Mangalore: 16th Independence Cup Football Tourney 'Kicks Off'
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (NM)
Mangalore, Jul 14: The 16th month-long Independence Cup Football Tournament, organized under the banner of Dakshina Kannada District Football Association, was flagged off at District Football Stadium of Nehru Maidan here on Saturday, July 14.
Speaking after the inaugural, Amitakala, deputy mayor said that the spirit of the game should be maintained on the field. Pleased with the popularity of football in Mangalore, she extended support from the MCC to renovate the ground so as to bring greater glory to the city and the game.
Addressing the football fans, Govind Pai, assistant deputy manager, Corporation Bank, said even though cricket enjoys more attention than football, the people of the city must take the game to the national and international level. Appreciating the game of football, he congratulated the association for providing platform to talented students.
Expressing happiness over the large number of entries, N Ramesh, president of MUDA too extended support to build six grounds in the city mainly for football.
Association chairman D M Aslam informed that as many as 180 schools, degree colleges and other professional colleges have already registered for the tournament. "The last date for registration has been extended to July 20," he added.
The tournament will be held in separate categories for higher primary boys and girls (July 14 to 17), high school boys and girls (July 18- 21), pre-university college (July 22 – 27), degree college (July 28 – August 7) and professional colleges (August 8 – 14).
The final matches of high school, PU and degree college teams will be held on August 15. The winning teams in each event will be awarded Rs 5,000 while the runners-up will be get a cash prize of Rs 3,000.
Committee member of the DKDFA Mohammed Hussain Bolar and Vijay Suvarna welcomed the gathering. Divakar, corporator and Umesh Uchil and Anil PV, the office bearers were present.