Under-20 I-League: Complete List of Results!

Jamshedpur hosted this seasons Under-20 I-League tournament, which was played from March 5 to 24 with the Pune FC Juniors retaining their title won last year.

This season 15 club youth teams and academies took part with matches played at the JRD Tata Sports Complex and the Gopal Maidan in Jamshedpur.


RESULTS

Group A
Prayag United SC, Pune FC, Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa, United Sikkim FC

05-Mar-2013: Pune FC 2-0 Prayag United SC
05-Mar-2013: Sporting Clube de Goa 1-1 United Sikkim FC
07-Mar-2013: Salgaocar FC 2-0 Pune FC
07-Mar-2013: Prayag United SC 1-1 Sporting Clube de Goa
09-Mar-2013: United Sikkim FC 0-3 Salgaocar FC
09-Mar-2013: Pune FC 3-0 Sporting Clube de Goa
11-Mar-2013: United Sikkim FC 1-2 Prayag United SC
11-Mar-2013: Sporting Clube de Goa 0-2 Salgaocar FC
13-Mar-2013: United Sikkim FC 0-9 Pune FC
13-Mar-2013: Prayag United SC 1-1 Salgaocar FC


Group B
Dempo SC, East Bengal Club, Mumbai FC, ONGC, Tata Football Academy

06-Mar-2013: Mumbai FC 1-2 Dempo SC
06-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club 1-0 ONGC
08-Mar-2013: Tata Football Academy 2-0 Mumbai FC
08-Mar-2013: Dempo SC 1-2 East Bengal Club
10-Mar-2013: ONGC 1-2 Tata Football Academy
10-Mar-2013: Mumbai FC 0-2 East Bengal Club
12-Mar-2013: ONGC 1-2 Dempo SC
12-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club 0-0 Tata Football Academy
14-Mar-2013: ONGC 1-3 Mumbai FC
14-Mar-2013: Dempo SC 0-2 Tata Football Academy


Group C
Air India, Churchill Brothers SC, Mohun Bagan AC, Sesa Football Academy, Shillong Lajong FC

06-Mar-2013: Shillong Lajong FC 0-0 Churchill Brothers SC
06-Mar-2013: Air India 0-2 Mohun Bagan AC
08-Mar-2013: Sesa Football Academy 1-1 Shillong Lajong FC
08-Mar-2013: Churchill Brothers SC 1-1 Air India
10-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC 0-0 Sesa Football Academy
10-Mar-2013: Shillong Lajong FC 2-2 Air India
12-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC 1-0 Churchill Brothers SC
12-Mar-2013: Air India 0-2 Sesa Football Academy
14-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC 1-3 Shillong Lajong FC
14-Mar-2013: Churchill Brothers SC 2-4 Sesa Football Academy


Final Round

16-Mar-2013: Salgaocar FC 1-1 Mohun Bagan AC
16-Mar-2013: Pune FC 2-1 Sesa Football Academy
16-Mar-2013: Tata Football Academy 1-1 East Bengal Club
18-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC 2-0 East Bengal Club
18-Mar-2013: Sesa Football Academy 1-2 Tata Football Academy
18-Mar-2013: Salgaocar FC 2-3 Pune FC
20-Mar-2013: Pune FC 2-0 Mohun Bagan AC
20-Mar-2013: Tata Football Academy 2-0 Salgaocar FC
20-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club 0-3 Sesa Football Academy
22-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC 1-2 Sesa Football Academy
22-Mar-2013: Salgaocar FC 2-1 East Bengal Club
22-Mar-2013: Pune FC 0-0 Tata Football Academy
24-Mar-2013: Tata Football Academy 3-2 Mohun Bagan AC
24-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club 0-3 Pune FC
24-Mar-2013: Sesa Football Academy 1-1 Salgaocar FC

Under-20 I-League Fixtures out!

Jamshedpur will be hosting this seasons Under-20 I-League tournament, which is set to be played from March 5 to 24. The fixtures for the group stages and final round are now out.

This season 15 club youth teams and academies would be taking part with matches to be played at the JRD Tata Sports Complex and the Gopal Maidan in Jamshedpur. Pune FC go into the tournament as defending champions.

