USFC to organize region’s biggest football fest this winter U-14 FOOTBALL TOURNEY AND U-16 FOOTBALL COACHING CAMPS IN SIKKIM AND NEIGHBOURING HILLS

GANGTOK, 12 Dec: United Sikkim Football Club [USFC] has announced the biggest football festival in Sikkim and the neighboring hills this winter to tap, groom and promote young footballers of the hills. Former Indian football skipper and the USFC CEO, Bhaichung Bhutia today announced that the club will organize U-14 Football Tournament and U-16 football coaching camps in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong this winter.
USFC is organizing the U-14 Snow Lion Cup Football Tournament at Paljor Stadium for Sikkim, at St Joseph School ground for Darjeeling and Mela Ground for Kalimpong in December, which will have teams from football academies participating. The football tournament will be followed by month-long coaching camps in different places of West, South and North districts of the state and simultaneously at Kalimpong and Darjeeling as well from 08 January 2014 onwards.
Addressing a press conference today, Bhaichung mentioned that this would be the biggest football festival across the hills as more than 1,000 young children will be involved in this initiative. With this initiative, USFC hopes to reach out to rural pockets of the state and also to provide opportunity to young talented players and to engage them properly in the long winter gap, he added.
He thanked Thupden ‘Sir’ [Sports & Youth Affairs Deputy Director, Thupden Rapgyal], State Bank of India and Indian Football Foundation for supporting the initiative to promote young footballers from the hills.
Bhaichung informs that the winner of the U-14 Football tournament in each venue will be playing the final round and the winner will get cash prize of Rs 30,000 followed by Rs 20,000 to runners-up and Rs 10,000 to the second runners-up. The organizers are also providing transportation and fooding to the participating teams. The best 30 players of the tournament would be shortlisted for a separate month-long residential camp outside the state and would also be taken for exposure tours to play with the best football academies across the country.
Speaking on the U-16 coaching camp, Bhaichung mentioned that the main aim of the coaching camps is to tap, groom and promote young talented footballers mainly from the rural pockets. The participants would also be provided with kits and other required facilities.
“Not being in the I-League this time was like a blessing for the club as the club got time to focus on other things like working in rural Sikkim as there are many talented footballers in these areas waiting for an opportunity”, said Bhaichung.
Speaking further on the objective of the football festival, Bhaichung stated that the club wants to prepare young talents for the Under-17 World Cup football tournament to be organized in India in 2017. “If we can send at least two or three players for the India team to play the World Cup, it would be a big achievement for us,” he said further adding that USFC plans to turn this initiative into an annual feature.
Speaking on the technical aspects, Mr Rapgyal said that in the Sikkim leg of the U-14 Football Tournament has 11 teams. The tourney will be held from 14 to 16 December at Paljor Stadium. The participating teams are North District FA, Mangan, Sanju Pradhan Football Academy, Sombaria, Dzongu Football Academy, Boy’s Club FA, Sikkim Himalayan Sporting Club, Namthang Academy, Melli Dara Academy, GVSFA, Central Pendam, Gangtok Football Academy and JNV Pakyong.
In Darjeeling, the tournament will be held from 19 to 22 December with 12 teams while in Kalimpong the tourney will be held from 22 to 24 December also with 12 teams. The final round will be played by the end of this month. It is informed that a committee has also been formed to conduct the tournaments.