4th Milind Deora Junior Soccer Championship: Five Boys to train at Queens Park Rangers!

Five talented footballers who had won India's largest community soccer championship, the 4th Milind Deora Soccer Championship will be getting the opportunity to go to English Premier League side Queens Park Rangers FC to London for a three week coaching clinic, courtesy the Milind Deora Initiative (MDI).

Today on the eve of their training trip to London, Rudolf D'Souza (13), Arfat Ansari (15), Tanaay Shah (15), Uzair Ansari (15) and Praful Kumar (16) were felicitated by South Mumbai MP Milind Deora, who is also the Minister of Sstate for Communications & IT and Shipping in Mumbai.

These selected winners were part of the annually conducted Milind Deora Soccer Championships for kids to exhibit their football skills. Since its inception in 2009, the championship has seen a steady increase in the number of participants, with over 4,000 kids participating in its last edition. Kids from various schools participate in this championship which include municipal, government aided and private schools. The aim of the championship is to bring together the community, while providing a uniform platform for kids across all strata of society to test their football skills. The event was sponsored by Coca Cola India, Nirmal Lifestyles and was partnered by the famed English Club, Queens Park Rangers.

Speaking at the event Milind Deora said, "This is the second set of winners that we are sending to the QPR specialized training facility in London. We had started this championship with the aim to bring the South Mumbai community together and a steady increase in the number of participants has only strengthened our resolve. Through this exercise we are able to inculcate global football skills in our local talent. Through the years I have witnessed a lot of passion for football in Mumbai's youngsters. And this initiative is able to give them a first step in the right direction. I am hopeful that we would soon witness a national player arise from this grassroots football championship."

He added, "Sports should not merely be limited to following scores or watching telecasts on TV. It is imperative for the youth to participate in sports from a young age, irrespective of what sport they choose. It is important for kids to step out and participate in activities of physical and mental development."

Rudolf D'Souza, 13 year old student from St. Mary's school in Mazgaon said, "It is a dream comes true for me. I watch players of English Premier League play for their teams and always wondered if I would get to play like this. Now through the Milind Deora Soccer Championship, I have a chance at not just meeting them but training like them. I am looking forward to the next three weeks and hope to learn a lot."

4th Milind Deora Junior Soccer Championship to kick off on October 6

The 4th edition of the Milind Deora Junior Soccer Championship organised in association with English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers FC will kick-off on Saturday, October 6. South Mumbai will witness football packed weekends in the month of October at one of India's largest community football tournaments.

The Championship would also serve as a talent hunt for thirty talented youngsters who will be shortlisted for a coaching clinic that will be conducted exclusively by the Queens Park Rangers coaching teams from the UK. From this training camp, the two most talented youngsters will be selected for a five week long training stint at the Queens Park Rangers in-house coaching facility in London.

This year, the tournament will witness around 4000 students from 200 schools, with teams in the under-8, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-18 categories of boys and girls competing at Mumbai's Western Railways football grounds at Lower Parel. The Championship is open to all South Mumbai schools including Municipal schools, Government aided schools and Private schools. The tournament will provide an equal and fair opportunity to talents from different backgrounds to showcase their skills on a common platform.

Talking about the championship, Minister of State for Communications and IT, Milind Deora said, "Football is a growing passion amongst today's youth. By organising such championships I hope to provide a platform to the youth to exhibit their football skills. I hope to provide football enthusiasts with the necessary infrastructure and help the coaches identify talent. I am sure that with a cohesive effort, we will be able to popularize and develop the sport in India."

QPR's head of community program, Andy Evans said, "We have been associated with the Milind Deora Soccer championship for the last four years; the participants have been increasing and we have witnessed some astounding talent. Even though this championship aims at bringing the South Mumbai community together, I am sure we would find some serious talent here who might play for India or even in the EPL."

The tournament is organised by the Milind Deora Initiative and EPL side Queens Park Rangers in association with Nirmal Lifestyles and managed by Saran Sports.

