31. December
100th Rovers Cup - Group B: Air India 1-2 Iran Youth Team - Goals: 0:1 Javad Kazemian (19'), 0:2 Mansour Jamalian (38'), 1:2 Bungo Singh (45').
100th Rovers Cup - Group B: Mohun Bagan AC 0-0 Salgaocar SC - Goals: none.

Note-1: 26 players have been retained for the second camp ahead of the Millennium Cup. The final squad will be released on January 5, 2001. The players dropped from the camp will now join their clubs for the Rovers Cup.
PROBABLES - GK: Virender Singh (Mahindra United), Sandip Nandy (Mohan Bagan), Rajat Ghosh Dasdidar (Mohun Bagan), Francis Fernandes (Dempo), Narshiman Balaji (ITI) // DF: M Suresh (Mohun Bagan), Mahesh Gawli (Churchill Bros), Deepak Mondal (East Bengal), Ratan Singh (East Bengal), Hussain Mustafi (Mohun Bagan) // MF: Jules Alberto (Salgoacar), Jo Paul Ancheri (FC Kochin), Hardip Sangha (JCT), Renedy Singh (Mohun Bagan), Basudeb Mondal (Mohun Bagan), Venkatesh (Mahindra United), Noel Wilson (Churchill Bros), James Singh (Mohun Bagan), Carlton Chapman (East Bengal), RP Singh (Mohun Bagan) // FW: IM Vijayan (FC Kochin), Bijen Singh (East Bengal), RC Prakash (Mohun Bagan), Syed Sabir Pasha (Indian Bank, Chennai), Bruno Coutinho (Salgoacar), Alvito D'Cunha (Salgoacar).

30. December
100th Rovers Cup - Group A: Mahindra United 1-6 Churchill Brothers - Goals: 0:1 Somatai Shaiza (26'), 0:2,0:3 Uday Konar (48',53'), 0:4,1:5 Edson de Crasto (70',85'), 1:4 Ali Abbas Rizvi (74'), 1:6 Kaustav Ghosh (89').
100th Rovers Cup - Group A: East Bengal Club 1-1 JCT Mills - Goals: 1:0 Srikanta Datta (47'), 1:1 Hardip Gill (72').

Note-1: The schedule of matches was released today by the AIFF in Kochin.
In the opening match of the Millennium Cup Chile play against Bahrain at the Saltlake Stadium in Calcutta. Hosts India start their Millennium Cup campaign with a match against Indonesia on the next day at the Nehru stadium in Kochin. January 19 has been kept as a reserve day in case of need.
The complete schedule of matches:
Group A (Kochi): Jan.10: Yugoslavia vs Iraq (7pm); Jan.12: Bosnia vs Bangladesh (7.30pm); Jan.14: Yugoslavia vs Bangladesh (5.30pm); Jan.15: Iraq vs Bosnia (7.30pm); Jan.16: Iraq vs Bangaldesh (5pm); Yugoslavia vs Bosnia (7pm).
Group 2 (Kochi): Jan.11: Uruguay vs Iceland (5.30pm); India vs Indonesia (7.30pm); Jan.13: India vs Iceland (3 pm); Uruguay vs Indonesia (5pm); Jan.15: Iceland vs Indonesia (5.30pm); India vs Uruguay (7.30pm).
Group 3 (Goa): Jan.11: Romania vs Jordan (3.45pm); Jan.12: Cameroon vs Hong Kong (5.30pm); Jan.14: Romania vs Hong Kong (3.30pm); Jan. 15: Cameroon vs Jordan (5pm); Jan.17: Cameroon vs Romania (5pm); Jan.18: Jordan vs Hong Kong (5pm).
Group 4 (Calcutta): Jan.10: Chile vs Bahrain (2.45pm); Uzbekistan vs Japan (5pm); Jan.12: Chile vs Japan (3.30pm); Jan.13: Uzbekistan vs Bahrain (7pm); Jan.15: Chile vs Uzbekistan (3pm); Jan.17: Bahrain vs Japan (3pm).
Quarterfinals: Jan.18: I. Winners of Gr.2 vs Runners up of Gr.1 (Kochi,7pm); Jan.20: III Winners of Gr. 1 vs Runners up of Gr. 3 (Goa,4.30pm); II Winners of Gr. 4 vs Runners up of Gr. 2 (Calcutta,6.30pm). Jan.21: IV Winners of Gr. 3 vs Runners up of Gr. 4 (Calcutta,5 pm).
Semifinals: Jan.22: Winners of Qtr. I vs Winners of Qtr. 2 (Calcutta,5pm). Jan.23: Winners of Qtr. 3 vs Winners of Qtr. 4 (Calcutta,5pm). Jan.25: 3rd place match (3 pm). Final in Calcutta (5 pm).

Note-2: Zee Telefilms Limited has decided to 'withdraw' from buying broadcast rights for cricket. They will now focus on football, with an estimated investment of around Rs 600 million. ZTL board has decided to hive off its wholly-owned subsidiary Buddha Films into a separate company, set up specially for coverage of sports events. "We have withdrawn from cricket as we find it most expensive", according to Satish Menon, deputy chief executive officer, Zee Sports. Football, worldwide is the largest revenue driver, especially in the pay market, even as cricket drives revenue from advertisements, ZTL claimed in a release. ZTL's decision to move away from cricket also comes in wake of the current match-fixing controversy that has tainted the image of cricket. Good news for FOOTBALL!!!

29. December
The draw for the Millennium Super Soccer Cup 2001 tournament was carried out in Delhi today in the presence of a large gathering which included diplomats from the participating nations.
The heads of the four groups had been finalised according to the latest FIFA ranking (December 20). They were Yugoslavia (9) of Group A, Romania (13) of Group C, Chile (19) of Group D and Uruguay (32) of Group B. The other 12 teams were drawn by Indian External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, who was also the chief guest on the occasion; India's living football legend Sailen Manna and Sports Authority of India coach Dr Biru Mal Sharma to the group heads.
After the end of the draw of the lot Group A consisted of Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Bangladesh, while Group B of Uruguay B, Iceland, Indonesia, India with both groups playing their matches in Kochin, Kerala. Group C has Romania, Cameroon, Jordan and Hong Kong pitted against each other in Margao, Goa. In Group D Chile, Uzbekistan, Japan and Bahrain will play in Calcutta. Two teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinal knockout stage of the tournament, which will be kicked-off on January 10 at a grand opening gala at the Saltlake Stadium in Calcutta.
All four groups guarantee interesting matches for the three biggest football centres India: Calcutta, Goa and Kochin!
The most explosive match-up will be the Group A clash between former war rivals Yugoslavia, one of the tournament favourites, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. A match certainly to watch out for.
Hosts India have been placed in an interesting group along with Uruguay B, Iceland and Indonesia. If India is able to play to its full potential and has some luck, it might cause a surprise and might move on to the knockout stage, which would be good for the tournament and Indian football.
From the list of 16 participating countries from last month, Colombia, Qatar, New Zealand and Trinidad&Tobago had withdrawn while Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bangladesh and Hongkong were named as the replacements but in case of an emergency Nepal and Maldives have been asked to be ready to join. Interesting is that AIFF president Das Munshi had announced on December 24 that Slovenia would take part but they were not in the list without any given reason.

