High on confidence after notching up a double against Bahrain in two international friendlies in the latter’s own backyard this week, the Indian Women’s Senior national team reached Ramallah, located in the central West Bank, Palestine for the their 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers starting Tuesday, May 21 amidst rousing reception.

The 23-member squad and officials reached the picturesque West Asian country on Sunday afternoon. A large posse of local journalists and photographers mobbed the team upon their arrival. There was also a decent crowd gathering to watch the SAFF Women’s Champions.

“Palestine is a beautiful place and we are overwhelmed by such warm reception. We hope to play good football here and qualify for the Finals. We had two decent games in Bahrain and the girls are motivated. It is a tough group, one that can be called the Group of Death. We have to put our best foot forward. It is serious business from here on,” national coach Anadi Barua told reporters here.

“This is the most important tournament for us. If we play to our potential we can definitely be that one team to progress to the next level,” India captain Tuli Goon opined.

Midfielder Amoolya Kamal added: “I feel so proud. We were greeted wonderfully here. Palestine seems a lovely place. At the same time I also feel responsible. The country is pinning their hopes on us. We have to do it for them. This is the most important tournament for us. The wins against Bahrain helped and we are looking forward to carry forward the momentum.”

India open their Group D qualification campaign against Myanmar on Tuesday followed by Chinese Taipei on Thursday (May 23) and the hosts Palestine on Saturday (May 25).

INDIA Women’s Team

Goalkeepers
Okram Roshini Devi, Tikina Samal, Usha Rani Das

Defenders
Ashem Romi Devi, Loitongbam Ashalata Devi, Suprava Samal, Gurumayum Radharani Devi, Tuli Goon, Lako Phuti Bhutia, Ansha

Midfielders
Yumnam Kamal Devi, Yumlembam Premi Devi, Supriya Routray, Amoolya Kamal, Dangmei Grace, Oinam Bembem Devi, Sasmita Mallick, Paromita Sit

Forwards
Irom Prameshwori Devi, Salam Rinaroy Devi, Jyoti Ann Burrett, Ngangom Bala Devi, Pinky Bompal Magar

Officials
Anadi Barua (Coach), Surmala Chanu (Assistant Coach), Chitra Gangadharan (Goalkeeping Coach), Dimple Jitesh Maniar (Physio), Indu Choudhary (Manager)

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

Shrinivas V. Dempo, the president of the Goa Football Association and Dempo SC, in his capacity as GFA president congratulated Churchill Brothers SC for winning their second I-League title.

With this triumph of Churchill Brothers, since the inception of the I-League in 2007, the trophy has been coming to Goa only with the six titles shared amongst Dempo SC (thrice), Churchill Brothers (twice) and Salgaocar FC (once).

Shrinivas Dempo, in a press statement on Saturday, said, “It is definitely a proud moment for Goan football that yet again a Goan club has managed to lift the I-League title and ensuring that the trophy was retained in Goa. I therefore congratulate the Churchill Brothers management, their players and coaching staff for their stupendous achievement of regaining the I-League title.”

“Churchill’s triumph in I-League once again reiterates the supremacy of Goan football in national perspective. Record suggests that I-League has been dominated by Goan clubs and the trend has continued,” Shrinivas Dempo added.

The Himachal Pradesh Football Association, in association with the Jaipur Football Club, will jointly be organising the Himalayan Soccer Cup at Solan in HP from June 10 to 19, 2013.

Boys in the age group of 10 to 20 years of age can participate in the camp which will be run by FA and AIFF qualified international coaches, and their accommodation as well as playing field will be at the Pinegrove School in Solan.

The cost for the camp is INR 6,000, with extra costs for to and fro.

For more information, contact the organisers under +91 9828400100 | +91 9418085005 | +91 9805981007 .

Here more information about the Himalayan Summer Camp

- The camp will consist of age categories (10 – 20 years)

- Classroom sessions for players

- Fun Filled Activities like Sighseeing, Trecking, Campfire, etc

- Competitive Matches

- FA & AIFF Certified Coaches to train the youngsters

- Award night to honour the best player and teams in different categories

- Sports Physio sessions to teach preventive measures on football injuries & remedies

The dates of the AFC Cup quarterfinals (September 17/20) clash with the 2013 South Asian Football Federation Championships in Nepal, which would be played from September 20 to October 2, and this could lead to a club vs. country issue in India and the Maldives.Then two south Asian sides – East Bengal Club (India) and New Radiant SC (Maldives)- are set to play in the AFC Cup quarterfinals and a number of their players will be part of their respective national team squads.

