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Adding to the fervor of the FIFA World Cup TM 2010, Coca-Cola India in partnership with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) launched the 3rd 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. Coast Guard team prevailed over Shrinathji School to emerge as the winners. The score line read 6-0.
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".
Coast Guard team and Shreenathji team battle it out during the first match of Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy Tournament 2010 in Daman.
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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 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.
Lauding the efforts of Coca-Cola India to promote grassroot football, Alberto Colaco, General Secretary, AlI India Football Federation (AIFF) said, "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".
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