KSFA announces squad for Manindra Dutta Roy Trophy

The Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) announced their squad for the Manindra Dutta Roy Trophy, the 19th U-21 National Football Championship.

This tournament will be played in Gurgaon, Haryana from February 11 to 21. Karnataka is grouped in Cluster I, they will play their first match against Rajasthan on February 13 and next match against Punjab on February 15.

Early last month, the state association conducted a coaching-cum-selection camp in Bangalore. The state association officials are pinning high hopes on this team, especially, after winning the recently-concluded Dr. BC Roy Trophy, the U-19 National Football Championship.

Players list:

• R Dayalan (ADE)
• Biman Nandi (ASC Boys)
• S Vinodh Kumar (HAL)
• Clement Anthony (Southern Blues)
• Rakesh Babu (KSP)
• S Kiran Kumar (Bangalore Mars)
• Ramesh (BEML)
• Madhu Karan (SAI)
• Rajesh (Bangalore Mars)
• Karthigayan (HAL)
• Don Bosco (BEML)
• Akram (Davangere District)
• Sanoj (SAI)
• R Kiran Kumar (KSP)
• Lokesh C (Vinayaka)
• Gopi (Captain) (HAL)
• Karunakaran (ASC)
• Kewal Lama R (ADE)
• Deepak Kumar (Government Press)
• V Vinodh Kumar (RWF)
• Abhilash (Mysore District)

Officials:

• Imtiaz Ahmed, Manager
• C Ravi Kumar, Chief Coach
• Shantha Kumar, Coach

Dowlath Khan Trophy kicks-off from Friday

Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) is organizing Dowlath Khan Trophy, a knock-out tournament for the C-division teams.

One of the oldest football tournaments of the Karnataka state, Dowlath Khan Trophy is revived by the BDFA. Record numbers of 38 BDFA C-division teams are participating in this tournament and will be played on a knock-out format.

Duration of each match will be 70 minutes (35+10+35). When a match ends in a draw in the regulation time, no extra-time will be played, and the match will go straight to the tie-breaker. All the games will be played at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

The association expressed satisfaction with the number of teams coming out to play such tournaments. They feel that organizing such tournaments should help the player’s caliber and their talent will be displayed, which will ultimately help the players as well as the teams scouting for budding talents.

In the first match of the tournament on Friday, February 12, 1.30 pm, Bangalore Blues takes on Young Gems. Later, Mohd. Sporting, Bangalore will play against Young Blues.

Prasanna Kumar Memorial kicks-off on November 25

The Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) organized Prasanna Kumar Memorial Football Tournament gets started from Wednesday, November 25 at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

Played between the BDFA A division teams, this will be the 60th edition of Prasanna Kumar Memorial and this tournament serves as the season opening tournament for the BDFA A division teams.

A total of 16 teams are classified in four pools, the top team from each pool qualifies for knock-out round. The knock-out round will consist of 2 semifinals and a final. The final will be played on December 9.

With the artificial turf laying work gathering momentum, it is interesting to see how BDFA manages to accommodate the other football commitments lined up for the current season - a knock-out tournament for the BDFA B division teams (similar to Puttaiah Memorial Cup and Prasanna Kumar Memorial), B Division, A Division, and Super Division League.

Talking to IndianFootball.Com, one of the BDFA official said that they will act as per the guidelines provided by their parent body, Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA). It is quite possible that the BDFA league would be moved from Bangalore Football Stadium to some other alternative venues.

BDFA would get much clarity in the next weeks, when the Prasanna Kumar Memorial Football Tournament concludes.

ADE plays against Government Press in the inaugural match of the tournament.

ITI provides financial help to Subramanis family

Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) donated Rs. 70,000 to the family of the former Karnataka state footballer Menous Subramani.

Subramani, 44, died on August 10 after sheer medical negligence from a city hospital. Subramani was employed with ITI and incidentally, he was on the way to his office when the unfortunate event happened.