Earlier this year in March, the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Myanmar involving, amongst others, the hosts Myanmar and India had clashed with the AFC Cup group stage opening round, which led to the Indian and Myanmar clubs playing their opening round matches a week earlier.

Now the question has to be asked, why a regional championship like the SAFF Cup is planned on dates which could potentially clash with continental club engagements?

It will be interesting to see how the clash of dates will be sorted, as the clubs are likely to ask for a postponement of the SAFF Cup, which would then mean problems for national club engagements; and if the clubs move into the semifinals or even the finals, then a further clash of dates is possible.

The grand finale of the Aircel 5 A-Side campus football was held today at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong with SAI, Meghalaya winning the trophy and the cash prize of Rs 200,000 (2 lakhs) against four other North-East state champions. For the Aircel Campus 5 A-Side football competition, Shillong Lajong FC and their title sponsors mobile operator Aircel have come together.

The tournament witnessed huge participation with 146 teams from various parts of the North-East battling it out for the ultimate prize held across Shillong, Imphal, Aizawl, Dimapur and Guwahati.

The grand finale was organised in a league format and the champions from Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Assam facing each other in a round robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.

SAI emerged as the table toppers with 10 points from four games while the second spot went to ASL from Manipur, with nine points from four matches.

The final started-off brightly with both teams vying for the ultimate prize. The two teams shared equal ball possession and tried their best to take the lead but unfortunately were not able to break the deadlock, hence the game ended goalless and the match had to go to penalties.

SAI – Meghalaya scored the only goal in the penalty shootout thereby becoming the inaugural champions of the Aircel 5 A-Side Campus Football Tournament.

As part of the jointly initiative from Aircel and SLFC, five young talented and aspiring footballers will live their dream by training with Shillong Lajong FC for a week – Meban Khraw, Dayananda Singh, Zosangliana, Neisakolie and Uttam Kumar Das. ASL, Manipur’s Dayananda Singh was named The Player of the Tournament.

In addition to that, SLFC might enrol a top performing youngster in the SLFC Academy who will get an opportunity of a lifetime to come through the ranks and play for SLFC as a professional footballer.

Dibyajyoti Khaund, Circle Business Head – Assam and North East, Aircel, said, “Aircel has always been committed to the growth of sports and youth in North-East, hence we are extremely delighted and proud by the success of the Campus Football Tournament. In association with SLFC, our aim was to encourage and nurture the young footballing talent of North-East, hence it gives us immense pleasure to see the tremendous response and huge participation received by this tournament. I am sure that the top five talented youngsters will learn and benefit from the training at SLFC and will blossom into top professional footballers. Aircel will continue to come up with more unique initiatives to encourage and support the growth of sports in North-East.”

The Peninsula Pune Football Club Academy had over 1,400 boys attending their trials. Here a PFC video on the boys who made it through the first round with their dreams and expectations.

After yesterday’s Mohun Bagan AC vs Prayag United SC match in the Calcutta Premier Division was abandoned by the referee Prabir Dhar due to bad light, the Indian Football Association (West Bengal) was forced to revise the fixtures of the three remaining Championship Round matches.

The Mohun Bagan AC vs Prayag United SC match would now be replayed on Sunday, May 19 at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium with an earlier kick-off at 3pm to ensure that fading lights will not be an issue at the venue which does not have floodlights.

The Prayag United SC vs East Bengal Club match scheduled for Monday, May 20 has now been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 21 also at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium with a 3pm as kick-off.

The final game of the Championship Round would be played as per schedule between archrivals Mohun Bagan AC and East Bengal Club at the Saltlake Stadium on Thursday, May 23 at 5pm.

The grand finale of the Aircel Campus 5-a-side football will be held today at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong, where the winning teams from five Northeastern states namely SAI from Meghalaya, ASL from Manipur, Ramhlum Venglai FC from Mizoram, Adroit Boys from Nagaland and Barpeta Town Club from Assam will compete for top honours and cash prize of Rs 2,00,000 (2 lakhs).

Besides the team prize money, the top five players will also be chosen from the five finalists, who will get to train with Shillong Lajong FC for a week and then from these five top performers, the best player will be chosen and be given the title of the ‘Aircel Star of Lajong’.

