VIDEO: Kolkata's Future Hope brings hope to street children

FIFA Untold Stories profiles the amazing story of Future Hope, which brings schooling and meaning to children in Kolkata, which suffers from some of the worst poverty and living conditions in the world.

VIDEO - NDTV: Baichung's Kolkata trains hard to claim Fittest City Contest award

Ex-India captain Baichung Bhutia and current international Gouramangi Singh train Kolkata footballers hard and say their experience will give them a bonus and help them claim the Fittest City Contest award in the NDTV/Nirmal Marks for Sports campaign.

PHOTOs: Deportivo Saprissa tour Kolkata

Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa's Under-23 team landed on Friday in Kolkata to participate in the 117th IFA Shield. The day after they took a tour of the City of Joy, amongst other places visiting the Victoria Memorial.

117th IFA Shield: ONGC replace Muktijoddha Sangsad KC

I-League side ONGC have come in as a replacement for Bangladesh side Muktijoddha Sangsad KC in Group A of the 117th 'NVD' IFA Shield which is being played from March 3 to 19 in Kolkata and Siliguri.

In Group A, which is being played in Siliguri, East Bengal Club take on ONGC, Prayag United SC and Pailan Arrows; while in Group B Mohun Bagan AC, Pune FC, Deportivo Saprissa from Costa Rica and United Sikkim FC face each other in Kalyani and the Saltlake Stadium.

The tournament winner would receive Rs 2,5 Million (25 lakhs), while the runners-up would get Rs 1,5 Million (15 lakhs) and the losing semifinalists Rs 500,000 (5 lakhs). In individual prizes, the Man of the Match in the group stage would get Rs 5,000 and the Man of the Match in the semifinals and final Rs 10,000. The Player of the Tournament would receive Rs 25,000 and the Best Coach Rahim Saheb Award would get Rs 100,000 (1 lakh).

NewsTime Bangla is the television partner of the 117th IFA Shield and will be showing matches of the tournament live.


FIXTURES & RESULTS

Group A - Siliguri
03-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club 1-0 Pailan Arrows (2.30pm)
05-Mar-2013: Prayag United SC - Pailan Arrows (2.30pm)
06-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club - ONGC (2.30pm)
08-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club - Prayag United SC (5.30pm)
09-Mar-2013: Pailan Arrows - ONGC (2.30pm)
11-Mar-2013: Prayag United SC - ONGC (2.30pm)

Group B
05-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC - Pune FC (Kalyani 3.00pm)
07-Mar-2013: Deportivo Saprissa - Pune FC (Saltlake, 3.00pm)
08-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC - United Sikkim FC (Kalyani, 3.00pm)
10-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC - Deportivo Saprissa (Kalyani 3.00pm)
10-Mar-2013: Pune FC - United Sikkim FC (Saltlake, 3.00pm)
12-Mar-2013: Deportivo Saprissa - United Sikkim FC (Saltlake, 3.00pm)

Semifinals
1?-Mar-2013: Winner Group A - Runners-Up Group B
1?-Mar-2013: Winner Group B - Runners-Up Group A

Final
1?-Mar-2013: Winner SF1 - Winner SF2

Kolkata's George Telegraph name squad for 2nd Division I-League

George Telegraph SC from Kolkata have announced their list of 28 players including three foreigners for the 2nd Division I-League.

George Telegraph SC have brought in two new foreigner strikers in Nigerian Emeka Michael Ochei and Cameroonian Stephen Njoh Mbawyam, while also bringing in Milan Adhikary and Mithun Saha to strengthen the squad ahead of their second campaign in the 2nd Division.

George Telegraph SC have been drawn in Group A, to be played in Bhopal, alongside Delhi United Soccer Club, DSK Shivajians FC (Pune), Kenkre FC (Mumbai), KGF Academy (Bangalore), Kohima Komets (Nagaland), Langsning FC (Shillong), Rangdajied United FC (Shillong) and Samaleshwari Sporting Club (Orissa).