An exhibition match was organized in honor of Subramani. This match was played between the ITI veterans and Gowthamapuram veterans at the Gowthamapuram football ground. Subramani hailed from Gowthamapuram, in the Ulsoor locality in Bangalore.

Gowthamapuram has presented numerous national and international footballers and it is considered to be the breeding ground for Bangalore football. Ulaganathan, Sreedharan, and several former national players took part in this exhibition match.

Venkataramana Murthy, President of the ITI Sports Club presented the donation to the widow of Menous Subramani. Also heard from a reliable source that the hospital authority has paid a heavy price as compensation to Subramanis family.

Hamza’s brace helps BEML to lift Puttaiah Memorial Cup

BEML lifts Puttaiah Memorial Cup by defeating MEG convincingly by 2-1.

It was a difficult pitch to display spirited performance, thanks to the incessant drizzle that is happening in this part of the world for the last few days. But both the finalist teams displayed a lively game and entertained a crowd of more than 8000 fans.

Finally, it was BEML the most consistent team, who emerged as the true champion of the Puttaiah Memorial Cup by scoring a goal in each half of the match.

And yet again it was the young and energetic striker from Nigeria, Abdulla Hamza who came to the rescue for BEML. This 20-something happy-go-lucky Nigerian is trying hard to mark his presence felt in India and aspires to play in Europe.

The striker duo of Tiken Singh and Hamza combined well for BEML, coming down from the left flank, Singh’s drifting ball was gathered-up well by Hamza, he coolly beat the charging MEG keeper, and headed the ball into the net.

Prior to the goal, BEML keeper, S Rajan, thwarted a series of attacks from MEG.

MEG tried hard to comeback into the game, however, their attempt took a back seat when their left winger, Girish was shown marching order after commiting a serious offence by deliberately fouling BEML striker RC Prakash.

BEML scored the second goal in the 77th minute, play-maker Mahendra Mani’s right-footed cross was perfect for Hamza to score his 7th goal in this tournament from head.

Later, in the 89th minute, MEG reduced the margin from Ramu’s low grounder free kick.

Cash bounty for the champs

The BEML top brass who were present at the match announced a cash prize of Rs 10,000 for each player. Also, a special cash reward of additional 15,000 went to the top goal scorer Hamza and goalkeeper Rajan.

BEML thrash HAL in Puttaiah Memorial Cup

Continuing the good run, BEML walloped their arch rival and defending champion HAL 4-2 on the semifinal encounter in the Puttaiah Memorial Cup.

The knock-out stages of the Puttaiah Memorial Cup was postponed by a week to accommodate the foundation stone ceremony for the football academy under FIFA Goal Project.

It was a derby-day of sort, the soccer-frenzy crowd in the garden city gathered in the Bangalore Football Stadium. Finally at the end of the day, the crowd got their moneys worth by watching a fast-paced lively match that experienced 6 goals.

The match strated in a lively note with both teams exchanging big hits. Once, HAL was unclucky when Xavier’s diagonal shot was not placed in the goal.

HAL draw the first blood in the 25th minute, Bimal Minz’s powerful swerving left footer found the BEML goal after a defensive lap.

Within 2 minutes, BEML scored the equalizer when a HAL defender hand-balled inside the penalty box area. Defender Alex Shamaki made no mistake in converting the penalty for BEML.

HAL captain, Xavier VijayKumar, made some neat moves from the flanks, however the HAL strikers failed to convert thre moves into goal.

At the fag end of the first half, former national player and veteran BEML striker RC Prakash who had a bad day at the office messed-up a golden opportunity. The ageing striker had to just place the ball in the open net, however, the opponent defender outran him by sheer pace.

In the second half, HAL was seen mainly attacking from the right side but failed to see a goal.

BEML took lead when Nigerian striker Abdulla Hamza scored in the 65th minute. Within 8 minutes, it was another one from Hamza, and this time, it was Manipuri Tiken Singh who provided a picture-perfect cross to Hamza.

