All India Governor’s Gold Cup - A Prelude

The might of Nigerian players awaits football fans of Sikkim during the 30th edition of the All India Governor’s Gold Cup football tournament as most of participating clubs employing their services for the most prestigious football event in North East which kicks off from tomorrow.

Barring the twelve top clubs in the country which is participating in the I-league, most of the other premier teams like Army XI, Tata Football Academy (TFA), New Delhi Heroes and BSF (Jalandar) are participating in this coveted tournament.

There are a total of 15 teams with two international teams of Nepal and Bangladesh. Most of these 15 teams have two or three Nigerian players in their ranks, informed the organizers Sikkim Football Association (SFA).

Indian football star Bhaichung Bhutia’s home team, United Sikkim Sporting Club (USSC) will lock horns with Delhi’s premier football club, Simla Youngs in the lung opener tomorrow afternoon here at Paljor Stadium. USSC coach and former East Bengal player Sherap Lepcha informed that that his team has roped in four Nigerian players for the tournament. Bhaichung Bhutia is the chief patron of USSC and has arranged four players from Kolkatta football league to play for this club in the Gold Cup. He was in Gangtok during the Dusshera break to finalize the USSC team. Our team will be a mixture of local players and the imported players and we will give our best shot, said Mr. Lepcha who ranked his opponent Simla Youngs as a ‘very good side’. The Delhi side is arriving Gangtok today evening. USSC is also trying to get permission to have local lad Asish Chettri for tomorrow’s match. Asish Chettri is the lone Sikkimese player to play regularly for the U-16 national football team and has been selected for final World Cup qualifying rounds in the national team.

Sikkim Police is the other home team which is featuring in this tournament and faces Darjeeling team on October 15.

Though Army XI, BSF (Jalandhar) and Nepal side are the perennial favourites, TFA is touted as the team to watch out during this tournament. TFA had participated in Gold Cup twice and won the 2005 edition. That time, TFA was basically had junior players which now have graduated into senior team and right now nobody knows the condition of TFA team, said SFA spokesperson Shyam Pradhan.

The pre-quarterfinal match between Mohan Bagan SAIL and New Delhi Heroes on October 16 is the most anticipated match as it sees two former football legends, Shyam Thapa and Cheema Ockeri plotting against each other. Mr. Thapa is the coach for Mohan Bagan SAIL while Mr. Ockeri is handling the Delhi team and how they will frame their strategies will be most interesting, SFA said.

Three Star from Nepal which has been given a direct quarterfinal berth along with Army XI, Titanium (Kerela) and Bangladesh XI is one of the crowd favourites. The team had narrowly lost to its arch rival NRT from Nepal in the last year’s final. However, this time most of the NRT players have jumped to Three Star giving it a very good chance in this tournament.

“Each match will be very competitive and entertaining”, said SFA general secretary Menla Ethanpa.

The teams: Simla Youngs (Delhi), United Sikkim Sporting Club, Sikkim Police, DGHC XI, Punjab Police, Railway FC, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Mohan Bagan SAIL, New Delhi Heroes, BSF (Jalandhar), Tata Football Academy, Army XI, Titanium (Kerela), Bangladesh XI and Three Star (Nepal).

Source:Goal.com

Governor's Gold Cup: President Speaks!

Minutes ahead of the first game of the 30th All India Governor's Gold Cup, Goal.com managed to catch up with the President of the Sikkim FA, Mr. Tempo Bhutia, for a quick word...

With the 30th All India Governor's Gold Cup minutes away, the man who has probably worked the most for it throughout the year, Mr.Tempo Bhutia, looked as animated and excited as ever.

"We work hard for this tournament all year, and more importantly, all of Sikkim waits for this event, so we're all looking forward to it." The tournament kicks off without any I-League club, a problem which is yet to be dealt with by the organizers, but the President doesn't think it will affect the overall success of the event. "I'm expecting the tournament to be a big success agaiin, big names or no big names. The local people love to see good competition, and the sides that are playing in the cup are all comptetitive and closely matched. I think there'll be a lot of exciting football on show."

In fact, the Sikkim FA has decided to start another tournament in the month of April next year onwards, in order to make up for the loss of the big sides at this event, by inviting at least 3-4 of them during the spring. Also, a national level women's tournament will take place next year, after which they plan to go international, a first of its kind in the country.

Set in the beautiful hilly terrain of Sikkim, the Paljor Stadium has a buzz all around it, and looks full of colour, all set to host the knock out event. Mr. Bhutia points out that the event is strategically placed in the month of October. "We host the event between the Pujas and Diwali, so that the festive mood infects the tournament, making it a bigger success, and making the locals enjoy it more."

So where's the other Bhutia (I mean Baichung)? "Baichung is in his village at the moment, but his club is taking part in the competition. He's helped as usual by attracting a number of his fans to the event, which is a huge plus for us."

In fact, the first match today at 2.15pm sees the Indian skipper's club, United Sikkim SC, take on Simla Youngs from Delhi.

Any predictions? "It's going to be tough to predict these games, because like I said, they're all evenly matched. We all know who the crowd is rooting for, though!"

"Well said!", I say to him, as the cheers get a litle too loud for me to hear anything else!

Source:Goal.com

Kochi the focus of Kerala league

Participants in the Vision India - Project Kerala seminar learned how to administer the sport in their region.

KOCHI: The first league under Vision India’s Project Kerala will centre on the city of Kochi.

Eight teams have signed up for the home-and-away format league, which is expected to kick off in January.

The Vision Asia team managing Project Kerala have advised the regional football association to refrain from organising a state-wide league if it proves too big to handle.

Because of this, the Kerala Football Association has decided to start a Kochi league, in the Ernakulam District, and build from there.

The eight teams taking part re: Viva Keral, Cochin Port Trust, Central Excise, Malabar United, Udaya Sports Club, Golden Threads, Amateur Sports Alwaye and Chandini FC.

It was initially proposed to have games in Thiruvanthapuram, but a lack of suitable stadiums meant the league would involve clubs mostly from the Kochi area.

Kerala, Manipur, Tamilnadu and Delhi are the four regions enjoying Vision Asia status, with heavyweight football states Goa and West Bengal set to join the fray.

Source:The AFC.com