67th Santosh Trophy: Services need extra-time to overcome Punjab, face Kerala in final

The neutral crowd at the Jawaharlal Stadium was today treated to another cliffhanger as defending champions Services came back from behind to beat 10-man Punjab 3-1 in the second semifinal of the 67th Santosh Trophy in Kochi. Services now meet co-hosts Kerala in the final on Sunday, March 3.

Punjab looked the more purposeful side in the opening exchanges of the tie and were rewarded for their attacking intent in the 20th minute when Rohit's header from Taranjit Singh's pass took a deflection off Vijay Kumar's chest to enter the goal. Two minutes later, Harnek Singh's boys almost doubled the lead. Gagandeep Bali took a sharp turn inside the box after being fed by Taranjit from the right flank, but his effort was inches wide. Taranjit was impressive down the right flank sending in smart crosses which at times looked threatening. One such floater was met by Rohit in the 35th minute but his strike missed the target by a whisker.

The defending champions were denied room in the middle of the park which has been there key operation area with fleet footed players like Shadip Rai and Z.V. Horin deprived of space to orchestrate goalmouth chances. The two chances that befell upon them were in the 40th and 45th minute respectively. First it was V.V. Farhad who missed a gilt-edged opportunity from close range. His bungle was followed by Horin's strike which went agonizingly off target.

Playing a high line post the breather, Services got their first real chance to equalise in the 52nd minute when Farhad released Subrata Sarkar on top of the box. But the latter tried to improvise with a backheel which backfired. Sanjith Kumar's wards played with more intent stringing together passes cohesively.

Things turned dicey when Taranjit was given marching orders in the 57th minute after being booked for the second time in the match for play-acting. Services capitalised on the numerical advantage in the dying minutes of the match with substitute Lalian Mawia equalising in the 86th minute. It stayed one-all in regulation time and the match went into extra-time.

In the end Taranjit's untimely exit was a big blow for Punjab and proved to be detrimental in their quest for a place in the finale as Dhanji Singh and Lalian Mawia scored in the span of nine minutes of the second half extra-time to dash Punjab's hopes of a final berth after hanging on to their 20th minute lead commendably well in spite of being a man down early in the second half.

67th Santosh Trophy: Humdinger on the cards as Services meet Punjab

In the second semifinal of the 67th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy defending champions Services take on seven time winners Punjab at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi tomorrow. And it will be a battle of wits when two heavyweights cross swords.

While Punjab are likely to play the aerial ball more to help their tall strikers like Amandeep Singh and Prem Kumar make early forays into the Services defence, the defending champions would prefer to string together short passes which suits their fleet footed players like Z.V. Zorin and Shadip Rai.

It will be interesting to see how the two coaches – Sajith Kumar of Services and Harnik Singh of Punjab – strategize to counter each other's different style of play. For the moment though, they preferred to hold their cards close to their chests.

"They play the aerial ball more because of the tall players in their arsenal. Our style is completely different as we play more possession football and ground passes. We like to open spaces as our players are suited to that. Our flank movement is very god and am banking a lot of that. My players are very fast with the ball and without it too. This is our advantage. Well, obviously we have got a plan to counter their game play but let's not get into that too much," Sajith Kumar quipped.

"Punjab are a very strong side and they have done really well to reach this far. They are gelling well and we have to put our best foot forward in order to win," added the Services Coach.

Punjab have won all their three quarterfinal matches in what was a Group of Death with 31-times champions Bengal, last year's semifinalists Manipur and an in-form Karnataka.

For Services, who won the trophy after more than half a century last year, it has been a mixed bag thus far. Starting their campaign with a draw against Railways, they mauled Madhya Pradesh 6-0 before toiling hard to beat Orissa 2-0.

Kumar though does not want to dwell on the past. "We did have a mixed outing in the quarterfinals but I thought my boys showed character to wriggle out of difficulties and played some scintillating football as well, against MP."

The match will kick-off at 18-30 IST and will be LIVE on DD SPORTS.

