Ganguly to show his footballing skills in I-League

Sukarno Sen / CNN-IBN
Kolkata: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is all set to show his footballing skills for Chirag Computers-promoted Chirag United Football Club in the Kolkata I-League in September.
And the newly promoted club is pretty excited about Ganguly joining them on the Kolkata Maidans.

“This will also increase our fan following. It will also bring in the crown that don’t watch football. They can come because Ganguly is a crowd puller. Players can also be motivated,” Kaustav Roy, Proprietor, Chirag Computers, says.

Ignored by the selectors for the Champions Trophy, football could be Ganguly's idea to keep up his fitness level, at the same time having fun. His connect with the Beautiful Game will surely light up things.

“It is a local team in Kolkata and I am its brand ambassador. It is just for fun,” says Ganguly.
Age isn't a factor in any sport; it's how well you play it. So for a man who has defied all odds and is fighting to prove his critics wrong, here's hoping his stint on the Maidan will bring in the crowds for the fledgling club.

Mahilpur the 'football village' of Punjab

ANI

By Karan Kapoor
Mahilpur (Punjab), July 15 (ANI): Punjab has produced many football players of national fame. And village Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district's is known for its long association with the football.
The passion for football lives on in people even long after it was introduced in the village by Harbhajan Singh, a school principal, in 1920's.

The village boasts of producing great players of repute like Jarnail Singh, Gurdev Singh, Chaudhary Ram Kishan, and the tradition lives on in the young enthusiasts of today.
"There is a culture of football in this area. Every village has its own football ground, no other sport is given much priority be it cricket or any other game. Only football is given importance here," said Ali Jasna, Coach.

The village holds a number of annual tournaments and provides the players with an opportunity to showcase and hone their skills.

Love for the game comes naturally to the people of Mahilpur. For many, it is a family tradition passed on from generation to generation.

The young enthusiasts feel there is a lot of scope for football in India, with so many clubs opening up, which provide the players with an excellent opportunity to further their careers.
"There is good scope for football here which give good money to the players. If one pursues football with studies, it could be very beneficial," said Amandeep Singh, a budding Football Player.

There are now plans of setting up a football stadium in the village so as to provide the youth with better facilities.

The sport has become quite popular in the country and with the advent of international football clubs in India like JCT, there is a good scope for sports enthusiasts wanting to pursue football. (ANI)

India Gear Up For Friendly Against Malaysia In Hyderabad

By P. VijianNEW DELHI, July 15 (Bernama) -- The Indian national football squad will use a friendly match against Malaysia in Hyderabad on July 22 to gear up for the team's participation in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup 2008 later this month.India ranked 153rd in the FIFA world ranking, are also drawn together in the same group with Malaysia in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup football qualifying round which will start next year."We are in the process of preparing for the AFC Challenge (Cup) and we wanted some match exposure so we decided to play against Malaysia. We wanted to play with a team which have a similar ranking like India," All India Football Federation media director B.M.R Mehta told Bernama.The AIFF general-secretary Alberto Colaco said the friendly match will be used to identify the weaknesses in the team and will give enough time for the coaches to iron out the flaws before the AFC Challenge Cup kicks off on July 30 to Aug 10."We had earlier played a match against Chinese Taipei but found that they are not a formidable team, so we wanted to play against a stronger team and Malaysia, ranked 166th are the ideal choice," he added.Meanwhile, Malaysian head coach Sathianathan and his assistants Zaki Sheikh Ahmad, Ismail Ibrahim and Mazlan Wahid as well as physical trainer Rustov Bozik have identified 18 players for the India trip but lamented the lack of time to prepare for competitive matches as the respective states were not releasing their players early because of the ongoing Malaysia Cup.Sathianathan has included seven players - Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak, S. Subramaniam, Daudsu Jamaluddin (defenders), Azi Shahril Azmi, Amirulhadi Zainal (midfield) and Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak, Khyril Muhymeen Zambri (strikers) who lost to China's Olympic squad 0-4 in Yanbian on Sunday.The 18 players will report for centralised training Wednesday at Wisma FAM.The Squad: Goalkeepers: Helmi Eliza Elias, Badrulzaman Abdul Halim; Defenders: S. Subramaniam, Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak, Fauzie Nan, Daudsu Jamaluddin, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Irwan Fadzli Idrus, Shafizan Hashim; Midfielders: Shukor Adan, Hardi Jaafar, Amirulhadi Zainal, Azi Shahril Azmi; Strikers: Hairuddin Omar, Nizaruddin Yusof, Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Khyril Muhymeen Zambri, Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak.-- BERNAMA source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_sports.php?

Indian U-16 football team register a massive win

Huttington, US, Jul 13 (UNI) The Indian Under-16 football team won their third consecutive match by thumbing Elite Camp All Stars 5-1 here. The Indian team is currently on an exposure and training trip in the US.Malswam Fela scored a brace while the other scorers were Reagan, Lalrindika and Prem Kumarm in a one sided encounter yesterday.Losing team Elite All Camp Stars fielded some of the best high school players in various states against the India. Though the margin of win was big, but it was a tough game for the Indians.India will now play Tri-State All-Stars at the Schoenbaum Stadium in Charleston in their next match.