It was Tiken again, few minutes after their 3rd goal dribbled past a couple of HAL players, and let loose a powerful shot to make the score 4-1.

HAL striker Fredrick Okwabe pulled one in the 89th minute, but by then the door was already shut for HAL.

This loss would not do any good for HAL who will be playing in the Federation Cup qualifiers at Calicut later this month.

The final of the Puttaiah Memorial Cup will be played between BEML and MEG on Sunday, November 8. In the other semifinal played on Friday, MEG defeated Karnataka State Police (KSP) by 2-1.

The gate money for today’s match went for a noble cause, in the Chief Ministers Flood Relied Fund for the recent flood that mainly affected northern part of Karnataka.

Seeds planted for FIFA Goal Project in Bangalore

The foundation stone laying ceremony for the football academy kicked-off the FIFA Goal Project in Bangalore.

This residential football academy will nurture 40-60 talented footballers at one time and the academy will be equipped with international coaches, trainers, gymnasium, and various other required state-of-the-art amenities.

In a brief but eventful function, Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa laid the foundation stone for the football academy at the Bangalore Football Stadium today morning.

Also present in the occasion were the AIFF president and Union civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, AIFF general secretary, Alberto Colaco, AIFF vice-president and KSFA president, A.R.Khaleel, several other former international football players, and distinguished dignitaries.

The AIFF president applauded the fact that the Bangalore Football Stadium is perhaps the only football stadium in India which is owned by a state association and could utilize the area for this project.

It was way back in 1975, when the Government of Karnataka granted 17 acres of land to the Bangalore Football Stadium. Even the stadiums in the football-popular states like Goa and West Bengal are either own by the state government or by the defense establishments.

Patel thanked the state government for providing necessary support to enhance the football infrastructure in the city and also requested to continue doing so.

Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa sounded cheerful and announced a grant of 5 crore for upgrading the stadium. Also, the chief minister thanked FIFA and AIFF for showing keen interest in developing football in India.

The other two venues selected by AIFF for the FIFA Goal Project are Sikkim and Andaman. Bangalore football is benefiting the most by such initiatives.

Earlier, FIFA has selected Bangalore Football Stadium as one of the venue in India for laying artificial turf under FIFA’s "Win in India with India" initiative.

The onus is now up to the state association, KSFA to create an excellent infrastructure and promote the game by nurturing talents across the state.

International Football Academy in Bangalore

The foundation stone laying ceremony for the International Football Academy under FIFA’s Goal Project II will be held at the Bangalore Football Stadium on November 4.

The foundation stone for this prestigious project will be laid by Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in the presence of All India Football Federation president and Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel and other distinguished guests and dignitaries.

The academy will come up on the Southern wing of the Bangalore Football Stadium.

The academy will be jointly managed by FIFA, AIFF, and Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) and will host international coaches, deputed by the world governing body, to train talented footballers of the state as well as from other parts of the country.

It will accommodate 60 trainees and the academy will be equipped with state-of-the-art gymnasium, boarding, lodging and a seminar hall.

Mini upset in Puttaiah Memorial Cup

In an exciting match, MEG defeated Bangalore Super Division League champion HAL by 4-3.

It was the day of the right-winger Ramu, who tricked HAL’s defense not only once, but thrice and assisted his team, MEG to create an upset win over HAL.

Ramu was fast enough to put give side 2-0 with the first 7 minutes of the game. Also, HAL was equally fast enough the make amends by scoring 2 goals in the span of 6 minutes (31st and 37th minute) in the form of Jotin Singh and Murali.

Ramu finished his quota of hat trick in the 74th minute. HAL equalized again in the 82nd minute through Jotin Singh.

The deciding goal came in the very next minute when Lokeshwar Singh, who came as a substitute striker and scored for MEG.

Knockout postponed

The semifinals, slated for November 1 and 2 are postponed to November 6 and 7. These dates will be utilized for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Football Academy set to take place at the Bangalore Football Stadium under the FIFA’s Vision Asia program. The final of the Puttaiah Memorial Cup will be played on November 8.