27. December
The list of participating teams and the schedule for the centenary Bristol Rovers Cup has been released in Mumbai. Eight teams, including the Iranian Youth Club, will vie for honours at the Cooperage from December 30,2000 to January 9, 2001. Western India Football Association president Praful Patel said the other seven teams apart from the Iran outfit would be Calcutta giants East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan, Goan outfits Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar SC, local outfits Mahindra United and Air India, and Punjab's JCT Mills. The teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each, with East Bengal, Churchill Bros, JCT Mills and Mahindra U in Group A. The other teams in Group B are Iran Youth Club, Mohun Bagan, Salgaocar and Air India. The tournament will be played on a league cum knock-out basis, with the top two teams from each group making it to the semifinals.

26. December
The problem regarding posting of police personnel for the Millennium Cup, to be played in Calcutta from January 10, has been sorted out with AIFF president Das Munshi meeting the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Calcutta police had earlier expressed their inability to make adequate arrangements for the high profile tournament as their personnel would be preoccupied with the Sagar Mela at that time. The IFA had drawn the attention of the AIFF to the issue, and then the AIFF supremo had stepped in. The Chief Minister, expressing interest in the meet, has accepted the post of chief patron of the organising committee, in charge of the city matches. The state government had spent about Rs 20 million to give the venue a face-lift.

25. December
The latest on the Indian Camp in Goa from the Hindustan Times:
The technical director of the Indian team, Krishnaji Rao on Monday said that he and coach Islam Akhmedov would wait till the release of the draw on Dec 29 before taking any final decision on the formation the team would adopt during the tournament. "We will know our opponents after the draw takes place in Delhi. We will make our planning accordingly," Rao said from Margao. Rao admitted that the absence of star defender Roberto Fernandes would be felt.
Meanwhile, the Kerala footballers, including Vijayan and Ancheri are yet to join the camp and expected only tomorrow. Out of the 36 probables, at least haf a dozen players are yet to report for various reasons. But the AIFF is likely to go ahead with its plans of picking up 22 footballers by Dec 31 and release the rest to play for their respective clubs in the Rovers Cup.

24. December

indianfootball.com would like to announce the launch of the MILLENNIUM CUP 2001 Site!

Note-1: Slovenia and Bangladesh have replaced New Zealand and an asian country in the forthcoming Millennium Cup soccer tournament, president of the AIFF Das Munshi announced in Calcutta on Sunday. Briefing newsmen, Das Munshi said that he himself would be going to Bangladesh to invite its Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to the inauguration of the Millennium Cup on January 10. The draw for the meet would be held at New Delhi on December 29. Das Munshi said he had already discussed with West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakrabarty for smooth conduct of the meet. He would do the same with the Sports ministers of Goa and Kerala, Das Munshi added. The AIFF president informed that a little problem had cropped up regarding police enforcements at the Saltlake stadium, Calcutta, as a sizeable number of the state police force would be busy for Sagar Mela during the inaugural match. He said he would meet state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in this regard and hoped to sort out the problems soon.
In a bid to professionalise its set-up, the AIFF has decided to appoint four paid functionaries and said that a new National Soccer Policy would be announced on February 1. Disclosing this to newspersons here, AIFF president Das Munshi said that a seminar-cum workshop would be held in Calcutta on January 11 to draft the policy. Other than AIFF office-bearers and executive committee members, former soccer internationals and scribes would attend the workshop, he said. The four paid functionaries are Administrative Secretary, Assistant Secretary (Competition and referring), Assistant Secretary (finance, sponsorship and marketing) and Director of Coaching. The last post was likely to go to a foreigner. Former FIFA referee Melvyn D'Souza would be appointed as Assistant Secretary (Competition and Referring), while Uzbekistan's Rustam Akramov, a former coach of the Indian team, has been sounded for the post of Director of Coaching through the Asian Football Confederation, while the other two two posts would be filled up through interviews. Dasmunshi said the AIFF was yet to finalise a sponsor for the ongling National League, but talks were on with Zee Television in this regard. He regretted that Doordarshan was yet to pay the AIFF the dues for last year's League. "But now they have promised to pay up after January 7." When a scribe pointed out that Doordarshan had not undertaken any promo for the league or the Millennium Cup, he said it had promised to launch promos from December 26.
Also the AIFF informed that it has protested to the AFC over a change in fixtures of the World Cup qualifiers of group 8, which has India, the UAE, Brunei and Yemen. AIFF president Dasmunshi said AIFF general-secretary Alberto Colaco has written to the AFC asking why India was not consulted when the schedule was changed. The president said the original dates, from April 7 through May 20, were decided at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich. According to the amended fixtures, matches will now be held between March and July. That's a fresh problem for the AIFF, as far as completing the National League is concerned.

Note-2: The Hindustan Times reports on the Indian football camp:
THE INDIAN football camp for the Millennium Cup started at Margao yesterday minus the star footballers like IM Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri, according to AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco. Informing that 24 of the 36 probables have reported for the camp till today, the AIFF secretary expressed hope that both Vijayan and Ancheri, along with the other Kerala striker, Ignatius will arrive latest by tomorrow. "Because of Christmas, the footballers are facing problems in getting confirmed air or railway tickets to Goa. The Calcutta boys have managed to come after overcoming great difficulty", Colaco added. The camp was originally scheduled at SAI, Bangalore but was shifted to Margao after the former expressed their inability to hold it because of other engagements. India are like to play their matches in Kochi.
The Uzbek coach Islam Akhmedov is certainly going to face some problems in running the camp initially, as there is a definite shortage of strikers among the campers. While Vijayan and Ignatius have not yet reported, two other forwards, Dipendu Biswas and Mohammed Najeeb would only join later. Both are nursing injuries and have already submitted medical certificates, according to Colaco. "I have asked them to report a week late", he said. Also injured is Mumbai's Khalid Jamil, but it is not too serious and he would join the camp soon. Mohun Bagan midfielder RP Singh, a surprise omission from the first list of campers, have now been asked to report at Margao but has not come yet. His Calcutta colleague, Surkumar Singh, the most promising defender of the current season, has some problems back home and sought the federation's permission for being excused for a few days.

23. December
Note-1: The National Football League will not break for the Millennium Cup. This was announced by AIFF president Das Munshi, who also laid out elaborate plans for a "football policy". The earlier plan was to have the League, on 'hold' during this festive season, resume only after the January 10-25 international event was over. Das Munshi said that he will meet National League Committee chairman Albert Colaco on December 31, soon after the announcement of India's squad for the Millennium Cup, to decide on the restart. "It is likely that a number of clubs playing in the NFL, like SBT, ITI and Vasco, will not be affected when the national squad is selected. So their matches can easily go on during the Millennium Cup," Das Munshi told reporters. He, however, shot down some clubs' demand for fielding four foreign players, instead of three, in the Rovers Cup to compensate the release of their players for national duty. About the proposed football policy, the AIFF president said that its draft will be discussed and debated on in a January 11 meeting, where clubs and media representatives will also be invited. The draft proposes setting up separate projects for promoting and developing age-based teams. "A former international with sound technical background will be in charge of each such project," the AIFF president said. Das Munshi is slated for a meeting with top officials of the Indian Football Association on Monday "to make the Millennium Cup a successful affair". He said: "The international event is being held with two objectives in mind: as India's preparations for the World Cup qualifiers and to raise enough money to set up a National Football Academy." He urged the IFA to make efforts in setting up the academy and pledged to help it financially. He further laid out his plan to build a Football House of India in New Delhi. "Soccer needs identity from the professional point of view and a Football House of India is the first step towards this. Construction works for such a building will be taken soon in the capital," Das Munshi said.