67th Santosh Trophy: Punjab's final 20 player squad

The Punjab Football Association has send a young 20 players squad, which is playing the 67th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy which is being played from February 1 to March 3 in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

Former champions Punjab have been drawn in Group C of the preliminary round being played in Varanasi having faced Meghalaya, losing 0-1 and today having a do or die match against Odisha.


PUNJAB

Goalkeepers
Paramjit Singh (Punjab Police), Satbir Singh (JCT Academy) S.D. Syam (CRPF)

Defenders
Arshdeep Singh (JCT Academy), Affavbir Singh (JCT Academy), Sukhdeep Singh (Punjab Police), Sandip Singh (JCT Academy), Sarabjit Singh (Punjab Police), Y. Krishna Kumar Singh (CRPF), Sumit Bali (Punjab Police)

Midfielders
Sajandeep Singh (JCT Academy), Harinder Singh (Punjab Police), Rohit (Punjab Police), Gurtej Singh (Punjab Police), Taranjit Singh (SNC FC Banga) Jatinder Singh (Punjab Police)

Forwards
Amandeep Singh (Mahilpur United FC), Prem Kumar (J&K Bank), Gagandeep Bali (SBH Singh FC), Vijay Kumar (Punjab Police)

Officials
Harnek Singh (Coach), Sandeep Singh (Manager)

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 11: Kerala & Manipur qualify for semifinals

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its eleventh day today played matches in Group A and B of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The third and final quarterfinal league match in Group A and B were played today with Kerala and Manipur moving into the semifinals.

Former champions Kerala defeated Maharashtra to top Group A Quarterfinal round and advance to the semifinals of the 66th Santosh Trophy at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. Maharashtra who had won their first two matches and needed only a draw to advance to the last four. They took the lead in the 8th minute through in-form striker Kailash Patil converting from the spot. But Kerala hit back only two minutes later when Surjith V.V. equalised in the 10th minute. In the second half, R. Kannan scored a brace to seal the issue for Kerala. He scored his first in the 72nd minute and then put it beyond Maharashtra's reach scoring his team’s third goal in the 81st minute. Kerala finished on seven points from three matches while Maharashtra ended on six points.

Meanwhile in the other Group A match defending champions West Bengal, who had earlier bowed out of the tournament, defeated Punjab 2-1 in their last Group League match. After Gurmeet Singh put Punjab in the lead in the 16th minute, but only a minute later Mohammed Mukhtar equalised and then Tapan Maity scored in the 87th minute to turn things around for Bengal. West Bengal finished on four points from three matches while Punjab remained pointless.

In the Group B decider at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Manipur played a two-all draw against Goa and advanced to the semifinal piping Goa on a better goal difference. Both teams finished on seven points from three matches but Manipur moved-on by virtue of the better goal difference (+7) in comparison to Goa's (+3). For Manipur Kh. Thoi Singh scored the opener in the 19th minute which was neutralized by Goa's Gabriel Fernandes in the 26th minute. Prathesh Shirodkar put Goa ahead in the 45th minute but M. Govin Singh restored parity for Manipur in the 70th minute and sealed their passage to the semifinals.

In an inconsequential Group B match Meghalaya beat Uttar Pradesh 3-0. Ronnie McDonald Nongbri scored the first goal for Meghalaya in the 7th minute while Bansharai Sun doubled the lead in the 18th minute. Timmy Ryngkhlem scored the third goal in the 82nd minute. Meghalaya finished on three points from three matches while Uttar Pradesh lost all their group matches.


Day Eleven Results

Group-A - Cuttack
22-May-2012: Maharashtra 1-3 Kerala
[M: 8 Kailash Patil; K: 10 Surjith V.V., 72,81 R. Kannan]
22-May-2012: West Bengal 2-1 Punjab
[W: 17 Mohammed Mukhtar, 87 Tapan Maity; P: 16 Gurmeet Singh]

Group-B - Bhubaneswar
22-May-2012: Meghalaya 3-0 Uttar Pradesh
[7 Ronnie McDonald Nongbri, 18 Bansharai Sun, 82 Timmy Ryngkhlem]
22-May-2012: Manipur 2-2 Goa
[M: 19 Kh. Thoi Singh, 70 M. Govin Singh; G: 26 Gabriel Fernandes, 45 Prathesh Shirodkar]

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 9: Bengal out as Maharashtra, Goa & Manipur win

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its ninth day today played matches in Group A and B of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The defending champions West Bengal are out after a goalless draw against Kerala.