GEORGE TELEGRAPH SC

Goalkeepers
Swarup Das, Milan Adhikary, Sayan Saha

Defenders
Raju Mallick, Sukhdeb Murmu, Godwin Orieke Mba, Supriyo Mukherjee, Kaushik Majumder, Kaustav Banerjee, Chanchal Saha, Amit Chakraborty, Indrajit Hazra, Rana Barui

Midfielders
Sumit Orao, Bibekananda Banerjee, Laltu Hembram, Mohammad Yasin, Swapan Oraon, Siladitya Seth, Rinku Shaw, Masen Buibou Mataina, Yan Law, Amitava Ganguly, Sudipto Paul

Forwards
Emeka Michael Ochei, Stephen Njoh Mbawyam, Mithun Saha, Abhishek Singh

Officials
Biswajit Bhattacharjee (Coach)

Baichung Bhutia & Nirmal Lifestyle launch University Football League!

Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and Nirmal Lifestyle have come together to announce the launch of India's first-ever University Football League yesterday in Mumbai.

The UFL will initially start across five cities — Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, Delhi and Bangalore with 16 colleges and universities from every city taking part in a league-cum-knockout format. Two teams from every city will then progress towards another round of football to determine the national winner.

The prize money for the winners is Rs. 1 Million (10 lakh) and the runners-up will take home Rs. 500,000 (5 lakh), while the total prize money will be around Rs. 2 Million (20 lakh).

For the UFL Baichung Bhutia's promoted BBFS have partnered with Nirmal Lifestyle Limited, a Real Estate Company with Italian sportswear company Diadora another parrner with an aim to expand the UFL to 20 cities by the fourth year.

The inaugural season is planned for October to December 2013 with the organisers hoping that the league becomes a scouting platform for India football clubs to source untapped talent, while also giving the university boys a chance to test their skills against their peers.

VIDEO: Saltlake Stadium lights to be ready next month

Here an ABP Ananda report on the floodlight at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata, which according to the West Bengal Minister of Sports Madan Mitra will finally be ready next month.

VIDEO: Strict security arrangements for Kolkata derby finalised

Yesterday West Bengal Minister of Sports Madan Mitra met club officials from both Mohun Bagan AC and East Bengal Club ahead of their upcoming I-League derby on Saturday to discuss and finalise security arrangements around the match. Here the ABP Ananda report on the issue.

Should the next Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal Derby have been played outside Kolkata?

Those of you who follow Indian football regularly will have read or even seen footage of what happened at the last Kolkata derby in the I-League on December 9, 2012 between East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC at the Saltlake Stadium.

Now in a weeks time on Saturday, February 9 the next derby in the I-League will be held once more at 2pm in the afternoon with one question not asked at all - shouldn't this match have been moved outside of Kolkata?

With floodlights still not ready an afternoon kick-off was unavoidable but the pelting of the play of field with anything available should have had some sort of reaction and not just costlier tickets and higher security, which this time's host Mohun Bagan is ensuring, but in my opinion the game should have been taken out of Kolkata to make it clear for once and for all that such behaviour will not be accepted nor tolerated.

And as it is the biggest match of the year within the Indian football calendar even holding it e.g. the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi would have drawn large crowds and maybe Delhi could have shown Kolkata how to watch and enjoy a football match then that is getting lost in the Kolkata derby.

It is about abuse and obscene gestures, hurting not only sentiments but if possible also causing physical harm. Things have simply gone to far and the authorities need to act to keep such behaviour in check.

Just some food for thought from my side...

Mumbai's Kenkre FC to organise trials in Kolkata on February 1/2

Mumbai's Kenkre FC who will be once more participating in the 2nd Division I-League this season will be holding open selection trials in Kolkata on Friday/Saturday, February 1/2 to find suitable players for their squad.

The open selection trials for Kenkre FC's first team will be conducted on February 1/2 in Kolkata at the SAI grounds of the Saltlake Stadium sports complex. The trials will be held from 09.00 to 12.00 IST with interested players asked to report with their full playing kit.