Note-2: Good news for women's football in India!
The Punjab Women’s Football Association has requested the AIFF to organise the Senior National Women's Football Championship in February-March 2001. Mr Surinder Bhambri secretary of the Punjab Women's Football Association, discussed the matter with AIFF president Das Munshi in New Delhi, who decided to send a panel of experts to inspect different venues for the conduct of the championship in Punjab. Spotters of the federation will also select probables for the Indian team for the international women's football championship. If the Senior Women's Nationals are held in Punjab it would mean that for the first-time ever the championships would not be held in eastern India.

22. December
Note-1: The Goa FA has decided to felicitate Alberto Colaco on his elevation to the post of AIFF secretary, according to Aggie Alcassoas, GFA secretary. Alcassoas said that no date had been fixed, but that it could be either December 27 or 28 when the press conference for the Millennium Cup is likely to be held. An outstanding soccer personality is expected to attend the event and efforts are on to rope in the famous Roger Milla of Cameroon, Alcassoas added.
Meanwhile, the GFA today shifted its office to its new premises (4th floor) at the old address at Dr Atmaram Borkar road. It was inaugurated on the occasion of GFA's 41st anniversary by Joaquim Alemao, the GFA President.

Note-2: The Delhi SA treasurer, Leo Rodrigues, who had resigned his post on Tuesday, has withdrawn it, according to a DSA press release. In his letter of withdrawal, Leo said "the reasons for my resignation had been clearly spelt out. It was not my intention to capitalise on this and gain popularity or sympathy. "The resignation was sent to draw the attention of all concerned football lovers of the DSA executive committee, that we should stand united to promote the game of football lovers of the DSA executive committee, that we should stand united to promote the game of football in the Capital." Explaining the reasons behind his withdrawal of resignation, Rodrigues said, "as a true sportsman, and in larger interest of the association and the game of soccer in particular, I withdraw my resignation." It may be recalled that the DSA president Umesh Sood has already submitted his resignation a few days back.

20. December
5.National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 4-1 Air India - Goals: 1:0,3:0 Bruno Coutinho (13',45'), 2:0 Dennis Cabral (25'), 3:1 Anthony Fernandes (61'), 4:1 Alvito D'Cunha (73').
Salgaocar trashed Air India 4-1 in a National League match in Goa, to bounce back from the defeat against FC Kochin.
Salgaocar: Ali Abu Baker, Jose Esteves (Venacio Gonsalves), Franky Baretto, Covan Lawrence, Roque Pereira, Dennis Cabral, Climax Lawrence, Okoye Christian Okuwudili, Dharmajit Singh (Jules Alberto), Bruno Coutinho, Ahmed Tejani (Alvito D'Cunha).
Air India: M Yusuf Ansari, T Khambiton Singh, Osborne D'Souza, Radhakrishna Dubey, Raju Singh (Henry Picardo), Tomba Singh, Bungo Singh, Ratan Singh, Anthony Fernandes, Khalid Jamil (Taposh Ghosh), Herbert Philips (PJ Jose).

Note-1: In a dramatic turn of events, national coach Sukhwinder Singh stepped down from his post and the AIFF appointed junior development programme coach Uzbeki Islam Akhmedov as the coach of the national team for the Millennium Cup. The AIFF had retained Sukhwinder Singh as the chief coach, after Das Munshi was re-elected president of the AIFF for the fourth term defeating Samir Thapar. AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco said in a statement that Sukhwinder Singh had expressed his inability to be with the Indian team due to his "commitments" with his club for the Rovers cup and National League. Colaco also said that the AIFF has appointed Krishnaji Rao as the Technical Director and Brahmanand Shankwalker as goalkeeper coach.
A point which should not be forgotten in this whole issue is that Thapar is in the JCT board of directors and over the last years Sukhwinder has often been released by JCT for the national team but now after the loss...
Missing from the list are Roberto Fernandes, Tapan Ghosh, Roque Barreto, Daljit Singh, Prabjot Singh and Hardip Saini as they all are injured. Some will certainly be missed. However some more players can be included on the advice of the coaches.
Following are the 36 probables:
Goalkeepers: Virender Singh (Mahindra United), Sandip Nandy (Mohan Bagan), Prasanta Dora (Tollygunge Agragami), Rajat Ghosh Dasdidar (Mohan Bagan), Francis Fernandes (Dempo), Narshiman Balaji (ITI).
Defenders: KV Dhanesh (ITI), M Suresh (Mohan Bagan), Mahesh Gawali (Churchill Bros), Deepak Mondal (East Bengal), Ratan Singh (East Bengal), Hussain Mustafi (Mohun Bagan), AS Firoze (ITI), Falguni Datta (East Bengal).
Midfielders: Jules Alberto (Salgoacar), Jo Paul Ancheri (FC Kochin), Khalid Jamil (Air India), Hardip Sangha (JCT), Renedy Singh (Mohun Bagan), Basudeb Mondal (Mohan Bagan), Venkatesh (Mahindra), Noel Wilson (Churchill Bros), James Singh (Mohun Bagan), Murali Joseph (HAL, Bangalore), Chandan Das (East Bengal), Carlton Chapman (East Bengal).
Forwards: IM Vijayan (FC Kochin), Bijen Singh (East Bengal), RC Prakash (Mohun Bagan), Dipendu Biswas (East Bengal), Francis Silveira (Churchill Bros), Syed Sabir Pasha (Indian Bank, Chennai), Mohammed Najeeb (Mahindra United), Bruno Coutinho (Salgoacar), Alvito D'Cunha (Salgoacar), Sylvester Ignatius (SBT).

Note-2: Leo Rodrigues, treasurer of the Delhi Soccer Association has resigned from the post. The resignation came in the wake of developments following the AIFF elections. "The once united DSA committee now stand divided and it was obvious that personal gains were mattered more than the progress of the DSA. Such attitudes will not help the promotion of football for which we all stood by and worked for the cause," he wrote in his resignation letter addressed to Syed Nasir Ali, DSA secretary.

19. December
5.National League - Bangalore: Indian Telephone Industries 1-0 East Bengal - Goal: 1-0 Pralad Rawat (8').
Indian Telephone Industries scored a shock 1-0 victory against East Bengal in the National League through a 8.minute goal by their playmaker Pralad Rawat. ITI had further chances in the matches but failed while East Bengal played one of its worst matches this season. For ITI, coached by former Calcutta Maidan star Mohammed Habib, it was the first victory against a Calcutta club since the 1977 Federation Cup final win against Mohun Bagan! A historic score...