Champions West Bengal played a goalless draw against Kerala in their second Group A Quarterfinal League match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The 31-time record champions, who had lost to Maharashtra in their opener, desperately went out for a win but weren't successful. Kerala moved to four points from two matches and a chance to still progress while West Bengal are on one point from two matches.

In the day's other Group A match, Maharashtra rode on Kailash Patil's hattrick to rout Punjab 5-0. Vijith Shetty had put Maharashtra in the lead as early as the 7th minute before striker Patil scored in the 29th, 71st and the 83rd minute. Reuben D'Souza completed the rout in the 88th minute. Maharashtra after their second win are top of the group with six points matches while Punjab are yet to open their account and are out of the tournament.

In a Group B Quarterfinal League match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar strong title contenders Goa scraped past Meghalaya 2-1. Sachin Gawas put Goa in the lead in the 57th minute only for Bansharai Sun to restore parity in the 70th minute. But Gabriel Fernandes would win it in the 87th minute for Goa, who move to six points from two matches while Meghalaya are yet to open their account.

In another Group B match Manipur pumped in half-a-dozen goals against a hapless Uttar Pradesh. L. Chaothoiba Singh scored four goals (32nd, 53rd, 65th and 68th) while Kh. Thoi Singh and Kh.Naoton Singh scored one apiece in the 78th and 92nd minute respectively. Manipur stay at the top of Group B with six points from two matches while Uttar Pradesh stay at the bottom without a point.


Day Nine Results

Group-A - Cuttack
20-May-2012: Kerala 0-0 West Bengal
20-May-2012: Maharashtra 5-0 Punjab
[7 Vijith Shetty, 29,71,83 Kailash Patil, 88 Reuben D'Souza]

Group-B - Bhubaneswar
20-May-2012: Meghalaya 1-2 Goa
[M: 70 Bansharai Sun; G: 57 Sachin Gawas, 87 Gabriel Fernandes]
20-May-2012: Uttar Pradesh 0-6 Manipur
[32,53,65,68 L. Chaothoiba Singh, 78 Kh. Thoi Singh, 90+2 Kh. Naoton Singh]

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 7: Maharashtra upset champions Bengal

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its seventh day today played matches in Group A and B of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Champions Bengal were beaten by Maharashtra, but in other matches the favourites Manipur, Goa and Kerala won.

Defending champions West Bengal were beaten 2-1 by Maharashtra in their opening quarterfinal league match at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. ONGC striker Kailash Patil opened the scoring for Maharashtra in the 20th minute, which was doubled by Linekar Machando in the 70th minute against the run of play. But West Bengal captain Tarif Ahmed pulled one back in the very next minute but Maharashtra managed to hold on until the end.

In another Group A match Kerala rode on an injury-time strike from Shibinlal to scrape past former champions Punjab 2-1. Punjab went into the lead in the 38th minute through a Rohit Kumar strike. But Kerala restored parity in the 73rd minute through Sajith T. before Shibinlal sealed the fate in the 93rd minute.

In a Group B quarterfinal league match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhuwaneswar, Manipur beat Northeastern rivals Meghalaya 1-0. L. Chaothaiba Singh scored the match-winner in the 62nd minute.

In the groups other match Goa overcame minnows Uttar Pradesh 2-0 with Gabriel Fernandes and Agnelo Colaco scoring one apiece in the 54th and 61st minute respectively.


