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Under-16 tournament to promote football and identify promising talent at the grassroot level
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Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy (MIHT),a grassroot level football tournament being organized in association with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to promote footbal.
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Under-16 tournament to be played across 75 cities involving over 40,000 young footballers from 1500 schools.
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All matches involving 40,000 footballers to be played in 11A Side format.
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Champion football team from each state to fight for a place in the finals to be played in December, 2010.
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Initiative will identify young players for the National Under-16 Sub Junior football team 2011.
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Partnership takes forward Coca-Cola India’s commitment to promote a sporting culture and healthy active living in the country through association with different sports.
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16 young and promising footballers identified from MIHT 2009 attended the 'Coca-Cola International 2010 Football Camp' in South Africa during the FIFA World CupTM from 15th to 20th June, 2010.
New Delhi, 6th July, 2010: Adding to the fervor of the FIFA World Cup TM 2010, Coca-Cola India in partnership with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced the launch of 33rd Sub - Junior National Football Championship being played under the aegis of Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy (MIHT). The grassroots level championship is being organized to discover the most promising young footballers for the Under-16 Indian football team for 2011. The Under-16 tournament is being organised across 75 cities tapping over 40,000 young footballers from 1500 schools. To kick-off the tournament, the first match was played between Coast Guard and Shrinathji School at DMC Football Ground, Moti Daman, Daman & Diu. The initiative takes forward Coca-Cola India’s commitment to not only create a sporting culture but also promote healthy active living in the country through association with various sports.
According to Alberto Colaco, General Secretary, AlI India Football Federation (AIFF), "We received an overwhelming response for the Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy tournament in 2009 and are proud to take the initiative to the next level by organizing it in 1500 schools across 75 cities this year. We are delighted to have Coca-Cola India as our partners for The Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy and want to thank them for their support in making this grass root football tournament a big success. This partnership for football in India will not just encourage young football talent in the country but also play a key role in encouraging youngsters to adopt football as their preferred sport. I wish all the very best to the players who are participating in the tournament this year".
The Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy is a grass root level football initiative to discover budding football talent in the country and prepare a strong team for the under-16 Indian Football team for 2011. The program is open to all young footballers in the age group of 12-15 years. The tournament this year will be played across 75 cities tapping over 40,000 young footballers from 1500 schools.
According to Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, "Coca-Cola India has always believed in promoting a healthy, active lifestyle through sports. Our partnership with All India Football Federation (AIFF) is an extension of the Company’s worldwide focus on football. The Coca-Cola Company has been the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup™ since 1978. In India, this year we are scaling up the Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy tournament to 75 cities, tapping over 40,000 young footballers from 1500 schools. We believe that Indian football has all the potential to make a mark on the global football map. However, the need is to tap budding talent and nurture them well to bring them up to the international standards".
More About The Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy
The Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, an annual grass root level football tournament is organized by AIFF since 1977. Players born on or after 1-1-94 will be eligible to participate in the tournament. The initiative aims to discover budding football talent in the country and prepare a strong team for the Under-16 Indian Football team for 2011. This year it will be played across 75 cities tapping over 40,000 young footballers from 1500 schools. The tournament will be played in the following format:
Stage I (District & State Level): Various District Football Associations will organize a competition or skill trial among talented football players in the age group 12-15 years. District level teams will then compete within their state, where the State Football Association will select a team to represent the state at the Regional level. FIVE regional rounds would be held.
Stage II (Zonal Level): 31 state teams will compete with each other across 4 zones– (a) North East, (b) South c) WEST,(d) East & (e) North. Top 2 teams from each zone will then advance to the national level.
Stage III (National Level): Ten teams from the zonal level will then qualify for the national level which will be played at New Delhi in December 2010. In the end, 2 teams will play the National Finals. Finally there will be one team who will emerge as the winner of 'Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy’ 2010.
During the National Finals, AIFF talent spotters will identify and short-list 40 promising young footballers such that they are subsequently coached and groomed to form the National Under-16 Sub-Junior Team.
About the success of The Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy (MIHT) 2009
16 most promising footballers identified from MIHT 2009 were sent to attend The Coca-Cola 2010 International Football Camp in South Africa from 15th-20th June, 2010. At the camp, 16 footballers from India also participated in a competitive tournament involving countries like Egypt, Mexico, Russian, Turkey, Vietnam and Guatemala. All the teams were divided into two groups (Group A and Group B). The Indian team along with Egypt, Mexico and Guatemala formed Group A whereas Group B comprised teams from Russia, Turkey, Vietnam and Egypt. After playing a series of matches against each other, two teams from each group qualified for the Semi-Finals. India topped Group A and was accompanied by the Mexican team for the Semi-Final round, whereas Turkey and Russia qualified from Group B. During the semi-finals, post a closely contested match, Russia prevailed over India to qualify for the Final round. In the end, Mexico emerged as the winner of the tournament.
About All India Football Federation (AIFF)
The All India Football Federation was formed in 1937 and was affiliated to FIFA in 1948. AIFF is one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
AIFF is the official football aegis of India that manages, governs, controls and regulates the sport in the country. AIFF manages the competitions such as I-League, Federation Cup, Santosh Trophy and the age-group competition for boys, girls, men and women. On the other hand the federation focuses on the development side of the sport i.e. grassroots, coaching and other technical areas associated with football in India.
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