5.National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers 0-0 State Bank of Travancore - Goals: none.
Churchill Brothers failed to win their second match in the National League. This time they played a goalless draw against Kerala-side State Bank of Travancore. The fast-paced match had chances on both sides but no one was able to score in the National League match at the Fatorda Stadium.
Churchill Brothers: Edward Ansah, Osumanu Husseini, Mahesh Gawli, Mir Farooq Hyder, Somatai Shaiza, Andre Requena, Jose Colaco, Ajay Singh, Noel Wilson, Francis Silveira (Abhishek Yadav), Edson de Castro.
Travancore: Feroze Sherief, K Shaji, Dipu Krishnan, Jiju Jacob, A Sunil Kumar, V Suresh Babu (VP Shaji), XR Prajeev, M Lanel Thomas, T Ashif Saheer, Sylvester Ignatious, MA Abdul Hakkim (K Ajayan).

18. December
5.National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 1-2 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 1-0 Abdullatif Seriki (25'), 1-1 Joao dos Santos (56'), 1-2 R.C. Prakash (90').
Tollygunge put up a much better display against Mohun Bagan but also lost their second National League match, this time against the defending champions, who in the end were rather lucky. Tollygunge went into the lead in the 26.minute of the match through Nigerian Abdullatif Seriki but Bagan turned the match in the second half, while Brasilian dos Santos equalised in the 56.minute, RC Prakash scored the winner in injury-time.
Tollygunge: Hemanta Dora, Reazul Mustafa, Debashish Pal Chowdhury, Satish Bharti, Partha Sarathi Dey, Bhabani Mohanty, Sandip Das (Ali Reza 70), Felix Abayomi, Sashthi Duley, Abdulateef Seriki, Emeka Achilefu (Mohammed Qaizer 86).
Mohun Bagan: Kalyan Chaubey, Dulal Biswas, Amaouri da Silva, M Suresh, Lolendra Singh, RP Singh (Amar Ganguly 58), Debjit Ghosh, Basudeb Mondal (Renedy Singh 30), RC Prakash, Jose Barreto, Joao dos Santos (James Singh 90).

5.National League - Goa: Vasco SC 1-1 FC Kochin - Goals: 1-0 Rustam Zabirov (19'), 1-1 IM Vijayan (74').
FC Kochin rallied from behind to hold Vasco SC to a 1-1 draw in a keenly contested match of the National League at the Fatorda Stadium, Goa. Vasco's Uzbek recruit Rustam Zabirov opened the scoring in the 19.minute, while international IM Vijayan equalised for FC Kochin in the 74.minute.
Vasco: Ramos Rogerio, Denzil Coutinho, Seby Dias (Khogen Singh), Sanjay Parte, Agnelo Colaco, Ronaldo Da Silva, Gregary Clark, Ravi Babu, Riston Rodrigues (Daniel Colaco), Edson Wanderley (Peter Rodrigues), Rustam Zabirov.
Kochin: Sunday Seah, Dinesh Nair, Patrick Nuku, Jo Paul Ancheri, L Suresh, Eugene Gray, VB Santosh (CK Jithesh), IM Vijayan, TS Anoj (PB Babu), Aaron Cole, Rajesh Kumar (Hemanathan).

5.National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 1-1 JCT Mills - Goals: 0-1 Ram Pal (34'), 1-1 Habib Adenkule (48').
Mahindra United and JCT Mills played a 1-1 draw in their second match of the National League at the Cooperage, Mumbai. JCT went ahead in the 34.minute when their midfielder Ram Pal scored off forward Hardip Gill's cross. However, the equaliser came three minutes after interval when Mahindra's Nigerian midfielder Habib Adenkule scored off a weak clearance by one of the JCT defenders after Aqueel Ansari had given a good forward pass.

Note-1: The Hindustan Times reports from Delhi that the political games played during the recently-concluded AIFF elections, have spilled over to the Delhi Soccer Association with its president Umesh Sood tendering his resignation today. In the resignation letter addressed to DSA secretary, Sood said "due to reasons very well known to you, I feel that we will not be able to continue working as a team and will not be able to do any good for football". Obviously piqued by the DSA managing committee's decision of not to nominate him as a representative for the AIFF elections on Saturday last, Sood has decided to disassociate himself from the association he has headed for the last seven years. When contacted, Sood said "I was unanimously nominated to represent DSA in all AIFF meetings and elections by the managing committee on January 31 last, the minutes of which is in the official record. Yet, a section of the DSA members had the issue reopened rather illegally only to stop me from attending the federation meeting." The fact remains that Sood was identified as a supporter of Samir Thapar, who unsuccessfully contested against Priyaranjan Dasmunshi for the post of president in the AIFF elections. The Dasmunshi lobby within the DSA apparently did not like the idea of Sood becoming a voter in the elections and prevented him from attending the AIFF meeting by nominating one of the joint secretaries. The entire move was believed to be spearheaded by DSA secretary Syed Nasir Ali, a close associate of Dasmunshi, two senior office bearers and an executive member. DSA has a long history of factional fighting and Sood's resignation may add new impetus to it.

17. December
Chief coach of the Indian football team Sukhwinder Singh, who is also the coach of JCT Mills, will continue in his post for the Millennium Cup. This decision was taken at the first meeting of the newly elected executive committee of the AIFF in Delhi on Saturday night. In the eventuality that Sukhwinder is not released by JCT due to national league commitments, Islam Akhmedov, coach of the U-16 and U-19 teams under the youth development programme, will be asked to take over the responsibility, new secretary Alberto Colaco said in a press release. AIFF would organise a preparatory camp for the Millennium Cup in Bangalore from December 22 and a list of probables will be announced two days later.
The executive committe decided to hold the 2.Division National League in January next year and complete the junior national tournament by the first fortnight of February.
The committee also decided to reconstiture the various sub-committees of AIFF on the lines of FIFA and AFC and shift its operations to the new central office at the Nehru stadium in Delhi from the second week of January.

Note-1: Marcelo Salas has said that he intends not to travel with the Chilean team to India for the Millennium Cup. A spokesman for the Lazio Roma player said that Salas feared to loose his place in the star-studded Lazio first-eleven as the Serie A is on when the Millennium Cup is being held! Salas is even thinking of not playing the World Cup qualifier against Peru on March 27.