Day Seven Results

Group-A - Cuttack
18-May-2012: West Bengal 1-2 Maharashtra
[W: 71 Tarif Ahmed; M: 20 Kailash Patel, 70 Linekar Machando]
18-May-2012: Punjab 1-2 Kerala
[P: 38 Rohit Kumar; K: 73 Sajith T., 90+3 Shibinlal]

Group-B - Bhubaneswar
18-May-2012: Manipur 1-0 Meghalaya
[62 L. Chaothoiba Singh]
18-May-2012: Goa 2-0 Uttar Pradesh
[54 Gabriel Fernandes , 61 Agnelo Colaco]

66th Santosh Trophy: Punjab name squad

The Punjab Football Association have announced their final 20 players squad for the 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy which is being played from May 11 to 27 across Orissa. The PFA had held state trials to select their team.

Seasoned coach Jagir Singh, who coaches the JCT Football Academy, has been once more given the task to guide a young Punjab state team in the Santosh Trophy.

Punjab have been drawn in the tough quarterfinal league Group A along with Punjab, Kerala (Cluster-II winner) and Maharashtra (Cluster-IV winner) playing their matches on May 18 (vs Kerala), on May 20 (vs Maharashtra) and May 22 (vs West Bengal).


PUNJAB

Goalkeepers
Paramjit Singh (Punjab Police), Satbir Singh (JCT Academy)

Defenders
Affavbir Singh (JCT Academy), Jatinder Singh (Calangute Association, Goa), Mandeep Singh (Border Security Force), Sandip Singh (JCT Academy), Sarabjit Singh (Punjab Police), Satwinder Singh (JCT Academy), Y. Krishna Kumar Singh (CRPF)

Midfielders
Gurpreet Kumar (Border Security Force), Sunil Kumar (PSPCL), Gurpreet Singh (PSPCL), Mandeep Singh (JCT Academy), Sarabjit Singh (Border Security Force), Barjinder Pal Singh Cheema (Tollygunge Agragami), Hardeep Singh Saini (Prayag United SC)

Forwards
Gulshan Kumar (JCT Academy), Rohit Kumar (Punjab Police), Jagdeep Singh (JCT Academy), Amandeep Singh Batra (Punjab Police)

Officials
Jagir Singh (Coach), Sital Singh (Manager)

Edu Football League to revive Football in Punjab

Rurka Kalan village in Punjab has set an example for football development which is a model which could be followed by rest of India. This small village has not only produced five international footballers including the costliest Indian defender in Mohun Bagan's Anwar but also brought home the Street Child World Cup for India in March 2010.

The Youth Football Club in Rurka Kalan is emerging a strong Football hub in the region. With quality facilities for 40 Boarders in the Academy and 500 young kids in an organised training program it is a model youth development system for the country. The club has a tie-up with Coventry University Sports Science Department and Coventry City FC for technical help. Every year the club calls foreign coaches to train the coaches and players of YFC.

The problem with Indian football is the lack of mass participation, paucity of necessary infrastructure, no concrete youth development plan and lack of quality coaching system at grassroots. YFC with minimal sources at its disposal has been able to address these issues at a micro level.

The new Edu Football League Project will provide curriculum based coaching for five day a week around the year to under-12 and under-14 players. YFC has opened its satellite training centres in villages like Bundala, Bilga, Sarhali, Jandiala, Shankar, Aloona tola; which impart coaching to the kids regularly. The players will be given sports kits worth RS 1,500 free of cost. To promote football as tool for sustainable development and save youth from drugs and bad vice Life Skill Education workshop will also be held every weekend. The 500 registered players of the league are closely monitored in physical, technical and tactical areas. These players are distributed in 32 teams which will play 7 A-Side football every Sunday. The League started on October 23 end in January 2012. These kids are awarded with various freebies to keep their motivation levels high.

The event will be publicized in the media and a comprehensive outdoor media plan. Big wigs from the Arts, Sports, Politics and the Entertainment industry will regularly attend the event. Gurdas Mann has already been associated with the event as he released logo of the event at Rurka Kalan. Every fortnightly a newsletter will be published with players, photos and interviews. A couple of business houses have come forward to make the event a big success. The life skill Education workshops will also include art and craft, drama, personality development, psychological testing and counselling workshops. This will not only help youngsters to realize their potential but also establish that football can change lives. Ultimately YFC aims to make football as the way of life of youngsters.