Knock out fixtures:

Semi final:
Semifinal 1: November 6 - MEG (Group A winner) V/s KSP (Group B runner-up), 3.30 pm.
Semifinal 2: November 7 - BEML (Group B winner) V/s HAL (Group A runner-up), 3.30 pm.

Final: November 7, 3.30 pm.

Lackluster win for HAL

HAL opened their account in the Puttaiah Memorial Cup by defeating CIL by a solitary goal.

Bangalore football giants Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC played their first match in the Puttaiah Memorial Cup against CIL at the Bangalore Football Stadium yesterday evening.

HAL enjoyed most of the possession in the first half, however, the attacking duo of Fredrick Okwabe and Jotin Singh missed the sharpness, and could not get past their opponents to score. Also, a few good solo efforts by their foreigner Fredrick failed to open the goalmouth for HAL.

The second half started on a dull note with the ball mainly played in the middle-third. HAL was fortunate enough to get a penalty from a handball inside thebox. Veteran midfielder J. Muralidharan made no mistake to convert thus saving the blushes for his side.

In the other match, a 10-men team of Rail Wheel Factory was good enough to defeat Super Division newcomers Dharmaraja Union by 4-2.

Super Division teams for Puttaiah Cup

Top Super Division teams will be participating in the Puttaiah Cup, which gets started from October 21.

Puttaiah Cup is organized by the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) where top Bangalore teams like HAL, BEML, Rail Wheel Factory (RWF) Bangalore will be participating.

A total of 10 teams will be participating in the league-cum-knockout tounament. The teams are divided in 2 groups, 2 teams from each groups will qualify for semifinals. The final will be played on November 3.

In the opening encounter on October 21, RWF will take on Dharmaraja Union, and later in another match HAL will take on CIL.

The teams feel that this tournament will be a perfect build up for the BDFA Super Division league, which will be followed after Puttaiah Cup.


Team listing

Group A: CIL, Dharmaraja Union, HAL, MEG, and RWF
Group B: BEL, BEML, ISRO, KSP, and SAI

Football camp for girls in Bangalore

The Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) will conduct a coaching-cum- selection camp for the girls aged between 16 to 19 years.

The selected players will be participating in the Junior Girls National Football Championship. This tournament is for the girls who are aged below Under-19.

The 8th edition of the Junior Girls National Football Championship will be held in next month at Orissa.

Players from the Karnaka state who are born on or after January 1, 1991 and not later than December 31, 1993 are eligible to report to the camp at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Tuesday, October 20 at 8 am.

Ulaganathan is proud of Odafe's feat

Scoring a hat-trick is a difficult task and that too in the finals – a rare feat! Odafe Onyeka Okolie has achieved this accomplishment in the 2009 Durand Cup final against Mohun Bagan yesterday.

However, Odafe is not the only one who has achieved this rare feat. Way back in 1974, football star of the 1970's, N. Ulaganathan tricked JCT's defence, and scored three goals against them. In that exciting Durand Cup final, Mohun Bagan got the better of JCT by 3-2.

Talking to IndianFootball.Com from Bangalore, Ulaganathan was elated, "I am proud that Odafe has joined me, I was quite feeling alone for many decades." Laughs Ulaga, who was popularly known by this name to his Kolkata football fans.

"It is always difficult to score so many goals in the finals - lot of pressure, you get the best opponent, and you are always marked. Odafe is a great player and he displayed his class in the final," adds Ulaganathan.

Bangalore Football Stadium to become 'weather-proof'

The process has started to make football pitches in India weatherproof – be it incessant rain or scorching heat, the grass shall always remain green in the football stadiums.

As IndianFootball.Com reported a few days back, the representatives from FIFA inspected the Bangalore Football Stadium, home to the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA).