The Mumbai-based club, whose Academy is well known, are hoping to find experienced players to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2nd Division I-League campaign.

For details on the trials in Kolkata contact Kenkre FC under: 98923-51609 or 98214-45880


Kenkre FC Trials in Kolkata Details

DATE: February 1/2
TIME: 09.00 to 12.00 IST
VENUE: SAI grounds, Saltlake Stadium sports complex, Kolkata

German Coaching/Goalkeeping Instructors coming to India

The German Olympic Association (DOSB) and German Football Association (DFB) are sending two Coaching and Goalkeeping instructors to India for the next three weeks to run two Coaching courses in Kolkata and Mizoram plus the goalkeeping course "The Art of German Goalkeeping" in Mumbai.

The first course will be held from Monday onwards in Kolkata by the Indian Football Association (West Bengal) in which local coaches get the chance to learn the German way of coaching, which in the last few years has been very successful.

The second course will be held by the Mizoram Football Association in the state capital Aizawl. Originally planed for youth development coaches, the course is now open to all coaches in the Northeastern state as such high level instructors rarely come to Mizoram.

The third and final course will be organised by the All India Football Federation and hosted by the Western India Football Association at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai from October 12-15. Goalkeeping coaches contracted with the AIFF, from I-League clubs and other institutions have been invited for the course "The Art of German Goalkeeping" then Germany has brought out some of the best goalkeepers in the history of world football.

Airtel Rising Stars - Kolkata: Swaruk, Abdul & Krishanu make finals!

Swaruk Hossain, Abdul Halim Lashkar and Krishanu Santra were adjudged as the three 'Airtel Rising Stars' at the Kolkata talent hunt that concluded yesterday at the Howrah Maidan. The players were selected on criteria based on the aspects mentioned in the Manchester United Scouting Guidelines.

Koustav Chakraborty, son of former goalkeeper Sudipto Chakraborty, was selected among all the goalkeepers. Koustav will join keepers from the East/Northeastern region for the next level trials for goalkeepers.

The experienced and watchful eyes of the coaches judged the players on their performance, taking into consideration their physical and mental strengths, expertise in position, and technical acumen. Based on their expertise in the city camp Swaruk Hossain, Abdul Halim Lashkar and Krishanu Santra were selected. The three footballers from Kolkata will join players from 15 other centres to participate in the six-day final selection trial, scheduled to take place in Bangalore from September 10.

The 116 footballers who were shortlisted on Day one but failed to make it to the camp will get another opportunity to make their 'Airtel Rising Stars' dream come true next season. They will also receive Manchester United certificates, signed by none other than Sir Alex Fergusson.

Launched in association with Manchester United, 'Airtel Rising Stars' is a rigorous scouting program that will cover 16 cities across India and will choose 12 talented footballers who get the chance-of-a-lifetime to attend a week long training camp with Manchester United in Old Trafford, England.

The three best players from Kolkata will join 45 other players, who will be divided into four teams of 12 each and will be tested on all parameters (including physical attributes, individual skills, match situations and their performances in actual matches) before the 12 best players are chosen to travel to Manchester United for a week and to train alongside the Manchester United Academy team.

Indian Arrows introduce new Chief Coach Arthur Papas

The Pailan Arrows, the AIFF's developmental side in the I-League, introduced their new chief coach Arthur Papas from Australia to the media in a press conference at the Hotel Hindusthan in Kolkata today. The press conference was attended by the AIFF Project Director for the Arrows Subhankar Mukherjee, the Pailan Group chairman Apurba Saha besides Arthur Papas.

The new coaching staff of the Pailan Arrows would consist of Arthur Papas as chief coach, his assistant coaches would be fellow Australian Aaron Symon, who is new, and Sujit Chakraborty; while Tanomoy Bose would continue as Goalkeeping Coach.