16. December
Today the AIFF office bearers were elected in Delhi.
P.R. Das Munshi was today re-elected as AIFF chief for the fourth four-year term. Das Munshi won 23 to 10 against Punjab FA president and industrialist Samir Thapar. In the other office-bearer elections Alberto Colaco won 19 to 14 against current secretary K.N. Mour, while A.R. Khaleel remained treasurer beating Ranjit Gupta 19 to 13.
The elections had aroused interest not only in the football franity but also among industrialists and politicians, as for the first time president Das Munshi had to face real opposition with Thapar, who was part of the newly formed club organisation "Indian Premier Football Association". But the whole process of the last few weeks did not bring any change, as DasMunshi remained president.
After the elections for the top three posts, the house authorised DasMunshi to nominate the five vice-presidents and five executive committee members. But as a goodwill gesture, DasMunshi appointed PP Lakshmanan as executive president "to share some of my burden" as Lakshmanan had pulled out of the fray to pave the way for Colaco's election as secretary, while former AIFF president Ashok Ghosh was appointed chairman of the Afro-Asian Games Committee and the Pre-Olympic Tournament preparatory committee.
Vice-presidents: Praful Patel, Auto Megher, CR Vishwanathan , Vijay Mallya, Riazuddin. Executive Committee: H Jadeja, B Duegdo, SS Hooda, Ijaz Hussain, MA Khan .
SR Deb of Madhya Pradesh has been retained as chairman of the Referees' Board. The AIFF president also designated Praful Patel as the senior vice-president as he is the only one to have secured a second term in the post. New secretary Alberto Colaco will also continue as chairman of the National Football League till alternate arrangments are made.
Before the elections, the house passed a resolution, making associate members Chandigarh and Daman and Diu full members with voting rights. Thus the strength of the AIFF units went up from 31 to 33. DasMunshi later said fledgling states of the Indian Union - Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh - would also be made members of the AIFF family.
DasMunshi said the federation will have full-fledged headquarters in the Capital. Three officials - an executive secretary, technical director, and a finance officer - would be appointed adding that a auditing firm has been appointed.
Referring to withdrawal of New Zealand from the Millennium Cup at the insistence of Asian Football Confederation, he said the emergency executive meeting of AIFF will be held on Saturday night to finalise the teams and date of draw.

Note-1: Former Women's International Miss Bentla D'Couth of Ernakulam, who had represented India in several international football matches, becomes the first international FIFA woman football referee from India! Congrats from indianfootball.com!!!

15. December
5.National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 0-2 East Bengal Club - Goals: 0-1 Bijen Singh (26'), 0-2 Suley Musah (52').
In front of 20,000 spectators at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium East Bengal started their National League campaign with a 2-0 away win in a Calcutta derby against Tollygunge Agragami. East Bengal's biggest fear was not to start with a loss like last year against the same opponent. The scoreline may suggest a comfortable victory for East Bengal but Tollygunge Agragami paid dearly for a few missed chances to return empty-handed from the first encounter and on Monday they have their next derby against Mohun Bagan. The first goal was a beauty which came in the 26.minute of the game. SurKumar Singh's 20-yard lob caught the entire Tollygunge defence in wrong foot. The only man who judged the trajectory neatly was Bijen Singh as he chested the ball and then banged a left-footed volley which went into the net through far corner of the post. The second goal came early in the second half with Suley Musah cutting inside the box, placing a parallel pass, with both Bijen and Dipendu waiting inside. The ball popped up after ricochetting off the jungle of legs, and an alert Musha headed in the ball into the net.
Tollygunge: Amit Sinha Roy, Reazul Mustafa, Debashish Pal Chowdhury, Satish Bharti, Partha Sarathi Dey, Napolean Singh (Bhabani Mohanty 45), Abayomi Felix, Sandip Das, Sasthi Duley, Mohammed Qaizer (Samson Singh 76), Abdulatif Seriki.
East Bengal: Nasim Akhtar, SurKumar Singh, Jackson Egygpong, Deepak Mondal, Ratan Singh, Carlton Chapman (Tushar Rakshit 57), Suley Musah, Anit Ghosh (Sreekanta Dutta 66), Chandan Das (Amit Das 78), Dipendu Biswas, Bijen Singh.

5.National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 2-3 FC Kochin - Goals: 1-0 Dennis Cabral (45'), 1-1 Sunday Seah (53'), 1-2 I.M. Vijayan (81'), 2-2 Climax Lawrence (82'), 2-3 Jo Paul Ancheri (90').
Jo Paul Ancheri scored from an injury-time penalty for FC Kochin to give them a 3-2 away win against Salgaocar SC in Goa. Dennis Cabral had opened the scoring in the 45.minute for Salgaocar, which was equalised by Liberian Sunday Seah in the 53.minute. IM Vijayan gave Kochin the lead in the 81.minute but a minute later Climax Lawrence equalised for Salgaocar through a penalty but Ancheri had the last say with a penalty.
Salgaocar: Ali Abubaker, Augustine Rodrigues (Francis Coelho), Franky Baretto, Covan Lawrence, Roque Pereira, Denis Cabral, Climax Lawrence, Jules Alberto, Dharmajit Singh, Bruno Coutinho, Tijani Ahmed (Alvito D'Cunha).
Kochin: Sunday Seah, Dinesh Nair, Patrick Nuku, Joe Paul Ancheri, CK Jithesh, Rasheedi Williams, VB Santosh (L Suresh), IM Vijayan, TS Anoj (KS Pramod), Aaron Cole, Rajesh Kumar (Hemanathan).

5.National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 1-2 Air India - Goals: 0-1 Radhakrishna Dubey (12'), 1-1 Ali Abbas Rizvi (15'), 1-2 Bungo Singh (89').
The Mumbai derby ended with a surprise as Air India scored a 2-1 victory against Mumbai league champions Mahindra United. Radhakrishna Dubey gave Air India an early lead in the 12.minute, when he leaped high to nod home a pass from Khambiton Singh. Abbas Ali Rizvi restored parity for Mahindra in the 15th minute, while Bungo Sngh scored a late winner.

Note-1: What I had feared for quite some time happened today. With New Zealand the first national team pulled out of the Millennium Cup, saying it had difficulty confirming travel and competition details with the organisers. New Zealand Soccer said it had been advised by the Asian Football Confederation to withdraw from the Millennium Cup. The national body said the tournament had been seen as important preparation for New Zealand's World Cup qualifying games in Auckland in June and it would now seek alternative warm-up matches.

Note-2: Now some further sad news, on Baichung. I found the following in the official Bury FC website.
Bury's Indian superstar Baichung Bhutia has been told he must "get better" to reclaim his first team place. Bhutia maybe a superstar back in Asia where he is captain of the national team and more popular than Hollywood movie stars but that means nothing at Gigg Lane. Speaking about why Bhutia wasn't even on the bench for Saturday's LDV Vans Trophy win over Mansfield, Shakers boss Andy Preece said: "Baichung is not doing enough at the moment to get in the team and he knows that. At the end of the day it comes down to performances and just lately Baichung hasn't been good enough." The Indian appeared to be at last fulfilling his obvious promise earlier in the season when he got a regular run in the first team. He scored a glorious goal when Bury beat Rotherham 2-1 in August but any hopes that the Super strike would open the floodgates soon faded. Although he has played well - even when he's been hampered by being forced to play a more defensive role - his form has dipped of late and Preece seems to have lost confidence. Bhutia has only started three games since September and must now improve his performances for the reserves and perform consistently well if he is to force his way back in.