This league will be held every year with increased no of players and aims to develop footballers for the country in the near future.

Every Sunday 'Most Valuable Player' of every match will be awarded. Similarly children who do well in Life Skill Education workshops will also be honoured.

A coaching DVD for youth players will also be released during the league. Every fortnightly a Newsletter of the league will be circulated in 5000 homes. This will encourage more participation in football. During the league 5000 notebooks will be distributed to kids.

In the Finals Two All Stars Teams will be selected from the whole program ,these teams will be rewarded with Avon cycles. Capital Local Area Bank is the main sponsor of the league. Sant Tarlok Singh World School Kanha Dhesian and Jagbani will be associate sponsors. JJ Jonex has provide 900 kits and is the official kit sponsor. Nivia is the official Ball and shoes partner of the League.

India striker Sunil Chhetri and Rurka Kalan product Anwar will also be visiting the league in due course.

Punjab FA appoint new Honorary Secretary

The Punjab Football Association have appointed in Parminder Singh a new Honorary Secretary after incumbent Inder Singh, a former Arjuna Awardee, had resigned from the position.

Under the instructions of Samir Thapar, the president of the Punjab FA, an emergency Executive Committee meeting was held on Friday, October 14 at the Conference Hall of JCT Limited in Phagwara to discuss the position of honorary secretary.

In the absence of Samir Thapar, the meeting was chaired b S.S. Jassar, senior Vice-President of the Punjab Football Association. The position of Honorary Secretary was discussed with Inder Singh's resignation accepted, while the name of former Asian Allstar Parminder Singh was suggested and accepted by the committee. Parminder has been given a term until April 2014, when the current term of secretary would have ended.

With JCT now shut as a professional football team, the work of the secretary of the Punjab FA has gotten tougher with chances for youngsters to make it to the national level becoming more difficult from the state.

BSF win Punjab State Soccer League

The 25th edition of the Punjab State Super Football League 2011/12 was held between August 20 and September 19, 2011 with Jalandhar's Border Security Force winning the state league title. The six participating teams all played 10 matches in a home-and-away format with BSF winning ahead of Punjab Police, RCF, PSPCL, CRPF with JCT Football Academy finished bottom of the league.

On the last match day (September 19) BSF ensured the title with a 1-0 away victory against JCT Football Academy in Phagwara, while RCF and PSPCL played out a goalless draw in Kapurthala.

The closing and prize distribution ceremony was held in the Guru Nanak College, Phagwara after the final round of matches. Chief guest was S.S. Jassar (Punjab Football Association vice-President & JCT General Manager, who handed out prizes to the winners, runners-up teams and officials.


Below the final league standings

#- TEAMS----------------------------------- P- W D L GF-GA GDF PTS
1. Border Security Force - Jalandhar ------ 10 6-2-2 14-06 +08 20
2. Punjab Police - Jalandhar -------------- 10 5-2-3 16-12 +04 17
3. Rail Coach Factory - Kapurthala -------- 10 3-5-2 16-11 +05 14
4. Punjab State Power Corp Ltd - Hoshiarpur 10 3-3-4 10-17 -07 12
5. C.R.P.F. - Jalandhar ------------------- 10 3-2-5 11-26 -15 11
6. JCT Football Academy ------------------- 10 1-4-5 05-09 -04 07

JCT Management honour U-19 I-League champions!

The Management of JCT has honoured its JCT Football Academy side for winning the title of Under-19 I-League champions in Kolkata less then two weeks back. The news came days after the same management had decided to shut down their senior team after it was relegated from the I-League.

After the news came out the boys are unsure about their football future, but at least on this day the management celebrated the success of their Academy side. S. Rajmohan Singh, Director (Operations) was pleased to give away prizes to the winning team members.

Others present on the occasion included Sarvshri S.S. Jassar (General Manager (L&IR) & Senior Punjab FA Vice-President), Inder Singh (Arjuna Awardee, Honorary Secretary of Punjab FA), Parminder Singh, Jagir Singh, Sital Singh, Harjinder Singh, Kuldip Singh, Vijay Bali and Kamaljit Singh (SAI Coach).

