Dramatic end to inaugural Sunfeast Dream Cream Roots Football League in Bangalore!

At the inaugural Sunfeast Dream Cream Roots Football League, the Cheetah won the Under-11 championship in dramatic fashion after a penalty shootout with the Eagles after they drew their last Super League match which left both the teams tied on points and goal difference. The Eagles earlier made a superb comeback after being two goals down to restore parity in the match.

In the Under-13 age category the Sharks defeated Eagles in a see-saw match before the Sharks prevailed 2-1 to be crowned champions. In the Under-15 age category Cheetahs continued their fine form to take the title, defeating Lions and Rhinos in their last two Super League matches.

Former Indian international Noel Wilson, and V.L. Rajesh (Executive VP, Marketing and Exports, ITC Ltd. - Foods Division) were part of the presentation ceremony. Noel Wilson, while speaking to the players and parents urged the parents to encourage their kids to take up football as a sport. Krishanji Rao, former national assistant coach and Deputy Secretary of the KSFA, was also present to encourage this first of a kind junior league in Bangalore which saw the participation of around 180 kids in the 3 age categories.

RFL which kicked off last December had league matches being played every Sunday. The registered players were earlier distributed among teams based on skill assessments and age to ensure the teams are balanced. Another notable feature of RFL is parent's involvements as team coaches for the various teams, assisted by qualified coaches of Roots Football School.

The league initiated by Game On Sports Management, which runs after-school football training programmes for kids in partnership with Sunfeast which has always been proudly associated with sporting events of such nature – World 10K Marathon, Sunfeast Open, etc. RFL aspires to create a football movement among kids and parents – the League will encourage more children in the age group to play football, thus broadening the base of football in our community.


Brief Scores, League Standings and Individual Winners

Under-11: Super League Scores
1) Rhinos drew Sharks 2-2 (Rhinos: Riu -1, Yuvaraj P-1; Sharks Soham -1, Adit Nahar- 1)
2) Cheetahs def. Lions 4-2 (Cheetahs: Macarton 3, Saurabh 1; Lions: Ajay S -1, Shiu - 1)
3) Bisons def. Sharks 3-0 (Bisons: Rohaan- 1, Suman- 2)
4) Rhinos def Bisons 3-2 ( Rhinos:Neil -2,Yuvaraj P-1; Bisons: Gabriel-1, Suman-1)
5) Eagles def Lions 2-0 (Eagles: Nabeel-2)
6) Cheetahs drew Eagles (Cheetahs: Saurabh -2; Eagles; John S -2)

Final Standing: 1-Cheetahs, 2-Eagles, 3-Lions, 4-Rhinos, 5-Bisons, 6-Sharks

Individual Awards
Best Goalkeeper: Rhea Appachu (Eagles)
Best Defender: John S (Eagles)
Best Player: Raneesh Krishnan (Lions)
Highest Goal Scorer: Macartan Louis (Cheetahs)
Best Parent Coach: Nicky Appachu (Eagles)

Under-13: Super League Scores
1) Cheetahs def. Bisons 5-3 (Cheetahs:Aryan-3,Manoj-1,Srinivas-1; Biscons;Siddharth-2, Manav-1)
2) Rhinos def. Bisons 5-0 (Rhinos: Sharvana-3, Mario-1, Ved-1)
3) Sharks def. Lions 5-1 (Sharks: Rudra-3, Anish-1, Vimal-1; Lions: Shrikritt-1)
4) Sharks def. Eagles 2-1 (Sharks: Rudra-1, Vimal-1; Jathin Jaykumar-1)

Final Standing: 1-Sharks, 2-Eagles, 3-Lions, 4-Rhinos, 5-Cheetahs, 6-Bisons

Individual Awards
Best Goalkeeper: Mani (Eagles)
Best Defender: Ved Devaiah (Rhinos)
Best Player: Arun Kumar (Sharks)
Highest Goal Scorer: Rudra Ved Moola (Sharks); Sharvana V (Rhinos)
Best Parent Coach: Arinjoy Ghosh (Sharks)

Under-15: Super League Scores

1) Sharks drew with Bisons 1-1( Sharks: Ajith R-1; Bisons: Jairaj-1)
2) Bisons def. Eagles 6-1 (Bisons: Raghav Rao-4, Jairaj-1, Tapaswini-1)
3) Cheetahs def. Lions 4-1 (Cheetahs: Vikram S- 4; Lions: Deepu-1)
4) Rhinos def. Lions 1-0 ( Rhinos: Ranjith M-1)

Final Standing: 1-Cheetahs, 2-Rhinos, 3-Lions, 4-Bisons, 5-Sharks, 6-Eagles

Individual Awards
Best Goalkeeper: Steny Kiran (Cheetahs)
Best Defender: Rohan Shah (Cheetahs)
Best Player: Raghav Rao (Bisons)
Highest Goal Scorer: Vikram S (Cheetahs)
Best Parent Coach: P. Seshadri (Sharks)

Finale of Sunfeast Dream Cream Roots Football League in Bangalore tomorrow

The grand finale of the inaugural season of the Sunfeast Dream Cream Roots Football League for kids will be played tomorrow at the Mt. Carmel College ground at Vasanth Nagar ground, Bangalore from 10.30 am onwards with children playing in the Under-11, U-13 and U-15 category.

Six teams have played in each category in a 5-A-Side format. Around 200 kids had registered for the inaugural league, which is first of a kind junior league in Bangalore. Earlier weeks witnessed skill assessments session based on the age of the registered players. Later the players were distributed among teams ensuring a balanced composition.

Each team in RFL has distinct names - Bisons, Cheetahs, Eagles, Lions, Rhinos, and Sharks. Teams have their own team colours to develop identity among kids with their teams.

Parents' involvement as team coaches for various teams is another notable feature of Sunfeast Dream Cream Roots Football League. Each coach is ably assisted by qualified coaches of Roots Football School.

All the teams played against each other in a round robin format followed by a Super League among the top three teams and the next three teams to decide the final standings.

The league initiated by Game On Sports Management, which runs after-school football training programmes for kids in partnership with Sunfeast which has always been proudly associated with sporting events of such nature – World 10K Marathon, Sunfeast Open, etc.

RFL aspires to create a football movement among kids and parents – the League will encourage more children in the age group to play football, thus broadening the base of football in our community.