Himachal Pradesh Youth Football Festival from tomorrow

The 'ONGC' Himachal Pradesh Youth Football Festival will be played from tomorrow until September 10 in the beautiful H.P. hill-top town of Nahan. The tournament organised by the Himachal Pradesh Football Association will see a total of 24 teams of Under-14 boys play for the title.

In the first round 17 local teams from across Himachal Pradesh will play in a knockout format with four teams making it to the next round. In that next round 11 teams, four local and seven outstation teams which will include Mohun Bagan AC, Prayag United SC and Pune FC, will be divided into four groups. The group winners would progress to the semifinals and the winner of that will play in the final.

The organisation of this under-14 youth football festival is the brain child of Himachal Pradesh Football Association secretary Deepak Sharma, who is working to develop football in the Himalayan state.

The opening ceremony of the event will have HPFA president Sanjeev Katwal as the chief guest. In addition to that, Himachal Pradesh women's team would play an exhibition match with the women's team of Tibetan Sports Association.

During the course of the event, the final of the Himachal Pradesh Inter-District Championship will also be played, date for which will be announced later on.

However, the best has been reserved for the last day, when apart from the final match, the famous juggler, Uttam Das, would come over from Kolkata to mesmerize the crowd with his stunning antics. Rajeev Bindal, MLA from Solan, would grace the closing ceremony as the chief guest.