The one-day long football fiesta will also feature a promising and upcoming DJ from Shillong, DJ Neo, who will add to the festivities.

The five teams will be pitted against each other in a round robin format and the top two teams will qualify for the final. The first match has been tentatively scheduled to kick-off at 9:00am, lining up the proceedings for a day of football and music.

The grand finale of the Aircel Campus 5 A-Side Football has been kept free and open to the public.

The 5th edition of the Indian Football Awards organised by the Football Players Association of India (FPAI), along with the Bombay Gymkhana, will be held on Thursday, May 23 at the Bombay Gymkhana Club. It will be the first time that the FPAI awards will be held in Mumbai after the first and third editions were held in Kolkata, with New Delhi hosting the second edition and Goa playing hosts to the fourth edition.The Indian Football Awards 2013 ceremony will commence at 8pm and all those attending are requested to be on time. Not only will the awardees be announced and presented with their awards, but there will also be special mementos handed out to some players for special achievements during the year or their overall career. The awards ceremony will be followed by a short press conference for the winners at same venue.

Players and officials from various clubs around India will participate in the awards. Bollywood celebrities like Abhishek Bachchan, Dino Morea, John Abraham, Neha Dhupia and Rahul Bose, to name a few, will also be attending the awards to make the event a glamorous one.

An exhibition match will also be held on May 23 at the same venue, Bombay Gymkhana, from 5pm onwards. The match will be played by some of the current and senior National team players like FPAI president Baichung Bhutia, Renedy Singh, Gouramangi Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Climax Lawrence, Lenny Rodrigues and many more, along with some Bollywood celebrities like Dino Morea, Rahul Bose, John Abraham, Marc Robinson and Bollywood choreographers Bosco and Caesar.

The following are this year’s top 5 finishers in each category in no specific order. The winners will be announced on the awards night itself

Young Player of the Year
- Mohammed Rafique (Prayag United SC)
- Alwyn George (Pailan Arrows)
- Holicharan Narzary (Pailan Arrows)
- Bikramjit Singh (Churchill Brothers SC)
- Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal Club)

Indian Player of the Year
- Sunil Chhetri (Churchill Brothers SC)
- Syed Rahim Nabi (Mohun Bagan AC)
- Mehtab Hossain (East Bengal Club)
- Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers SC)
- Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC)

Foreign Player of the Year
- Carlos Hernández Valverde (Prayag United SC, Costa Rica)
- Ranti Martins Soleye (Prayag United SC, Nigeria)
- Roberto ‘Beto’ Mendes Silva (Churchill Brothers SC)
- Pierre Djidjia Douhou (Pune FC, Ivory Coast)
- Chidi Edeh (East Bengal Club, Nigeria)

Coach/Manager of the Year
- Derrick Pereira (Pune FC)
- Subhas Bhowmick (Churchill Brothers SC)
- Trevor James Morgan (East Bengal Club)
- Santosh Kashyup (ONGC)
- Arthur Papas (Pailan Arrows)

Most Organized Club Venue
Will be given to the home team who have the best organisation of matches and match day experience. There are no nominees; the winners will be announced on the event date itself!

Fans Player of the Year
- Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers, India)
- Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal Club, India)
- Lalkamal Bhowmick (Prayag United SC, India)
- James Joseph Saeed Moga (Pune FC, South Sudan)
- Zohib Islam Amiri (Mumbai FC, Afghanistan)
- Carlos Hernández Valverde (Prayag United SC, Costa Rica)
- Izumi Arata (Pune FC, India)

The FPAI had earlier announced the candidates for the ‘Fans Player of the Year’ award!
You can still vote and more information about it here: FPAI Announces nominations for “Fans’ Player of the Year 2013″ .

His Excellency the Governor of Goa, Bharat Vir Wanchoo, felicitated the I-League champions Churchill Brothers SC at a function held at the Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula today.Bharat Vir Wanchoo interacted with the team players, officials as well as the team owner Churchill Alemao, CEO Valanka Alemao and the rest of the Alemao family.The Governor praised the team for winning their second I-League title and ensuring that the I-league trophy remained in Goa.

He commended the team for the hard work put in during the entire season and also acknowledged the passionate work carried out by Churchill Alemao and his whole family in helping Goan and Indian football grow to the next level.