At the press conference it was disclosed that in total 36 players had been signed for the Pailan Arrows with all players in the Under-23 category and an aim to develop talent for the senior national team.

Arthur Papas comes to the Arrows after having coached the India Under-22 boys at the AFC U-22 Championship qualifiers in Oman. The team impressed everyone with their strong displays and numerous of the Under-22 boys are part of the Arrows or have joined the team over the summer.

Speaking about the pressure of coaching the Arrows Papas said, "Being a new team, our aim is to ensure we improve on our performance. We all know about our poor performance in the last two seasons. So I am hoping we can better that."

Papas said about the fact that his boys cannot get relegated from the I-League, "The best thing about the team is that it has young kids who want to win all the time and are not worried about being relegated. It neither demotivates them nor demotivates me. I used to coach the team in Australia under the same format and now the team tops the league there," Papas added.

"The ultimate point is to play and improve and then finally play for India. There is no denying that we have to develop last year's show and we are confident. My experience has been positive here and I feel more and more games will help the player grow," Papas added.

So far the young Aussie has impressed with his coaching, but the Pailan Arrows and a whole season of the I-League will be a different affair then international youth football.

VIDEO: Could Tollygunge Agragami be forced to change their club name?

The XtraTime program reports from Kolkata that the former National Football League (now called I-League) club Tollygunge Agragami, who currently play in the Calcutta Premier Division, are fighting for financial survival and are considering to change the name of the club if a suitable sponsor is found. If this happens then the name of Tollygunge Agragami which was founded in 1943 will disappear from the Indian football scene.

Here the XtraTime report

VIDEO: Odafe Okolie back in Mohun Bagan training

The currently highest paid footballer in India, Mohun Bagan AC's Nigerian star striker Odafe Onyeka Okolie is back in Kolkata and has joined his clubs pre-season practice.

Here a XtraTime report on Odafe's return

East Bengal Club celebrate Foundation Day

Kolkata giants East Bengal Club today celebrated their 93rd Foundation Day on their Maidan club premises, the day on which the red-and-gold had been founded in 1920. The days celebration had been launched in the morning by legendary footballer Ahmed Khan.

The evening program was opened by West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan with lighting of the lamp along with West Bengal ministers Partha Chatterjee, Madan Mitra and Bratya Basu along with the Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee.

During the program the legendary footballer Ahmed Khan was presented the 'Bharat Gourav' Award from Governor M.K. Narayanan. Former red & gold stars Prasanta Sinha and Santo Mitra were given the 'Life Time Achievement' awards, while former club captain Ilyas Pasha was handed a cheque of Rs 500,000 (5 lakhs).

Current East Bengal midfielder Penn Ikechukwu Orji from Nigeria was given the 'Golden Boot' Award for his stellar performances in the 2011/12 season.

Former referees Sumanta Ghosh and Sagar Sen along with noted Sports journalists Shibaji Dasgupta and Rupak Saha were also felicitated at the function.

Besides the presentation of awards for outstanding services to the club there was a cultural function in which singers Indrani Sen and Saikat Mitra performed.

Keventer Cup Allstar: 20 School Boys selected

The Keventer Cup, an inter-school football tournament in Kolkata, had been revived by the Debanjan Sen Foundation a few weeks ago which was won by La Martiniere For Boys with a 1-0 against St James' School at the La Martiniere ground.

Now a Keventer Cup Allstar team of 20 boys was announced from the inter-school football tournament. The boys were selected by scouts from the tournament and they will receive specialised training from coach Anit Ghosh and experts Jamshed Nassiri, Shyam Thapa and Alvito D'Cunha.

The school boys team will then play friendly matches at the CCFC and other venues across Kolkata.