Baichung to play with Ballack

NEW DELHI, July 12 : Indian football icon Baichung Bhutia is all set for a memorable experience of playing under the captaincy of either Michael Ballack or Clearance Seedorf in the ‘Goal 4 Africa’ charity match in Munich. Baichung will rub shoulders with a host of international stars at the Allianz Arena, the Bayern Munich ground, in the unique event aimed at raising 90 million Euros for the African children. “Ballack and Seedorf (Goal 4 Africa ambassador) will be the two captains, but I won’t be able to tell Baichung will play under whom,” Marion Beishuizen, a top official of the event organisers, told PTI from Munich. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, Liverpool’s England midfielder Steven Gerrard, Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o and Italian World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso are set to play in the match inspired by Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela’s dream of “Education for all — all for education”. ‘Goal 4 Africa Foundation’ had also listed Kaka, Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Emanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Shevchenko and Michael Essien among the international stars to play the match, but Marion said the final line-up will be known in the hour before the match, which starts 8 pm local time. “The confirmation of who would play or who would not will be known one hour before the match because most of the players are now flying in to Munich. But Kaka has withdrawn from the match due to personal reasons,” Marion said.

India's Bhaichung Stars Among World Stars

The Mohun Bagan striker has added another feather on his cap as he brushed shoulders with the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Michael Ballack and Gennaro Gattuso. Before the match, every Indian would have wished Bhaichung to do well and if possible score a goal. Baichung started the game but took time to settle down. The first time when Bhaichung came into the picture was when he was challenged by the Italian Gennaro Gattuso. The Sikkimese Sniper set up Seedorf after a brilliant one-two though the former failed to find the back of the net. Gattuso was it again on Bhaichung and this time 20 yards outside the goal. The Indian star was making his presence felt. A few minutes later, Bhaichung released Schumacher on the right and on receiving the return pass went for the glory but just wide. In the 33rd minute came the moment which everyone in the subcontinent had been praying for all night – Bhaichung Bhutia goal. The Indian skipper controlled the ball on his chest and sent in a powerful left foot strike to beat Nelson Dida from close range. In the closing minutes of the first half, Bhaichung had a couple of half chances which weren’t converted. The second half saw Bhaichung have a brilliant chance inside the first five minutes when Schumacher sent the ball through the centre. The 31 year old chased the ball under pressure from defender and his resultant shot was inches wide. Bhaichung was also involved in the move for Schumacher’s goal. A little later, Seedorf laid the ball for the Indian star to place it in the net. This was Bhaichung’s second of the night; something the Indian fans wouldn’t have imagined in their wildest dreams. The match ended with Bhaichung’s side (Edu) losing the game by a three goal margin to Cation. It was a remarkable achievement both for Bhaichung and Indian football which made it’s presence felt in the world stage, though cynics may point that it was only a charity match. source: goal.com

Ganguly to play in football I-League

July 12, 2008 22:51 IST
Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly will try his legs on football and will turn out for Chirag United in the I-League starting in September.

Chirag United, who were promoted to the I-League this season, will sign up Ganguly to add some "gloss" to the league.

A brand ambassador of Chirag computers, part of the RP Group, Ganguly will formally complete the formalities after he is back from the three-Test tour of Sri Lanka, Chirag chairman Kaustav Roy said.

"Ganguly's presence in a football match will be a star attraction; maybe he'll play for a two-minute slot in one of the I-League matches. Again, it all depends on Ganguly's availability from his cricketing assignments," Roy added.

Roy said they thought about this as Ganguly's presence will definitely help promote football.
Meanwhile, Chirag United played out a goalless draw against George Telegraph in an encounter of the Calcutta Football League (Premier Division) at Howrah on Saturday. source: rediff.com

India to play GD Gafanha in their 2nd Portugal tour match

India to play GD Gafanha in their 2nd Portugal tour match

PTI

NEW DELHI, July 9: Indian football team will play against GD Gafanha, a first division side in the AF Aveiro League, in their second match of the 12-day training-cum-exposure tour of Portugal on Thursday. The game, to be played at Estadio da Gafanha at Gafanha da Nazare in Aveiro region of the Iberian country, will be visiting team captain Baichung Bhutia's last match of the tour. Baichung leaves for Munich in Germany on Friday to play in the 'Goal 4 Africa' charity match where he will rub shoulders with international stars like Kaka, Didier Drogba and Steven Gerrard to raise fund for African children. The Indian team had beaten Gouveia Select 2-0 in their first match on July 5 at Gouveia.

Beckham makes MLS All-Star eleven

David Beckham is one of five players to make the Major League Soccer All-Stars for the first time after voting results were announced by the league on Thursday.

The first-eleven will be joined by seven other players to make up the squad for the July 24 match against West Ham United in Toronto.

Beckham's L.A. Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan, was top of the selection, which was based on voting by fans, players, officials and the media, with Beckham and Chicago Fire's Mexican international Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

New England Revolution's Scottish coach Steve Nicol will be in charge of the All-Star team and has three of his club's players in the All-Star eleven.
All Star 'first eleven': Goalkeeper: Matt Reis (New England Revolution).

Defenders: Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution)

Midfielders: David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

Forwards: Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami [Images]; editing by Alan Baldwin) source: rediff.com