In Group A Prayag United SC, Pune FC, Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa and United Sikkim FC have been grouped together. In Group B - Dempo SC, East Bengal Club, Mumbai FC, ONGC and Tata Football Academy face each other; while in Group C - Air India, Churchill Brothers SC, Mohun Bagan AC, Sesa Football Academy and Shillong Lajong FC face each other.


FIXTURES

Group A
Prayag United SC, Pune FC, Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa, United Sikkim FC

05-Mar-2013: Pune FC - Prayag United SC
05-Mar-2013: Sporting Clube de Goa - United Sikkim FC
07-Mar-2013: Salgaocar FC - Pune FC
07-Mar-2013: Prayag United SC - Sporting Clube de Goa
09-Mar-2013: United Sikkim FC - Salgaocar FC
09-Mar-2013: Pune FC - Sporting Clube de Goa
11-Mar-2013: United Sikkim FC - Prayag United SC
11-Mar-2013: Sporting Clube de Goa - Salgaocar FC
13-Mar-2013: United Sikkim FC - Pune FC
13-Mar-2013: Prayag United SC - Salgaocar FC


Group B
Dempo SC, East Bengal Club, Mumbai FC, ONGC, Tata Football Academy

06-Mar-2013: Mumbai FC - Dempo SC
06-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club - ONGC
08-Mar-2013: Tata Football Academy - Mumbai FC
08-Mar-2013: Dempo SC - East Bengal Club
10-Mar-2013: ONGC - Tata Football Academy
10-Mar-2013: Mumbai FC - East Bengal Club
12-Mar-2013: ONGC - Dempo SC
12-Mar-2013: East Bengal Club - Tata Football Academy
14-Mar-2013: ONGC - Mumbai FC
14-Mar-2013: Dempo SC - Tata Football Academy


Group C
Air India, Churchill Brothers SC, Mohun Bagan AC, Sesa Football Academy, Shillong Lajong FC

06-Mar-2013: Shillong Lajong FC - Churchill Brothers SC
06-Mar-2013: Air India - Mohun Bagan AC
08-Mar-2013: Sesa Football Academy - Shillong Lajong FC
08-Mar-2013: Churchill Brothers SC - Air India
10-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC - Sesa Football Academy
10-Mar-2013: Shillong Lajong FC - Air India
12-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC - Churchill Brothers SC
12-Mar-2013: Air India - Sesa Football Academy
14-Mar-2013: Mohun Bagan AC - Shillong Lajong FC
14-Mar-2013: Churchill Brothers SC - Sesa Football Academy


Final Round

16-Mar-2013: Winner Group A - Runners-Up Group C
16-Mar-2013: Runners-Up Group A - Winner Group C
16-Mar-2013: Winner Group B - Runners-Up Group B
18-Mar-2013: Runners-Up Group C - Runners-Up Group B
18-Mar-2013: Winner Group C - Winner Group B
18-Mar-2013: Winner Group A - Runners-Up Group A
20-Mar-2013: Runners-Up Group A - Runners-Up Group C
20-Mar-2013: Winner Group B - Winner Group A
20-Mar-2013: Runners-Up Group B - Winner Group C
22-Mar-2013: Runners-Up Group C - Winner Group C
22-Mar-2013: Winner Group A - Runners-Up Group B
22-Mar-2013: Runners-Up Group A - Winner Group B
24-Mar-2013: Winner Group B - Runners-Up Group C
24-Mar-2013: Runners-Up Group B - Runners-Up Group A
24-Mar-2013: Winner Group C - Winner Group A

Tata Football Academy felicitate their 10th batch of cadets

The 10th batch of the Tata Football Academy yesterday received their passing out certificates and a momento from the Tata Steel managing director H.M. Nerurkar at the Academy premises in Jamshedpur.

18 boys passed out from the 10th batch and they were picked-up mainly by the Pailan Arrows with some of the boys joining Churchill Brothers SC, Salgaocar SC and Mohammedan Sporting Club. Talented Mohammed Irfan Khan walked home with the Best Gentleman Cadet award.

Present on the occasion were former TFA directors and coaches in P.K. Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Shyam Thapa and Ranjan Choudhuri besides Tata Steel vice-president and chairman of TFA board of management Sanjiv Paul, AIFF Director of National Teams Subhankar Mukherjee, renowned sports commentator Novy Kapadia and chief (administration) of Tata Steel M.G. Singh.