Keventer Cup Allstar

Kewal Routh (Assembly of God Church School), Vardan Adiyan (Assembly of God Church School), Joshit Dutta (St James' School), Akash Mondal (St James' School), Mobasher Alam (St James' School), Abhishek Mitra (St James' School), Amir Khan (St James' School), Rohit Chetri (St Lawrence School), Anthony Hazra (St Lawrence School), Sheikh Saddam (St Lawrence School), Mahesh Kewat (St Lawrence School), Akash Dave (La Martiniere For Boys), Mohammed Adnan (La Martiniere For Boys), Nathan Alexander (La Martiniere For Boys), Asad Ahmed (The Heritage School), Shayon Moitra (The Heritage School), Akash Ghosh (The Heritage School), Rishiket Singh (Julien Day, Kalyani), Imtiaz Ali (St Dominics School), Sharukh Rahman (St Dominics School), Rahul Xalko (Don Bosco, Liluah), Bikash Paswan (Future Hope)

2012 Mohun Bagan Day celebrations

Asia's oldest football club Kolkata's Mohun Bagan AC celebrated their Mohun Bagan Day yesterday across the day with a function at the Netaji Indoor Stadium being the highlight. The guest of honour at the function was Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, who was given a warm welcome by the over 5,000 Bagan fans at the venue.

July 29 is celebrated each year as it was on that day in 1911 that Mohun Bagan AC became the first Indian team to beat a team of the British to lift the IFA Shield trophy.

Besides being felicitated Ruud Gullit also unveiled the new Mohun Bagan jersey designed by renowned singer Babul Supriyo which was handed to team players Syed Rahim Nabi and Tolgay Ozbey.

This years Mohun Bagan Ratna was given to the late Jarnail Singh, one of India's best-ever defenders. The award was accepted by Jarnail's three daughters - Kulwinder Kaur, Jaswinder Kaur and Narinder Kaur - from Mohun Bagan president Swapan Sadhan Bose.

Other felicitations were of the Nursery League team of Mohun Bagan, the Bengal state cricket team besides the Mohun Bagan cricket team, which won four out of the five local tournaments under the Cricket Association of Bengal in the last season.

The function ended with performances from singers Babul Supriyo and Usha Uthup after it had started with Rabindra Sangeet by Jayati Chakraborty.


Individual Awards winners

'Sailen Manna Memorial Award' for Best Sportsperson of the Club 2011/12 - Laxmi Ratan Shukla (Cricketer)

'Karuna Shankar Bhattacharjee Award' for Best Footballer 2011/12 - Syed Rahim Nabi

'Dhiren Dey Memorial Award' for Best Cricketer 2011/12 - Debabrata Das

Award for Trainee with highest attendance in Kolkata Goalz tournament - Dilshad Rehmani

Ruud Gullit: Supports Koevermans as India coach!

Former Dutch international captain and AC Milan star Ruud Gullit is in Kolkata and when asked about his former Oranje team mate Wim Koevermans, who has been appointed as Team India coach, he was in full support of Wim.

"I think Indian football is in good hands. The most important for these coaches is to develop youth football because that is where it all starts. It's important to have training facilities, the pitches," Ruud Gullit said.

"It is not about how many tricks a budding talent knows. It is more about how much he knows about the game, how much he understands football. The approach should be direct, it should be either about scoring goals or saving them," Gullit, himself a coach and TV expert, explained.

52 year old Wim Koevermans had been part of the Netherlands team which had won the 1988 European Championship in Germany under then captain Ruud Gullit.

And Gullit understands the problems that a large country like India faces in developing its football. Comparing it to the Netherlands he said, "Every club there has an amateur team and each team has about three or four pitches. For this reason, every kid has got the opportunity to play in the pitches."

"So you have to first think of building pitches, the artificial ones because of the weather," Gullit added.

VIDEO: The new Pailan Arrows Team Bus

Bengali sports program XtraTime on ABP Ananda yesterday did a story on the Pailan Group sponsored AIFF Developmental side Pailan Arrows now have their own team bus to travel within Kolkata for matches and other events. The highlight is that the bus depicts photos of world and local football stars on the outside like Maradona, Messi, Kaka, etc besides Baichung Bhutia and other ex-India stars.