IFA , CFL Premier league and I-league will be played simultaneously from next year with I-league a weekend fixture and CFL Premier league a weekday business. The press meet was followed by the opening ceremony and the season opening match between Camelia George Telegraph and Peerless Sports Club in Mohun Bagan Ground. The Captains of all the eight teams were present in the Mohun Bagan Ground during the opening ceremony. George Telegraph was the better team in the season opener as they defeated Peerless Sports club (1-0) courtesy a brilliant goal by Mithun Saha at the 22nd minute of the game. Coca-Cola rolls the ball to the youngsters….. 04.07.2008 :Nabarun Mukherjee : The Coca-Cola Company organised a grass root talent hunt for young footballers last month.Over 3000 school boys all over India participated in this mammoth project.16 candidates are now shortlisted for a training camp in Brazil Soccer Academy in Rio De Janiero.Jo Paul Ancheri will be the travelling Coach for these shortlisted candidates. According to Atul Singh,President & CEO of Coca-Cola India this project was a part of Brand promotion in India.The company will spend around Rs 1.5 crore for the purpose. Internationally, Coca Cola had been supporting soccer and been associated with FIFA for a long time.Mr.Singh said that the company would also promote the sport in rural India. Indian Football legend P.K.Banerjee,Priyaranjan Das Munshi,Information and Broadcasting Minister & President of AIFF was present in this grand occassion. Sunil Pujari,Ex Maharastra player,S.F.Babu Narayan,1960 Indian Olympian and Bernard Operanza was the judge of this talent hunt. Out of those 16 candidates 6 are from Bengal,3 from Gurgaon ,Haryana and rest are from Mumbai,Bangalore and Chennai. Here are the following names of the shortlisted candidates: Bengal (Aheritola Bongo Vidyalaya) :Abhishek Sarkar,Mohan Dawn,Bhola Dey, Sourav Roy,Dipankar Sarkar,Shiladitya Sheikh. Gurgaon (Shri Ram H.S.School ):Arjun Dutta,Raghubir Khare,Abhay Gujral, Mumbai (St.Xavier’s):Samrat Khullar,Dashrath Thakkar,Sagar Sailesh, Rest:: Parminder Singh (Chandigarh International School),Manish Kumar (Bangluru Central School),Keshoria Kunal(St. Pattrick Angelo H.S.School, Chennai),Albert Gonsalves (St.Joseph H.S.School, Goa). Ex Olympian Mariappa Kempaiah passed away 03.07.2008 :: Former Olympian footballer of India Mariappa Kempaiah passed away in Bangalore yesterday. He was 75 and survived by his wife, a son and two daughters. Mariappa Kempaiah, represented India in Melbourne Olympics 1956 (India finished 4th), Tokyo Asian Games 1958 & Rome Olympics in 1960. Mariappa Kempaiah Started playing for Bangalore Muslims during the 1950's and represented Mysore State Football Team in Santosh Trophy. In 1956 he reached the Football Capital of India Kolkata and played for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan till 1964 . Jarnail Singh, Arun Ghosh, Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, Balaram, Kannan, Rehman,Sunil Nandy,Arumai Nayagam,Venkatesh,Dipu Das,Narayanan, Mewalal,Appalaraju etc were the Great Players of that glorious period of Indian Football. AIFF President PR Dasmunshi & General Secretary Alberto Colaco condoled his death and described his death as a big loss to Indian football. Ex-Olympian M.A.Sattar will receive the prestigious "Mohun Bagan Ratna" on 29th July 01.07.2008:Mr. M.A. Sattar, legendary Footballer who rendered invaluable service for Mohun Bagan AC and for Bengal and India during the 1950s has been selected by the Executive Committee of the Club as the next Mohun Bagan Ratna. He was a mamber of Asian Games 1951 Gold winning India Football Team and also 1952 Helsinky Olympic Indian football team The Ratna will be conferred on Mr. Sattar on the joyous ocassion of Mohun Bagan Day on 29th July 2008. To learn more about Mr. Sattar, please click HERE India U -16 Teams win their 1st match at Virginia - Canada July 6 :India U-16 6 - 1 Metro Football Club Ohio July 7 :India U-16 11 - 0 NCAA Blast Football Club ,Dayton, Ohio July 12 :India U-16 5 - 1 West Virginia Rowdies, Dayton, Huntington July 13 :India U-16 6 - 0 Columbia United of Columbia, S.C. July 18:India U-16 10 - 0 West Virginia Olympic Team. July 19:India U-16 Vs Fort Wayne Fever July 24:India U-16 Vs Reading (Pa.) Rage Super Y League Team . India U - 16 Road to West Virginia :: Visit Fixtures & Squad 01.07.2008:To prepare for an appearance in the Asian Federation Cup in Uzbekistan in October, India's national soccer team for boys 16 and under will spend most of July training in Charleston,West Virginia. Dr.Francis Saldanha is the man responsible for getting the U-16 Indian team in USA. For years, Saldanha, who played soccer, field hockey and cricket in his youth, said he was never a standout athlete, has been contributing to soccer academies and skills contests in his native India."India is a sports-crazy country, but it's a country that is sadly lacking in programs to develop internationally competitive athletes," he said. This year, he decided to take his sports philanthropy to a new level by bringing the 24 players and six coaches of the All India Football Federation's National Boys (Under 16) Team to Charleston for three weeks of training and competition, starting July 1.Saldanha said the current Indian under-16 team "is better than any other under-16 team to date." The Indian team beat Saudi Arabia, tied Iraq, and was one of 