The Tata Football Academy since its foundation in 1987 has been the lifeline of Indian football when it comes to creating and developing talent, which is being carried forward by the Pailan Arrows. One can only hope for success in the future.

The following players are being released as the 10th batch from the Tata Football Academy after four years of training and have joined following clubs: Ravi Kumar, Mohammed Irfan Khan, Chingkhel Meetei Yumnam, Ravinder Singh, Pronoy Haldar, Jayabrata Dhar, S. Siam Hanghal, Simranjeet Singh, Randhan Meetei Yumnam, Pankaj Kumar Sona, Alwyn George (all Pailan Arrows), Bilal Khan, Sanjay Balmaehu, Manpreet Singh (all Churchill Brothers SC), Mohammed Mustafa Ali, Amit Kumar, Satish Patel (all Mohammedan Sporting Club), Karan Sawhney (Salgaocar SC)

Tata Football Academy cadets to train at Sheffield United FC

Jamshedpur's Tata Football Academy, one of India's premier youth football development centres, will be travelling to the English city of Sheffield next month to visit their tie-up partners Sheffield United FC, an English League One club (third tier of English football).

The senior batch of TFA cadets will visit Sheffield, the first TFA trip to Europe since 2004 when they had visited the English south coast town of Southampton. Earlier TFA used to visit the Sports University of Cologne in Germany regularly though their last visit there was in the late-1990s for exposure and training under local German coaches.

"A 20-member team of senior players accompanied by four coaches would leave on September 1 to undergo a three-week advanced training till September 22 under their professional coaches," TFA Senior Manager M.R. Bhalla told PTI.

Since 2010 the Tata Football Academy has a technical tie-up with Sheffield United FC under which the English club is helping and assisting TFA with coaching and technical expertise to develop the Academy and their cadets. There have been numerous visits by the coaching staff from Sheffield United FC's youth development system to Jamshedpur, now this will be the first visit of TFA cadets to Sheffield.

The trip is about learning and training under professional guidance besides also getting match exposure against English youth teams from Sheffield United FC.

Alwyn George regarded as 'Special Talent', wants to last the distance

20 year old Alwyn George had had an incredible rise over the last few months switching over from the Tata Football Academy to the Pailan Arrows, getting a call-up for the India Under-22 and being a key played in their AFC Under-22 Championship qualifiers campaign and now he has been selected amongst the 20 players to represented India at the 2010 Nehru Cup from next week.

Humble yet confiden, but also down to earth that's Alwyn George for you. And testimony to his reassuring self-belief were the AFC Under-22 Championship qualifiers in Muscat where the Indian colts were a positive surprise though not qualifying for the final round.

Alwyn impressed in all the three matches he played. If a brace in the opening encounter against Lebanon was a sign of things to come, this young attacking midfielder found the back of the net every time he donned the Blue jersey.

But all that is past now. His good show has earned him a place in the senior team – in the final list of 20 for the Nehru Cup.

"I play just behind the striker and my job is to distribute the ball and set it up for the striker. The 4-4-1-1 suits me as I can fit in that hole behind the striker. Wim (Koevermans) has always been guiding me and giving me instructions," said Alwyn George.

"Let this be the start. I have worked hard and it is my dream to play for the Indian Senior Team. My performance in the AFC U-22 Championship (qualifiers) has helped me become more confident," added George.

Having played under Arthur Papas, who was the coach of the India Under-22s in Muscat, George feels that Koevermans and Papas are quite similar in their tactics. "Both of them have similar styles and their way of approaching the game suits me."

In fact, his graph has been on a high ever since he graduated from the Tata Football Academy. He was roped in by the Pailan Arrows and immediately drafted into the I-League starting XI. His main strength stays have been his runs which invariably catches the rival defence on the wrong foot.

A man of few words, George though was keen to share his Muscat adventures. "We performed really well under testing circumstances in Muscat. We were lower ranked and played against some good quality opposition. I am really happy we performed so well. It was a great learning curve."