5th Standard Chartered Indoor Corporate Soccer Championship in Mumbai

Standard Chartered Bank is sponsoring the 5th Standard Chartered Indoor Corporate Soccer Championship 2012, an inter-corporate tournament to be played at the Central Railway Multipurpose Complex, Parel in Mumbai on Saturday/Sunday, August 4/5, 2012. The tournament, for men and women, will bring together Mumbai's leading corporate houses with over 60 teams battling it out for glory.

The venue is being converted into a virtual soccer arena to ensure that some exciting, fast-paced format of soccer is in store for the enthusiastic corporate executives.

The event is being played indoors and special rules are being structured to ensure that the matches though competitive are fun. There shall be no goalkeepers or offside and the ball shall always be in play with the players taking the help of the sideboards to make play. The men's team shall comprise of four players and the ladies team shall comprise of five players. Matches shall be played on a league-cum-knockout basis.

The Standard Chartered Indoor Corporate Soccer Championship 2012 is sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and co-sponsored by Vodafone. The Associate Sponsors are Cadbury Bournville and Budweiser, while the event is managed by Saran Sports.

This Championship is registered in the Limca Book of Records as the largest and longest running corporate soccer event in India for corporate executives. The tournament has been getting bigger every year, and this year's participation comprises of 60 teams.

Saran Corporate Soccer 5s enters the Limca Book of Records!

Saran Sports, India's leading corporate sports event management company, has created history in the Indian sporting landscape by breaking into the prestigious Limca Book of Records, with their event, the Saran Corporate 5s being recognized as the World's longest running and largest corporate soccer 5s event. The glorious celebration attained new heights today as Indian national football team captain Sunil Chhetri presented Saran Sports with the Limca Book of Records certificate, which was accepted on behalf of Saran Sports by Sanjiv Saran Mehra, the Founding CEO and Director of the company.

The Saran Corporate Soccer 5s has witnessed participation from 221 corporate teams over the past 11 years in these championships. It started with 24 teams in 2002 and has grown to 83 corporate teams participating in 2012. The various categories that have been introduced include the Super Cup, Elite Cup, Champions Cup, Salver, Bowl, Ladies Cup and Media Cup, which ensures that every corporate team based on skill sets gets a level ground to participate competitively. In 2011 a record 83 corporate teams participated, which included India's leading companies from a cross section of sectors such as Information Technology, Banking and Finance, FMCG, Consultancy, amongst others. With each passing year the tournament has grown in stature and in popularity.

Participants in the Saran Soccer 5s have ranged from Junior Managers to India Inc's big wigs, including personalities like Sunil Kaushal, Regional Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank; Nitin Paranjpe, CEO and Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.; R. Gopalakrishnan. Executive Director, Tata Sons; Nirvik Singh, CEO, Grey Group, Asia-Pacific; Mihir Doshi, CEO, Credit Suisse India; Sunil Mehta, Chief Executive and Country Head, AIG; Ashwini Kakkar, Vice Chairman, Mercury Travels; Navalbir Kumar, Managing Director, IDFC, Asset Management; Rajnish Narula, CEO and Country Manager, Canara Robeco India; Partha Chatterjee, Executive Director, Keys Hotels; Rajeev Piramal, Executive Vice Chairman, Peninsula Land Ltd.; Tarun Anand, Ex-Managing Director, South Asia, Thomson Reuters; Jai Shankar, CEO and MD, Danaher India, amongst others.

Sanjiv Saran Mehra, CEO Saran Sports said, "We are absolutely thrilled to enter the Limca Book of records and receive it from the Zen master of Indian Football, Sunil Chhetri!"

He further added, "This event serves as the ideal platform for the busy executives to relive their school and college days. The tournament has successfully managed to create a stress free environment for relaxed interaction away from the pressures of work place and in the process has led to team building and camaraderie within the employees of the companies."

For the past five years, Saran Sports is also running the very successful Saran Corporate Soccer Program, the only one of its kind in the country which includes different formats such as the Corporate Soccer 5s Championship, the Corporate Indoor Soccer Championship and the Corporate Soccer League.

