The 5th edition of the South Mumbai-Milind Deora Junior Soccer Championship organised in association with English Championship side Queens Park Rangers FC, will kick-off on Saturday, October 5. South Mumbai will witness exciting football packed weekends in the month of October and November as India’s largest community football tournament kicks-off in the city.
The Championship would also serve as a talent hunt for thirty talented youngsters who will be shortlisted for a coaching clinic that will be conducted exclusively by Queens Park Rangers youth coaches from the UK.
This year, the tournament will witness a record 5,000 students from over 130 schools representing over 600 teams in the Under-10, U-12, U-14 and U-16 categories in boys and girls categories competing at Mumbai’s Western Railways football grounds at Lower Parel. The Championship is open to all South Mumbai schools including Private schools with eighty five percent of the participants belonging to Government aided and Municipal schools. The tournament will provide an equal and fair opportunity to talented footballers from different backgrounds to showcase their skills on a common platform.
Talking about the championship, Milind Deora said, “Football is a growing passion amongst today’s youth. By organising such championships I hope to provide a platform to the youth to exhibit their football skills. I hope to provide football enthusiasts with the necessary infrastructure and help the coaches identify talent. I am sure that with a cohesive effort, we will be able to popularize and develop the sport in India.”
QPR’s head of community program, Andy Evans said, “We have been associated with the Milind Deora Soccer championship for the last four years; the participants have been increasing and we have witnessed some astounding talent. Even though this championship aims at bringing the South Mumbai community together, I am sure we would find some serious talent here who might play for India or even in the English Leagues.”
The tournament is organised by the Milind Deora Initiative in partnership with English championships side Queens Park Rangers FC, and is sponsored by the Aditya Birla Nuvo and Omkar Realtors & Developers, and co-sponsored by HDFC Bank. The event is managed by Saran Sports.
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