14. December
5.National League - Delhi: JCT Mills 2-2 Mohun Bagan - Goals: 0-1 Basudeb Mondal (46'), 1-1 Hardip Gill (55'), 1-2 Jose Barreto (65'), 2-2 Ram Pal (73').
The inaugural match of 5th National league between JCT Mills and defending champions Mohun Bagan ended in a 2-2 draw at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi. After a barren first-half, midfielder Basudeb Mondal broke the deadlock immediately after resumption. JCT's Hardip Gill equalised in the 55.minutes. Mohun Bagan's Brasilian Star striker Jose Barreto yet again put Mohun Bagan ahead in the 65.minute but JCT captain Ram Pal made the most of a defensive lapse following a 73.minute free-kick to force a draw. It was sad that a match of fluctuating fortunes and four goals was played in front of virtually empty stands save for a few hundred spectators.
JCT Mills: Arvind Kumar, Tarsem Lal, Ranjit Singh, Pawan Kumar, Daljit Singh, Hardip Singh (Surjit Singh 41), Harjinder Singh, Ram Pal, Hardip Sangha, Sukhjit Singh (Jagjit Randhawa 69), Hardip Gill.
Mohun Bagan: Kalyan Chaubey, Dulal Biswas, Hussain Mustafi, M Suresh, Lolendra Singh, RP Singh (James Singh 84), Amaouri da Silva (Debjit Singh 82), Basudeb Mondal (Renedy Singh 77), RC Prakash, Jose Barreto, Joao dos Santos.

5.National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers 0-1 Vasco SC - Goal: 0-1 Kashimov Awazbek (78').
Last year's runner up and Goa league champions Churchill Brothers failed in their acid test going down to the newly promoted local rivals Vasco SC by a solitary goal in the opening match of the 5th edition of the National League championship played at Nehru Stadium in Margao. The all important goal for Vasco came in the 78.minute through medio Kashimov Awazbek, who neatly headed in a Riston Rodriques cross from the right flank. The ball touched the Churchill goalkeeper's hand and went in, which ultimately turned out to be the match winner.
Churchill Bros: Edward Ansah, Rajesh Meetei, Osumani Husseini, Mahesh Gawli, Mir Farooq Hyder, Somatai Shaiza, Andre Requena, Jose Colaco, Noel Wilson, Francis Silveira, Edson de Crasto.
Vasco: Ramos Rogerio, Seby Dias, Sanjay Parte, Denzil Coutinho, Agnelo Colaco, Ronaldo da Silva, Gregory Clark (Daniel Colaco), Ravi Babu (Khogen Singh), Kashimov Awazbek, Riston Rodrigues (Santan Colaco), Edson Wanderley.

5.National League - Bangalore: Indian Telephone Industries 0-0 State Bank of Travancore - Goals: none.
The locale was right, expectations high, but ITI failed to capitalise the home advantage and settled for a goalless draw against SBT in a drab opening encounter of the National League at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

Note-1: The IPFA, Vijay Mallya on Thursday said he would be representing the state of Pondicherry in the annual general meeting and elections of the AIFF to be held here on Dec 16.

Note-2: The Guwahati High Court on Thursday vacated a stay order on four affiliated units of the AIFF from attending Saturday's Annual General Meeting here and exercising their right to vote, according to AIFF sources.

13. December
Note-1: In the inaugural match of 5th National league JCT Mills and defending champions Mohun Bagan will clash at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi tomorrow. The two other matches will be held in Goa, Churchill Brothers vs Vasco SC, and in Bangalore between ITI and SBT.
No title sponsor has been found so far as all officials are busy with the AIFF elections on Saturday.

Note-2: The Hindustan Times' Saibal Bose writes on Baichung's opinion on the developments in Indian football and his current situation at Bury. Some excerpts:
Baichung Bhutia feels whatever is happening in Indian football is for the good. Having been a part of the circuit for quite a while, Bhutia, who is currently playing for English second division side Bury, hopes that things will improve with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) relenting to most of the Indian Premier Football Association's (IPFA) demands.
"There are some good things happening in India, particularly after the AIFF has listened to some of the (IPFA) demands," Bhutia told The Hindustan Times from England. The striker, who was India's captain for the tour to England earlier this year, has been keeping tracks of the developments in Indian football. "Let us hope things will improve now," he said.
With the National League due to begin on Friday, Bhutia is keeping a close watch on the happenings in India. He keeps himself updated and is apparently taking an interest in the goings-on.
Bhutia is trying to adjust to the cold weather of England, in his second year with Bury.
"As always, I am working hard in the cold," he said. He has also been doing a lot of weight training recently, to improve his fitness level. "I have been doing some serious training lately," he said.
Unlikely to be released for the Millennium Cup, as January, the proposed time for the tournament will be quite busy for Bury, Bhutia would still like to see action in Indian football. "A lot has been happening recently." he commented. "These changes might be beneficial in the end."
Bhutia does nurture hopes of returning to the Indian circuit later, but right now, he is concentrating on making a name for himself in England.

Note-3: A Guwahati lower court has restrained four affiliated units of the AIFF from attending Saturday's Annual General Meeting and exercising their right to vote. The decision which came on Tuesday is based on a plea that the four have not paid their dues on time and hence, according to the Federation constitution, should be barred from the AGM.
The four include the women's football committee, hitherto represented by the current AIFF president Dasmunshi. The others are the state associations of Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Daman and Diu. The last-named is not a full member yet.
The AIFF elections are scheduled on Dec 16 with Punjab Football Association president Samir Thapar and Dasmunshi the two main contestants for the post of president.

12. December
indianfootball.com would like to announce that Daniel Ponattu and Chris Daniel will be strengthening the indianfootball.com team. So far I alone, Arunava Chaudhuri, have been working on indianfootball.com from here in Germany. Now my friends Daniel and Chris will be helping me as editors, website designers,etc. We hope to give you an even better service!

11. December
The Mohun Bagan women's football team conducted their first practice session for the forthcoming league. The team has not yet been registered with the IFA (Bengal) due to the AIFF elections. The team, coached by Kuntala Ghosh Dastidar, comprises 24 women of which 14 are from Calcutta. The rest are expected to be from other parts of the country, mainly from Assam and Manipur. Among the 14 Calcutta footballers, ten came to the first day of practice. Among them were Ranjita Khan, Rinku Ghosh, Mousaba Alam, Barnali Singh, Bipasha Mondal and a few others.

7. December
Note-1: The AFC and FIFA seem to have woken-up to the problems in Indian football.
My friend at the Hindustan Times' Dhiman Sarkar writes allegations of financial irregularities in the AIFF have reached the Asian Football Confederation and even FIFA has been kept abreast of the developments, according to AFC general secretary Peter Velappan.
Velappan has written to AIFF president, stating that both FIFA and the AFC are 'deeply concerned' at the 'chaotic situation in the AIFF'.
"Only a miracle can now save Indian football," the official has written, replying to a letter from Dasmunshi dated Dec 4. In a short, signed letter dated Dec 6, Velappan said FIFA wanted to send a team of auditors to inspect the alleged mismanagement of funds but he restrained them until after the AIFF election, to be held in New Delhi on Dec 16. The AFC, Velappan said, has been flooded with information from fans, clubs and newspapers. "We have received some very strong and passionate letters."
"If the situation does not improve soon after the election, you will fully appreciate that both the FIFA and the AFC have a duty to the people of India and would not hesitate to take appropriate action to put the house in order," the AFC official said.
"I personally think that there is nothing much that can be done by the current officials who must be held responsible for ditching (taking) the game to such a depth of disaster... I wish you good luck in the election," Velappan wrote.
Velappan ends the one-page letter by saying that Rustam Akhramov, the former India National coach for the senior squad and later posted to India on an AFC Development Programme, has been called back to Uzbekistan by their football association to "lead the reorganisation of football. Under the circumstances, his services will no longer be available to India."
Interesting is that I have heard that both FIFA and the AFC have been informing themselves about the AIFF, among other sources, through this website! Also FIFA media director Keith Cooper had been at the conference on Indian football at Northampton and was then quite surprised at the state of the game in India...