16 teams to qualify for the Asian Cup. The sponsors of this team want to take India to the World Cup in 2018."In addition to undergoing a rigorous training program while in West Virginia, the Indian team will take on eight teams from across the state, as well as club teams from Ohio and South Carolina. Six games will be played at Schoenbaum Stadium in Coonskin Park, and one each will be held at Marshall and West Virginia universities. The U.S. Soccer Federation, the All-India Football Federation and FIFA, the international soccer governing board, have sanctioned the games.If next month's training session proves successful, Saldanha said it could lead to expanded soccer programs for Indian athletes in the years to come. "I'd like to make West Virginia the training site for the junior and senior Indian teams," he said. The Madras-born doctor said he would also like to bring Indian track and field athletes to West Virginia for training. A total of 7,500 free tickets have been distributed to youth league Footballers and school team soccer players throughout the area to watch the under-16 India National Team games at Schoenbaum Stadium. Players are Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Raegan Albarnas, Ashish Chetri, Vishal Kumar Ravindra Kumar, Akshay Vimal Kumar Mall, Harpreet Bedi, Shallum Pires, Jayanta Paul, Ashfaq Ali, Deepak Devrani, Ravi Kumar, Sumit Rawat, Taranjit Kumar, Tanmoy Ghosh, Bikramjit Singh, Biru Yadav, Milan Singh O, R Lalrindika, Subhojit Majumdar, Tirthankar Sarkar, Abhishek Das, Malsawmfela, Manandeep, Prem Kumar. Officials : Ankur Dutta (Manager), Tanumoy Basu (Goalkeeper Coach), Sanjoy Sen (Assistant Coach), Chandru Jayaraman (Physiotherapist), Narayana Menon (Assistant Coach), Colm Joseph Toal (Technical Director /Chief Coach). UEFA EURO - 2008 Team of the Tournament 01.07.2008:The UEFA Technical Team has named its UEFA EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament. The nine-strong group of experienced football technicians who have followed every game at the tournament decided the selection – 9 Spainsh players alongwith three players from runners-up Germany, four from Russia, two each from the Holland and Portugal and a single player representing Turkey, Croatia and Italy.UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh said: "There are only four players in here who were in our UEFA Champions League team of the competition. UEFA EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament Goalkeepers : Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands). Defenders: Bosingwa (Portugal), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Carlos Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Carles Puyol (Spain), Yuri Zhirkov (Russia). Midfielders : Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Luka Modric (Croatia), Marcos Senna (Spain), Xavi Hernandez (Spain), Konstantin Zyryanov (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands). Forwards : Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia), Fernando Torres (Spain), David Villa (Spain). East Bengal - IFA XI match at Barasat on 9th July 28.06.2008:Team East Bengal will play against IFA XI on 9th July at Barasat Vidyasagar Krirangan (Barasat Stadium). A benefit match in favour of famous ex-Olympian as well as National Footballer Arun Ghosh will be organized on that day, by Sports Management Association Kolkata. On behalf of the association, Mr. Ashish Sarkar, told us, that most of the IFA XI players are likely to be of Mohun Bagan along with some of the Mohammedan S.C and Chirag United star players. Brazilian star Jose Ramirez Barreto may lead the IFA XI in this noble exhibition match. He added, a sum of Rs.2,00,000 will be handed over to the legendary footballer Arun Ghosh and another 2,00,000 will be donated to the Mohun Bagan benevloent fund on that day. Tickets will be available at a minimum price of Rs.20, but there will be no free tickets except the life members of Barasat Vidyasagar Krirangan. The match will commence at 5:30 pm local time under the newly constructed flood light. During the half time recess and at the end, popular Bangla band "BHOOMI" (who have already hit the headlines becoming the first ever musical troupe to perform live in front of the delegates of the United Nations Organizations and also composed the cheer song for EURO 2004, that was aired on an international sports channel ). Apart from all this, Tollywood Superstar Prosenjeet will pay a guest appearence at the stadium. STAR ANANDA news channel has agreed to be the media partner of this event. Among other dignitories Mr. Asim Dasgupta (Hon'ble MIC Finance,Govt. of West Bengal),Mr. Subhash Chakrabarty (Hon'ble MIC Transport and Sports ,Govt. of West Bengal),Former India International Mr.Suchir Karmakar, Mr.Utpal Ganguly (Secretary IFA),Mr.Subrata Dutta (Vice President of IFA and AIFF),SMT.Aparna Gupta (Sabhadhipati North 24 Pgs Zilla Parishad) and about 40 - 50 Ex Footballers will be present the occassion. The association has previously organized benefit matches for Legendary Indian National Goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj,Famous Stopper of Indian Soccer Sudhir Karmakar,Famous India International Striker Parimal Dey and they have a plan to repeat this feat next year again, for Goutam Sarkar and Samaresh Chowdhury, Ex - National Footballer as well as former pleyers of Kolkata Football League. Mr. Sarkar added.