Abhijit Kadam Memorial Football Cup

The sixth edition of the Abhijit Kadam Memorial Football Cup will kick-off tonight in Pune with eight teams taking part in this years edition of the tournament with the final slated for March 8. The tournament will be played at the floodlit Bharati Vidyapeeth Education Complex Ground in Dhankawdi.

With the I-League currently going on the organisers couldn't invite any of India's top sides, so they had to fall back on four I-League Division 2 teams amongst a field of eight sides. The notable one's are Sporting Clube de Goa and Shillong Lajong FC, who last year played in the I-League. These eight teams have been split into two groups of four teams each.

In Group A defending champions Pata Kadil Talim Mandal (Kolhapur) will face Simla Youngs FC (New Delhi), Guwahati Town Club (Assam) and Shillong Lajong FC (Meghalaya). Group B meanwhile will see JCB Bhillai Brothers (Madhya Pradesh), Sporting Clube de Goa, last time runners-up Amanora Deccan XI (Pune) and Golden Threads FC (Kerala) in action.

The Abhijit Kadam Memorial Football Cup is being conducted by the Abhijit Kadam Memorial Foundation under the aegis of the Pune District Football Association and the Western India Football Association with the tournament recognized by the All India Football Federation.

The champions would take home Rs 151,000 (1,51 lakhs), while the runners-up would get Rs 100,000 (1 lakh). There would be awards and a cash incentive of Rs 10,000 for the Best Player of the Tournament as well as the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.