Note-2: AIFF president Das Munshi denied that he had said anything on his challenger industrialist Samir Thapar's claim of having mustered 70 per cent support in a house of 31. A website had quoted Dasmunshi saying that whatever his rival may claim on garnering support, he will be re-elected president of the federation on December 16.
Speaking to UNI on Thursday Das Munshi refused to comment on his prospects in the coming presidential elections where he is pitted against Thapar. "All will be clear on December 16," he said.
Thapar's camp was confident that Das Munshi will be dislodged from the post of the president. A close aide of Thapar indicated that some of the supporters of Das Munshi might vote against him. They said that if Das Munshi thinks that he will be re-elected, "he is living in a make-believe world".

Note-3: Even as the AIFF president promised that the profits of National League would be shared on a 50-50 ratio this time, the federation is yet to procure a title-sponsor for it's ensuing edition.
According to well-placed sources who were part of the recent parleys between the AIFF and the newly formed IPFA, the latest goings on in the federation has put off the soft drinks major Coca Cola, who had been the title-sponsors for the last two editions. Under the circumstances, the federation is now banking heavily on offering the telecast rights to the highest bidder.
"Doordarshan reportedly owes around Rs 30 million to the AIFF and according to president, Das Munshi, it has given another multi-million bid so far. However, nothing seems to have been finalised," the sources said.
The heartening news, however, is that there are no dearth of takers for the terrestrial rights. The involvement of corporate heavyweights like Vijay Mallya, Samir Thapar, Anand Mahindra and Shivanand Salgaocar have already enthused Sony Max and Zee TV, while a surprise customer at the eleventh hour is ESPN-Star Sports.
The last-named, who has had a mixed experience during its association with IFA in Calcutta since '96, wants to throw it's hat in the ring. The 24-hour sports network have failed to provide a live telecast of the Super Division and the IFA Shield in all these years, something a sponsor always craves for. However, any form of telecast for matches between December 14-20 in the initial phase of NFL now looks very unlikely.
Meanwhile, the IPFA may have relented temporarily on the assurance on the AIFF supremo, there is enough skepticism among a section of officials of the city's NFL clubs as to who has had the last laugh. "It's a win for both of us. We will have enough control over the NFL, as six of our members will be inducted in the steering committee and an industrialist like Salgaocar will be part of their finance committee now," remarked Anjan Mitra of Mohun Bagan, IPFA vice-chairman.
However, Mitra could not guarantee as to when a MoU between the two bodies would be signed and what would be the fallout in case of Das Munshi's exit in the elections on December 16. "It's a point of concern for none of these decisions have been ratified by the AIFF executive committee," remarked one of the officials.
East Bengal, who refrained from sending any representative in any of the last conclaves, preferred to lie low over the entire episode. "We would rather wait and watch," said Dipak Das, East Bengal's Managing Director.

6. December
Note-1: Excerpts from an interesting article in the Times of India:
Will any sport in India ever give cricket a run for its money? Anyone who posed such a question would probably be considered an ignoramus and be greeted by a chorus of laughter. But, if one is to believe what IPFA has on the anvil and what it has to offer fans, sponsors and players in the near future as it's president Vijay Mallya explained at a hurriedly called press conference, then this will probably trigger off a soccer craze that could rival cricket.
The IPFA, together with the AIFF, has decided that a transfer fee will be introduced from next season. For this, certain players will be deemed 'professionals'.
That apart, the IPFA-AIFF have declared their intention to be more media friendly, the electronic media especially, as well as fans by scheduling a high percentage of matches under floodlights. "This," said Mallya, "will attract larger turnouts at the various venues, which in turn will net higher profits and attract more sponsors."
That is not all, all the IPFA member clubs will start their own nurseries, under-19 and under-16 teams, and get the AIFF to conduct a National League in these groups. "Junior national teams will also be encouraged to participate in tournaments outside India for exposure," said Mallya.
Mallya said it made more sense pumping money into soccer as he found it more viable as returns from sponsorship could be more than that from cricket. "Cricket sponsorship has been blown out of proportion," he said.
Delving on the reason behind the formation of the IPFA, Mallya said the clubs were frustrated by the stepmotherly treatment meted out to the sport by the powers that be that led to a slide in Indian football. "The national team's performance in international tournaments over the years is testimony to it," said Mallya.
Late last month, AIFF and Zee had a preliminary round of talks over telecast rights and another round was scheduled on Wednesday evening. Zee, who are to launch a sports channel, are desperately looking for soccer as their launch pad. And what better platform than the bagging all football rights in India. At the same time, the IPFA, who were in talks with another television giant, Sony, for the telecast of their league in case the AIFF failed to accept their demands, continue to negotiate with them for the NFL. However, the catch in both cases is, the company bagging the rights will also have to pay Doordarshan the charges for AIFF not fulfilling the three-year contract.
At the same time, Mallya said DD's role had been discussed. "There is room for improvement," he mentioned.
Mallya said IPFA had not abandoned their dream now that the AIFF had accepted their demands. "Our work has just begun. We intend to stay united and carry out our work as planned," said Mallya.
The IPFA also plans a women's league and for the first time Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will be fielding a women's team in the IFA League in Calcutta. The two Calcutta teams also intend to import a few foreign women players, informed Anjan Mitra secretary of Mohun Bagan who was also present at the conference.
On UB Group's withdrawal from sponsoring the Federation Cup, last held two year ago, Mallya pointed out that the returns were less in proportion to the money being spent.

Note-2: JCT Mills and defending champions Mohun Bagan will clash at the Ambedkar Stadium here in the inaugural match of National league on December 14, according to the revised draw released by Alberto Colaco, chairman NFL committee of the AIFF. Colaco, releasing only two rounds of the draw also said, "draw for the remaining rounds will be decided after a meeting of the full NFLC and after checking availability of grounds. The venue and the date for the NFLC meeting will only be decided after consultation with the federation president." The NFL will come to a temporary halt on Dec 23 for a month as the AIFF is likely to call the national camp for the preparations of the Millennium Cup.