As a part of the "Win in India with India" initiative by FIFA, artificial turfs consultant, Dr. Eric Harrison visited the Bangalore Football Stadium on Thursday, September 17. Dr. Harrison was also accompanied by Chrysantha Perera, FIFA's Assistant Development officer who is also the CEO of Football Federation of Sri Lanka.

The FIFA consultants expressed satisfaction over laying the synthetic turf in the stadium. The work should start anytime in January next year once the tendering process is completed. The installation typically takes four months.

The FIFA consultants are touring India to finalize the other locations for artificial turfs.

Former Bangalore city footballer Amal Dass dead

Former Bangalore city footballer, Amal Dass, expired on Friday, September 11. He was 77 years of age and was suffering from long illness.

Dass, who played in the forward position, represented Services in the Santosh Trophy. He was also a part of the Rovers Cup winning team of 1966 which won the then prestigious tournament.

He regularly turned out for EME Secunderabad in several other national-level tournaments, including Durand Cup and Chakola Gold Cup.

A breath of fresh air in the Bangalore football scene

Current football season in Bangalore is definitely not going to be a boring affair for the footballers as well as for the football lovers.

Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) has roped in a sponsor for the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) league.

Leading sports management company, SPT Sports Management Pvt. Ltd. will be conducting the BDFA league for this season. Speaking to the IndianFootball.Com, KSFA president, AR Khaleel gave this news. Also, he was cheerful about the fact that this initiative will bring in more professionalism to the game here. There will be various cash rewards for the best performing teams and players, added Mr. Khaleel.

Earlier, the IndianFootball.Com had covered an article on the grass-root level initiatives taken by SPT Sports in Bangalore. Sponsoring the local league is a new foray in the sports management space for SPT Sports.

The Bangalore Football Stadium is also readying for a major facelift. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has selected the Bangalore Football Stadium as one of the 10 venues for laying synthetic turf. Mr. Khaleel said that the ground experts from FIFA will inspect the Bangalore Football Stadium on September 14.

This plan will be done under the Win in India with India project. The experts will also inspect the grounds in Imphal, Shillong, Hoshiarpur, and Cooperage.

AFC Referees Day awards
Celebrating AFC Referees Day, the KSFA awarded Vijayakumar, employee of the Postal department as the referee of the year. The best assistant referee award was given to Andrew Shekhar, employee of AGORC.

John Anthony passes away

A. John Anthony, former Karnataka state footballer passed away after a huge cardiac arrest in Bangalore on Tuesday, August 4. He was 54 years old.

The talented midfielder had played for the 515 Army Base Workshop team for two-decades, 1974 – 1994. Anthony also represented the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) XI in the prestigious Nizam Gold Cup tournament in Hyderabad in 1978.

Grass-root initiatives by SPT Sports in Bangalore

As a part of a grass-root initiative, leading sports management company, SPT Sports Management Pvt. Ltd. runs three football academies in Bangalore, and Sunfeast ably supports this venture.

“The main aim of our academy is to develop football skills among children below 16 years,” said Kanishka Saran, Vice President, SPT Sports.

Kanishka also talked about the following programs that SPT Sports runs in Bangalore:

Sunfeast Football Academy program
SPT Sports flagship academy, located in Sarjapur Road, in the outskirts of Bangalore boasts over 500 children participating in various year-long training programs, summer camps, and winter camps. For the last 3 years, Sunfeast – ITC Foods is supporting this initiative.

Over the years, this academy has grown from strength to strength – added two more academies that are catering to different pockets in Bangalore. Eight footballers cum qualified trained professionals take care in honing the football skills among the children. The coaching classes are conducted four days a week in the regular program with children grouped in different age and skill levels.

Talent hunt program
This is perhaps the largest talent hunt football program in Bangalore. Scouting talent for the future development programs at the Sunfeast Football Academy, this program covers over 60 schools and 1500 children.

The winners from each school get to participate in the finals at the Sunfeast Football Academy. The overall winners are inducted in the Sunfeast Football Academy advanced training programs for free of cost.