In the preliminary league phase the JCT Academy boys had won both their matches 2-0 against Viva Kerala and HAL, Bangalore at home in Phagwara. The final phase was held in Kolkata where JCT won 2-0 against Churchill Brother SC, scored a 4-1 win against Mumbai FC and held East Bengal Club to a goalless draw in their final game to win the Under-19 I-League. The team remained unbeaten with a four wins and a draw record.

Who is at fault for JCT closing down?

Last Monday was a sad day for Indian football when the management of JCT Mills Limited announced that they would disband their senior football team after the side from Punjab were relegated a few weeks earlier at the end of the 4th season of the I-League.

The question which comes up again and again is who is at fault for JCT closing down?

And there isn't a simple answer to this question, then numerous issues have come together which culminated in Phagwara-based JCT closing down their senior football team 40 years after it had been started.


Lets try and list the problems which led to this decision

1. The AIFF
The national federation has not helped their top clubs to generate revenues to fund the rising budgets. All money received from sponsors, marketing partners and TV rights go to the AIFF themselves, nothing is distributed amongst participating I-League clubs. The AIFF sell their national team, I-League and other tournament rights together as a package; where no one really knows the value of the different properties, but one thing is clear that the I-League which runs for month's is the most lucrative of all these rights.

2. I-League
The I-League since its start in 2007 has been professionalized on paper with AFC Club Licensing criteria asking for own companies running the football teams rather then public clubs and corporates, but again with no view on how to generate revenues for the clubs to fund their teams. This way the I-League clubs have no way to become self-sustaining.

3. Commercialization of Indian football
The so-called commercialization of the game in India has done more damage then good if one looks at the current scenario. Mahindra United closed down last year, last week JCT closed down. The future of ONGC, Air India and Viva Kerala is unclear while last year Mumbai FC looked to follow Mahindra's path.
Clubs have not looked at ways on how to generate revenues with the exception of Pune FC and some other clubs to a small extend.

4. Salaries
The salaries of players have explored, but at no fault of theirs. With no growing players base the best in the business in India are getting salaries which are four to six times of what salaries where before the start of the I-League, but clubs have not been able to generate more then those days which does not make any business sense.

5. JCT management
Last but not least it is the JCT management themselves. They have one of the best Academies in Indian football, no competitors in the whole of North India and have people working for the club attached to the company club for decades.
But the football team has been run like a division within JCT with no vision to create a fan base, to try and generate revenues outside of JCT then the company has bankrolled the club since its inception. That has now come back to haunt them.


What do you think, Who is at fault for JCT closing down?

Will the Punjab Government help to save JCT?

On Monday former National Football League champions JCT from the small Punjab town of Phagwara announced that they would disband their senior team and not participate in the 2nd Division I-League while focusing on their JCT Football Academy and grassroot projects in the state. But all hope might not be lost just yet.

Football insiders weren't surprised at the step taken, but many people across Punjab and northern India plus the general sports fraternity have been shocked that the lone torch-bearers of North Indian football on the national scene would suddenly disappear into oblivion.

There has been calls on the Punjab government to intervene and offer JCT the necessary help to keep the senior team running, while some have asked about the corporate responsibility on JCT's side.

And the Director of Sports in the Punjab government Pargat Singh, a former hockey international himself, has stated that he thinks that in certain pockets of the state football is the biggest sport especially in and around Phagwara, where JCT are based.

While a state intervention looks likely there has also been calls on Non-Resident Punjabis around the world to help the club sustain themselves in the Indian football system. Examples are the contributions to Sports in Punjab in general or the way Kabaddi is being supported by rich Punjabis and their businesses from North American and Europe.

JCT disband senior team, to focus on Academy & grassroots

The rumour has been making rounds for a while now and today came the confirmation from JCT themselves, the Punjab-based side from Phagwara has disbanded their professional senior team citing lack of public interest in the game in the country. It comes a year after another corporate club in Mahindra United from Mumbai had taken the same step.