He has already made an impression among his Seniors. "Mark my words, this is a very big star in the making," said seasoned Syed Rahim Nabi referring to Alwyn the other day. "I only pray he stays away from injuries. He is a special talent."

Alwyn smiled. He knows, his journey has just begun. "I have to last the distance. I need to be consistent and improve at every step."

The first few steps have been encouraging, now he has to stay focused and keep going.

Tata Football Academy inducts 12th batch of cadets

Jamshedpur's Tata Football Academy, one of India's premier youth football development centres, has inducted 16 new boys into their Academy as their 12th batch of cadets at a function last week. The fresh cadets will undergo basic and advanced training in TFA over the next four years and pass out in 2016 as professional football players.

The new batch consists of 16 boys from eight states from across the country from the East, North East, North and South. The coaches separately selected three boys for including them in the senior batch so as to augment the batch's strength.

The newly selected boys are Aibanbha Kupar Dohling, L. Jonathan Ginthianlal, O. Romtan Singh, Ramandeep Kumar, Thiyam Chingkheinganba, Vijay Kumar, Asil K., Hitesh Sharma, Khaikhogen Kipgen, Konsham Chinglensana Singh, M. Rahul Raj, Seiminlum Kipgen, Sourav Das, Arjun, Abdul Bilal and Shashi Prasad Keshri.

The three senior boys selected for the older batch are Sandeep Alhan, Longjam Lamyamba Meitei and Rajak Nag.

The cadets were selected after a rigorous selection process, which included testing at three different levels. The candidates had to successfully go through trials and multiple talent search camps from December 2011 to April 2012.

During the selections, the TFA coaches evaluated more than 1,000 youngsters from across the country. The final selection from amongst 60 boys was conducted by the Sheffield United FC coaches in Jamshedpur in the first week of April.

While the following players are being released as the 10th batch from the Tata Football Academy after four years of training: Bilal Khan, Chingkhel Meetei Yumnam, Mohammed Irfan Khan, Ravinder Singh, S. Balmachu, Karan Sawhney, Mustafa Ali, Amit Kumar, Simranjeet Singh, Satish Patel, S.Siam Hanghal, Pranoy Haldar, Jayabrata Dhar, Randhan Meetei Yumnam, Pankaj Kumar Sona, Alwyn George

All-India Inter-Academy Tournament in Durgapur

The Mohun Bagan-SAIL Football Academy will organise the first-ever All-India Inter-Academy Football Tournament later this month. Durgapur in West Bengal will host the tournament, which will be played from November 19 to 27 with eight renowned football academies from across India taking part.

The Academies which are set to take part are hosts Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy (Durgapur), Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur), Sesa Football Academy (Goa), Sambalpur Football Academy (Orissa), JCT Football Academy (Phagwara, Punjab), Dehradun Football School (Uttarakhand), Kenkre Football Academy (Mumbai), Bangalore Football School (Karnataka).

The eight participating football academies will be split into two groups of four teams each with the top two moving into the semifinals to be played on November 25, while the final will be played on November 27. The semifinals and final of the tournament will be telecast live by Bengali channel 'R Plus'.

The tournament will be good exposure for young aspiring footballers from across India at the youth level. There is sadly a lack of competitions at this level.

TFA felicitates Deepak Mondal

Jamshedpur's Tata Football Academy earlier today felicitated international defender Deepak Kumar Mondal for being the first former cadet of the Academy to receive an Arjuna Award. The info came as a surprise to me that no TFA cadet had earlier been awarded an Arjuna Award, but then how often do footballers get the Arjuna Award...

Present on the occasion were members of TFA management board and the Chief of corporate social services of Tata Steel, Satish Pillai. Others from Tata Steel and the Tata Football Academy also graced the occasion.

Deepak said that he was fortunate to be the first TFA cadet to have received an Arjuna Award. Deepak had graduated from the Tata Football Academy in 1998 in a batch along with others like Naseem Akhtar, Mahesh Gawli, James Lukram Singh, Noel Anthony Wilson, Roque Barreto, Dipankar Roy and Sheikh Sanjeeb. In his club career Deepak has played for JCT, East Bengal, Mahindra United and Mohun Bagan.