Sunfeast village football
The SOCCER-A-CHILD program was kicked off in August 2007. The main objective of the program is to reach out to the rural talent. Four villages around Bangalore have been adopted under this program.

The Sunfeast Football Academy coaches provide free coaching to the children in these villages twice a week.

The idea is to provide the children from the rural areas an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful game of football and identify potential talents.

Karnataka footballer attempts suicide, dies in hospital

Our apathy towards sportsperson resurfaced yet again. In a shocking incident on Friday night, city footballer, A Ravindran, popularly known as Velu, attempted suicide by consuming poison. He was rushed to the nearby private hospital. After battling for life in the ICU, Velu was declared dead on Saturday, July 6.

Velu was on the rolls of Controllerate of Inspection Electronics (CIL), now known as Centre for Quality Assurance of Electronics and Radar Development (CQAL & R) as a guest player. He had turned out for this team in the Bangalore District Football Division (BDFA) super division league for many seasons.

A tenth-grader Velu was frustrated with life. In his suicidal note, he had mentioned of not having a decent job and marriage. He had also alleged his former CIL coach, Shayam Shahi, for a false job promise.

Velu first represented Karnataka in 1998, later he was offered a contract job at the CIL canteen, which he left after a year.

Bangalore football in poor state

This incident again highlights the poor condition of the local footballers. Football in Bangalore is dominated by the Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) teams. These teams are cash-trapped with minimal or no budget allocated to the team. Few soccer-enthusiast officials run the show.

The better players migrate to a different club outside Bangalore, the rest settles down by playing as a guest player with meagre pay, and the frustrated ones end their life.

High time to think about the players who bring laurels to the club, state, and country. All is needed is a job security.

Officials speak

Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) officials said that the entire incident is bad for the state football. However, they stood by the former CIL coach, Shayam Shahi. Incidentally, Shahi has been associated with the game for many years in Bangalore in the capacity of a manager, coach, and football official. He has trained many footballers.

Xavier Vijaykumar, Captain, HAL:
My deepest condolences to Velu’s family! May his sould rest in peace.

I’ve played with him in the under-21 and –19 tournaments. He was a robust footballer, utility player who was accustomed to play in all positions, be it defence, mid-field, or striker.

He used to think a lot about the game and wanted to be associated with it even after retirement. It is sad that we are loosing such players.

Ateast a decent job should have prevented him from doing such an act. I am told that he was promised for some job, however, I am not going to the authenticity of this information.

Velu played for CIL for many years and also captained last season, rather that waiting here, maybe he should have looked for other opportunities, that too when he was at his prime time.

A.R. Khaleel, President, KSFA:
Paying 500-600 per month is no good, players should be paid enough so that they can lead a decent life, atleast 3000 per month.

Simple solution to this is that the government or PSU, who run their football teams should change their policy on channelizing the talents. Since 80’s funds stopped coming to these teams.

To run a football team in Bangalore, you need a minimum budget of 50 to 80 lakhs per year. When the team displays a good performance at the top-level, the mileage an organization gets is enormous; many times more than the football budget.

I could see HAL trying to manage their team professionally. Also, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Bangalore putting up a good effort.

Shayam Shahi, former coach, CIL and official, CIL:
Velu was hard working and was very good in speed and stamina, however, he was not a skillful player. He was ambitious but at the same time he was a short-tempered player.

Some wards told me that he was planning to end his life, however, we never paid heed to it.

When I first got the news, I could not believe it! I’ll try to help the family in my best possible capacity.

Gumpe Rime moves out of HAL

Bangalore’s loss is Shillong’s gain. On the quest for the Bangalore footballers looking for greener pastures, here is the latest. Veteran custodian, Gumpe Rime is shifting his base. Come next season, he will don colors of newly promoted first division I-league team, Shillong Lajong FC.

Gumpe confirmed this news while speaking over phone.

“My main motivation in this game is to play at the highest level, I had a great time playing for HAL, but I would definitely like to be a part of a first division I-league team.” says Gumpe.