JCT, the first champions of the National Football League in 1996/97 (now running under the name of I-League), had been relegated last month from the top tier of Indian club football and they simply do not see a sustainable financial future for their club in the second Division besides JCT has been running the club on a small budget over the last few years mainly relying on young talent coming out of the JCT Football Academy as they weren't willing to pay the high salary demands of the players.


JCT in a press release said

JCT Limited has taken a strategic decision to pull out for the time being till football in India shows some possibility of generating value for corporates and their brands, besides bringing up popularity of football among youngsters.

JCT Limited being a corporate, needs to justify to its stakeholders the effort vs visibility of the football team. Today, football teams worldwide have become self-sustaining enterprises for which high exposure is needed to build viewership and spectators in the stadium.

JCT won the inaugural Football League in 1996, where there was high quality TV exposure and widespread public interest. But since then the League has had negligible exposure and the teams have been going almost unnoticed-

JCT's football team was formed in 1971 and since then JCT has worked hard and invested in working at grass-root level in Punjab and building a top class team.

Mr. Samir Thapar, as president of Punjab Football Association, will continue to work with passion for strengthening the sport of football at grass-root level in Punjab and also through JCT Football Academy continue to find and train youngsters for tomorrow as the academy has been grooming champions for JCT and almost all football clubs of Indian football.


There is one good thing, which is that JCT will continue to run their JCT Football Academy and support the grassroots program in Punjab, while Samir Thapar remains president of the Punjab FA.

Baichung Bhutia said about the development, "In 1996, when we won the inaugural National Football League and that was the golden period of JCT football. Myself, Vijayan, Jo-Paul (Anchery), Carlton Chapman, Tejinder Kumar formed the core. All the stars wanted to play for JCT. But you have got to understand their sentiments. Year after year, they have been spending crores of rupees with minimal returns. After a certain point of time, you feel frustrated and this is what happens. I am sad but not surprised."

The question is what's next? This is what the AIFF, the I-League and their commercial partners IMG-Reliance need to ask themselves and answer to the fans of Indian football. Then at the moment running a football club in India is not a commercial viable entity and that needs to change asap otherwise others could follow this drastic step taken by Mahindra&Mahindra and JCT, who both had been involved in Indian football for many decades and weren't any of the new investors into the game, who came and left again.

North India will now go unrepresented in the NFL/I-League for the first time in its 15 year history and at the moment there doesn't look to be an alternative clubs who could make it through from the 2nd Division in place of JCT.

Santosh Trophy starts tomorrow

The 65th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy will kick-off tomorrow across Assam and will finish on May 30 with the final in Guwahati with 34 teams in action. 30 time record winners West Bengal are the defending champions, who had won last years title by beating Punjab at home.

But this years Santosh Trophy will not see India's top players in the tournament with the I-league and 2nd Division I-League simultaneously in action. Due to this fact the tournament will be a platform for fringe players and talented youngsters to show themselves. Ideally some will get scouted by top clubs.

And for this reason to name favourites would be very difficult as the big football states will come with rather inexperienced sides though it looks likely that West Bengal and Goa besides the Northeastern states could take home the title. The hosts Assam have high expectations from their team and would do whatever they can to win the title for the first time, but it would be a real upset if their team can achieve it.

The Cluster round matches would be played from May 6 to 16 with the quarterfinal round games scheduled from May 17 to 24. The semifinals would be played on May 26/27, while the final has been slated for May 30.

Cluster I and V matches would be played in Guwahati, Cluster II in Mangaldoi, Cluster III in Shivsagar, Cluster IV in Tinsukia, while Cluster VI in Nagaon, VIII in Bongaigaon and VIII in Kokrajhar. From the quarterfinals onwards the matches would be played only in Guwahati.

Meanwhile Cluster III has been reduced to a three team affair after Andhra Pradesh were scraped from the competition by the AIFF as there are two factions within Andhra Pradesh football with both sides having tried to send squads to the tournament. A massive loss for the footballers from Andhra Pradesh, a sad situation report is to follow on my blog.