To recap. Deepak was the first footballer in eight years to receive the Arjuna Award a couple of months back. Deepak has been a player with the Indian national team for over a decade, a dependable no-nonsense kind of guy on and off the field, who is liked by one and all. The Arjuna award for Deepak comes as much-needed recognition for the national football team which has won the Nehru Cup 2007 & 2009 plus the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup to qualify for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

Tata Football Academy to play I-League Division 2?

The latest rumours out of Jamshedpur suggest that the Tata Football Academy, India's top football academy, is planning to return to play the 2nd Division of the I-League. And this would be good news for Indian football, but the question remains if the Tata Steel management will push for a place in the I-League or just want to use the 2nd Division as competition for their young cadets.

One only has to remember April/May 2006 when the Tata Football Academy won the 2nd Division National Football League ahead of Churchill Brothers SC and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC. But the then TFA management thought it wouldn't be wise to play the Academy side in the premier division, so declined promotion and the AIFF then decided not to allow TFA to play the second division if there was no intention by the Academy to play in the top tier.

But now that thinking within TFA seems to have changed. The management is looking at the necessary AFC Club Licensing Criteria and is considering of fielding a team in the I-League if the cadets qualify through the 2nd Division. But a final decision on this regard has not been taken. Last season itself TFA wanted to take part in the 2nd Division, but the papers had been send in too late and one will have to see if the AIFF accept TFA back into the 2nd Division this year with the old story from 2006 still in the mind of the national federation.

For TFA the exposure and tougher competition in the league is the key for development of their cadets and they see the positive example of Sesa Football Academy from Goa, which has evolved from being only an Academy into now having a senior team. And Sesa's senior team play in the 2nd Division I-League with ambitions to play in the premier division. It could be a path which TFA would want to follow. And for Indian club football it would be a big step forward if a Tata's backed team plays in the premier division.

Also recruiting senior players wouldn't be an issue for TFA as a number of cadets surely would like to come back to TFA and play for the Academy which made them big. The only issue could be induction of the India Under-19 national team into the I-League this year as a number of TFA cadets will be part of this squad.

TFA tie-up with Sheffield United

The Tata Football Academy and English Championship side Sheffield United FC yesterday signed a three year partnership deal in Jamshedpur under which TFA will get technical expertise from the English club plus get international exposure to their coaches and cadets. The deal has been a long time coming with being on and off over the last couple of years, but finally it has been signed and hopefully it will help the youngsters get better ahead of bigger tasks ahead.

Under the deal the Championship side will formulate a 12-month programme on coaching, fitness and professional development of coaches to enhance and professionalise the training programme at the Academy, while TFA coaches will also visit the academy of the English club, and a handful of promising players from the Indian academy will have the opportunity to train with the Sheffield club.

I feel it is a very good step by the Tata Football Academy management as I myself had visited Sheffield United FC in March 2009 and had seen their administration, facilities and plans to grow as a club. It looked pretty impressive to me for a club which only plays Championship football. But Sheffield United are a prime example of a second tier club sometimes being potentially a better partner for a developing country like India rather then a big European club side.

Vice president of Tata Steel, which sponsor and run TFA, Sanjiv Paul, said: "Tata Football Academy, the first professional football academy of the country, has rendered yeoman services to the cause of Indian football for the last 23 years. The national football team and all A Division clubs have a large presence of TFA cadets."

"The tie-up with Sheffield United Football Club will open a new chapter in offering advanced professional training for the cadets of TFA and give them an opportunity to expose them to professional football. We look forward to the tie-up as a beginning to a new phase where we hope that our cadets will raise the bar in Indian football and hopefully improve its world ranking.”

For the Tata Football Academy, founded in 1987, this is the first kind of a partnership with an European club. Over the last few years especially English Premier League clubs have shown interest to partner with TFA, but no partnership of any form was signed though initial talks had been held.

For those who don't know Sheffield United FC they will be surprised to learn that this isn't the first foreign partnership signed by the South Yorkshire based club. Actually the Blades, the nickname of the club, own foreign teams and have numerous partnerships in place. Sheffield United own the Chengdu Blades in China and Hungary's Ferencváros Budapest; while the Blades also have partnerships with Central Coast Mariners of Australia, White Star Woluwé of Belgium and Brazil's Sao Paolo FC.