A personal congratulation to my friend Sanjiv Saran Mehra and his team!

Standard Chartered Corporate Soccer 5s 2012 - CEOs/Celebrities v/s NGO Kids

Mumbai's top CEOs and Celebrities are set to play a friendly football match against the kids from Go Forward football training camp in the Standard Chartered Bank Corporate Soccer 5s 2012.

Standard Chartered Bank, India's largest international bank, is sponsoring this seasons Standard Chartered Corporate Soccer 5s 2012, an inter-corporate soccer championship at the Western Railway Sports Stadium (Mahalxmi OPP Phoenix Mills, Tulsi Pipe Road) on May 26/27 and the tournament bring together Mumbai's leading corporate houses.

Tomorrow, Saturday evening a special highlight will be an exhibition match between India Inc's bigwigs/leading Celebrities including Sunil Kaushal, Regional Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank and a feisty team of kids from Go Forward, Standard Chartered's football training camp for BMC School kids. The match will kick-off at 6.30 p.m.

The CEOs taking part are Sunil Kaushal (Regional Chief Executive, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank), Nitin Paranjpe (CEO and Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Ltd), Rajeev Piramal (Executive Vice - Chairman, Peninsula Land Ltd), Ashwini Kakkar (Executive Vice Chairman, Mercury Travels & Chairman of VIA Ltd), Rajnish Narula (CEO at Canara Robeco and Country Manager,India at Robeco), Partha Chatterjee (Executive Director, Keys Hotels), K. Sudarshan (Managing Director, EMA Partners, Sumeet Singla (Regional Head, Corporate Affairs, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank).

Further the Celebrities taking part are Cyrus Broacha (TV anchor, theatre personality, political satirist, columnist and author. He is also a stand-up comedian and prankster, best known for his show The Week That Wasn't on CNN-IBN), Viren Rasquinha (former Indian Hockey Captain), Mini Mathur (Indian actress & television personality. She was a video jockey on MTV India. She is also a co-host of the Indian reality singing contest Indian Idol), Sheena Chohan (Indian actress & model, Won the "I am voice" title at Miss India Universe, Face and Brand Ambassador of Youth for Human Rights India and The Way to Happiness Foundation-India), Bunty Walia (Film Producer), Sachin Sharma (Television Actor).

Standard Chartered Corporate Soccer Programme 2012 in Mumbai

Standard Chartered Bank, India's largest international bank, is sponsoring the Standard Chartered Corporate Soccer Programme 2012, an inter-corporate soccer programme to be held in Mumbai between May and October 2012. The programme will bring together Mumbai's leading corporate houses with over 160 teams battling it out for glory.

The programme will include various formats of the game with exciting innovations, namely

1. Corporate Soccer 5s (5-A-Side)

2. Corporate Indoor Soccer (4-A-Side)

3. Corporate Soccer League (6-A-Side)


The tournament will start with the Standard Chartered Corporate Soccer 5s on May 26/27 at the Western Railway Stadium in Lower Parel. A record number of 80 teams have registered. This tournament will be played under floodlights. A special highlight will be an exhibition match between India Inc's bigwigs, including Sunil Kaushal (Regional Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank) and a fiesty team of kids from Go Forward, Standard Chartered's football training camp for Bombay Municipal Corporation school kids.

Sunil Kaushal said, "Standard Chartered's association with Corporate Soccer is in line with our global strategy of promoting sports popular with the communities we are a part of. This includes the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and now the Liverpool Football Club, one of the world's and India's favourite football clubs."

Standard Chartered Corporate Soccer 5s 2012 is sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and co-sponsored by Vodafone. The Associate Sponsors are Budweiser and Cadbury Bournville with the event to be managed by Saran Sports. This Championship is registered in the Limca Book of Records as the largest and longest running corporate soccer event in the world for amateurs. The programme has been getting bigger every year.

Those interested in participating, please contact: Sahil Ramchandani - Saran Sports under Office: 2287 1561/2, Cell: 9322272052 .