Preliminary Round Clusters

Cluster 1: Assam, Pondicherry, Rajasthan
Cluster 2: Chhattisgarh, Daman&Diu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh
Cluster 3: Manipur, Bihar, Andaman&Nicobar
Cluster 4: Kerala, Jammu&Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chandigarh
Cluster 5: Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Services, Arunachal Pradesh
Cluster 6: Delhi, Nagaland, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh
Cluster 7: Mizoram, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura
Cluster 8: Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Railways, Sikkim

65th Santosh Trophy in Assam in May 2011

The 65th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy will be held across Assam from May 6 to 30. Record champions West Bengal are the defending champions, who had won last years title at home against Punjab.

A total of 35 teams will be taking part in the championships this year. Last year's semifinals - West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Goa - have been given a bye into the Quarterfinal League stage, while the other 31 sides would have to play the preliminary round cluster stage with only the top team moving on.

The Cluster round matches would be played from May 6 to 16 with the quarterfinal round games scheduled from May 17 to 24. The semifinals would be played on May 26/27, while the final has been slated for May 30.

The preliminary round clusters would be played across as the state as Assam FA secretary Ankur Datta had told me about a month back. The AFA plan was to use the Santosh Trophy to spread football awareness across the state and also allow football fans across the state watch the Santosh Trophy.

Cluster I and V matches would be played in Guwahati, Cluster II in Mangaldoi, Cluster III in Shiv Sagar, Cluster IV in Tinsukia, while Cluster VI in Nagaon, VIII in Bongaigaon and VIII in Kokrajhar.

With the I-League and the final round of the 2nd Division I-League running at the time of the Santosh Trophy no top level players will be seen in action, which could give the chance for new talent to showcase themselves.


Preliminary Round Clusters

Cluster 1: Assam, Pondicherry, Rajasthan
Cluster 2: Chhattisgarh, Daman&Diu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh
Cluster 3: Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Andaman&Nicobar
Cluster 4: Kerala, Jammu&Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chandigarh
Cluster 5: Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Services, Arunachal Pradesh
Cluster 6: Delhi, Nagaland, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh
Cluster 7: Mizoram, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura
Cluster 8: Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Railways, Sikkim

Santosh Trophy: Bengal win title No. 30!

Last night at Kolkata's Saltlake Stadium Bengal kept their 100% home record intact. Whenever West Bengal has hosted the Santosh Trophy, they have also won the national state championships and it will also remain this way until the next edition is hosted by the IFA (West Bengal). In the final of the 64th edition of the tournament West Bengal beat Punjab 2-1 to win a record 30th title.

And it was an important victory for Bengal. Bengal football had to wait 11 long years for their 30th title to finally come their way, but now Bengal has re-established itself as state champions of India. The title was an important one for Bengal as peopled questioned if the state was still at the pinnacle of Indian football as the state couldn't win the Santosh Trophy for over a decade while their top clubs haven't won the National Football League/I-League title in years.

Surely not all is well with Bengal football, but hopefully this will be an important step in revitalising football in the state in which the beautiful game first came to life in India. And hopefully this win will not blind officials and administrators in Bengal from what ails football development to really help the sport grow and become more professional on all levels.

The hero of the day for Bengal was Chirag United captain Denson Devadas scoring both the goals for the champions. The Keralite midfielder has been a vital player for his club and adopted state over the last couple of years, and he once more proved it in the finals. Coming to the match, Punjab had taken the lead on the half hour mark through inform striker Balwant Singh, before Denson equalised in injury time of the first half. And then Denson scored the winner 12 minutes from time with a beautiful left-footer to give Bengal the title.

And after winning the title cash rewards have been pouring in for the victorious side. Besides getting the Rs. 500,000 prize money for winning the trophy, the parent body Indian Football Association (West Bengal) will give the team Rs 200,000; the West Bengal state sports minister Kanti Ganguly has announced a cash award of Rs. 500,000; while also I-League side Chirag United SC has announced a cash award of Rs. 500,000 and Bengal sponsors Tower Group has pledged to gift the winning team a trip to Southeast Asia. More financial rewards are likely to pour in in the coming days.

My heartiest congratulations to Shabbirda, the boys and the whole squad!