New Delhi, Jul 31 (IANS): The Subroto Cup International Football Tournament will kick off its 63rd Edition with 111 teams vying for top honours across three categories, Junior Boys, Junior Girls and Sub-Junior Boys. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted across New Delhi NCR and Bengaluru from August 5 to September 11.

The Subroto Cup, hosted by the Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society under the aegis of the Air Force Sports Control Board, was first held in 1960 and is named after Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, who conceived the idea to promote sport at the grassroots level. The tournament will kick off on August 5 with the Junior Girls (Under 17) category in New Delhi NCR. The Sub-Junior Boys (Under 15) category will be hosted in Bengaluru from August 19, while the final phase of the tournament, the Junior Boys (Under 17) category, kicks off on September 2 in New Delhi NCR.

The best player from the Junior Boys and Girls (U-17) categories will be given exposure at the Indian Football Centre in Austria/Germany, underlining the Indian Air Force’s commitment to the development of grassroots football.

In another historic feat, teams representing Ladakh and Punjab will be participating for the first time in the tournament, increasing the representation of states and Union Territories to an all-time high.

This year’s tournament will also see teams from four foreign countries participating, namely Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will participate in all three categories, while teams from Bhutan and Nepal will participate in the Sub Junior Boys (U-15) and Junior Boys (U-17) categories, respectively.

Besides the hallowed Ambedkar Stadium and the Tejas Football Ground in New Delhi, G.D. Goenka Global School and KIIT World School in Gurugram will be the venues in the Delhi/NCR region. In Bengaluru, matches will be played at the ASC Centre, the Air Force School, Jalahalli, the Air Force School, Yelahanka, and the HQ Training Command Football Ground.

The total of 111 teams participating across the three categories will represent States and Union Territories (UTs), the different educational bodies of the country, and teams from four foreign countries. Over 200 football matches are scheduled to be played across all three categories.

An age determination test will be conducted for the Sub-Junior Boys category in Bengaluru to ensure fair play for all the teams participating.

Govt. Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37B, Chandigarh are the defending champion of the Junior Boys category, while St. Patrick’s High School, Gumla, Jharkhand defended their title in the Junior Girls Category in the 62nd edition.

Minerva Public School, Mohali became the first team to win the Subroto Cup representing the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) when they clinched the Sub-Junior Boys title at Bengaluru.

THE SCHEDULE

Junior Girls (U-17): August 5–14

Sub-Junior Boys (U-15): August 19–28

Junior Boys (U-17): September 2–11