5. December
Note-1: It took a marathon five-hour meeting in the house of AIFF president Das Munshi in the capital today to finally resolve the the 25-day stand-off between the AIFF and the newly-formed IPFA. In the end, it was an amicable settlement with both groups relenting on certain issues and reaching an agreement on revenue-sharing, composition of the National Football League Committee and calendar of events.
The IPFA's demand for a Memorandum of Understanding was not agreed to. But IPFA president Vijay Mallya said that issues were settled in an atmosphere of trust and goodwill.
AIFF president Das Munshi and Mallya agreed to commence the fifth edition of the NFL on December 14. All the original 12 clubs will take part and the opener will feature champions Mohun Bagan and JCT. The match, to be held at the Ambedkar Stadium here, will will be treated as JCT's home match. The new fixtures will be released tomorrow.
The League will break on December 22 for the Millenium Cup national camp which will begin the next day. The National League will resume on January 21, 2001.
The AIFF president added that in case India's World Cup qualifying matches with UAE, Brunei and Yemen - now slated for the second week of March - are not postponed, the NFL may have another break. In that case, the League will conclude end of April.
The IPFA got its pound of flesh in the composition of the NFL committtee and sharing of revenue. Representatives of the first six clubs of the 4th NFL - Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar, FC Kochin, JCT Mills and Mahindra United - will be in the committee. The representative of the champion club (Mohun Bagan's Anjan Mitra) will henceforth be vice-chairman of the NFL committee.
Mallya said an IPFA representative will be on the AIFF finance committee and he will have cheque-signing authority. For this season, Shivanand Salgaocar has been chosen.
As regards sharing of revenue, Das Munshi stated that after deducting expnses for conducting the NFL, all surplus profit will be shared between the premier clubs and the AIFF. He stated that the clubs will get 80 per cent and the AIFF 20 per cent. Mallya clarified that all revenue will be shared on a 50-50 basis this season and on a 80-20 ratio from the next season.
To ensure the NFL is spectator and television-friendly, several matches will be played under floodlights. The AIFF and IPFA will negotiate with private TV companies and strike a package deal. But also talks will be held with Doordarshan.
ANother major development was that guidelines will be worked out to decide status of players in the premier clubs of India. So, from the next season, some will be classified as professionals and others amateurs. For professional players, clubs will be entitled for compensation in case of transfers. Also professional footballers will henceforth not be allowed to take part in amateur domestic football.
The AIFF has also promised to release the national calendar for the 2001-2002 season within a week of completion of the fifth NFL.
At the meeting today were AIFF representatives president Das Munshi, vice-presidents P.P. Lakshmanan and Praful Patel, treasurer Mohammed Khaleel and NFL committee chairman Alberto Colaco, while the IPFA was represented by its president Mallya, Anjan Mitra, Shivanand Salgaocar, Henry Britto, Alan Durante and Kalyan Ganguly.

Note-2: Another former Indian football hero is death...
A pall of gloom descended on Calcutta's football fraternity as the news of Ram Bahadur's death filtered in. The diminutive East Bengal midfielder of the 1960s, suffered a heart attack while watching television in his daughter's house in Dehradun yesterday. He died at 4.30 pm. He was 65. "It is a big loss for us," said Shyam Thapa, who was introduced to Calcutta football by Ram Bahadur. "He brought me to Calcutta in 1966. Although he retired from active soccer a year later, his association with the game continued. I last met him in April this year at Dehradun. He was as jovial as ever."
Interesting is that Ram Bahadur had never been cautioned, nor had he been injured in an on-filed tussle. He played his football cleanly and will be remembered by fans as one of the most upright players ever.

4. December
Note-1: Tomorrow will be an important day for Indian football and it might shape the future...
In the morning the IPFA clubs will meet in Delhi to discuss its stand towards the AIFF. Later in the day the AIFF and the IPFA will meet and hopefully will find a result for the National League. And after that meeting the deadline for submission of forms for the National League will end. So lets wait and see.
So far only five of the 12 National League teams have send in their registration forms. They are Churchill Brothers, Vasco SC, Air India, Indian Telephone Industries and State Bank of Travancore. JCT Mills is in a fix because of Samir Thapa's candidature.

Note-2: There's good news for Mumbaikars. The long-awaited Rovers Cup which is in its centenary year but was cancelled due to the refusal of the clubs due to the clash of dates with the NFL -- the clubs claimed there was not enough resting time for the players -- will now be held from December 30.

3. December
13th Master Mehar Singh Memorial Trophy - Final: Border Security Force 2-1 Punjab State Electricity Board

Note-1: Desperate to break the National League deadlock, the AIFF today decided to extend the deadline for submitting the NFL entry forms by another 24 hours, that is Dec 5. The AIFF president Dasmunshi spoke to several IPFA member clubs in Calcutta today before taking this decision. The decision was also influenced by the fact that the AIFF chief will hold a meeting with the IPFA president Mallya on Dec 5 in an effort to bring an end to the impasse. Mallya will later hold a meeting of the IPFA clubs in Mumbai to take stock of the situation. The NFL Committee will also meet in an emergency meeting in the Capital on the same day. The latest development is ample proof that the federation has shifted from its earlier stand of crossing swords with the IPFA clubs and is under tremendous pressure to find a solution.
It is now quite clear that the AIFF has not succeeded in creating a rift among the IPFA clubs, something it was hoping to do for the past few days. While teams like East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, FC Kochin, Tollygunge and Mahindra United have vowed to remain united, Salgaocar too have not relented to the pressure created on them by their state association.
When contacted, the NFL chairman Alberto Colaco admitted he was yet to receive the entry form from Salgaocar. "However, I am hopeful Salgaocar will come back to the NFL fold", he said. Doubts persist over JCT's participation also. Till today they have not sent their entry though Colaco felt it may be on its way through the Punjab Football Association.
Meanwhile, Mallya today said his body will stick to its earlier stand.
"Our demands of recognising the IPFA as the official platform for the member professional clubs or giving the NFLC the autonomous status with 75 per cent clubs and 25 per cent AIFF nominees remaining unchanged", he said.
"For the 5th NFL, we will be willing to compromise by accepting additional nominees but we must get in writing that the 75- 25 ratio will be accepted next year onwards", Mallya said.
The IPFA has also demanded that the NFL contract with Doordarshan should be terminated immediately and fresh bids should be invited from some private television channels.
While 80 per cent of NFL revenue should go to the clubs, the federation has to remain contended with the rest. For the current season, the IPFA, however, is ready to share the revenue equally.

2. December
JCT Mills, Phagwara are also yet to send their entry for the NFL though the deadline set by the AIFF is less than 48 hours away. JCT joint managing director Samir Thapar today said his club is still to decide whether to accept the NFL invitation. "We have still not decided about it. We are still discussing things at our club level. I will also talk to the IPFA chief Vijay Mallya and officials of other clubs before finalising our stand", said Thapar, a presidential candidate for the AIFF elections scheduled on Dec 16 and that is Thapar's problem at the moment.

1. December
Note-1: In what can be described a tactical initiative to pre-empt any move by the AIFF to ban the IPFA member clubs, six teams have decided to write to the AIFF that it would not be possible for them to play the National League from Dec 10. The six clubs - Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Tollygunge Agragami, Salgaocar, FC Kochin and Mahindra United - would shortly shoot off separate letters to the federation expressing their inability to participate in the NFL from the proposed date. The letters, which are likely to be one liners, would not go into any further details, like what really had prevented them from playing. The letter would also not reveal whether they agree to play the league in principle. The whole move is just an attempt to prevent the AIFF from taking action against the erring IPFA clubs, who have decided to ignore the federation's call to endorse their NFL participation to respective state associations by Dec 4. The NFL rules have also come handy for the IPFA member clubs. The rules, apparently, do not have much provision for taking strict action against any team for non-participation except a fine of Rs. 100,000. The fine will be doubled in case any team pulls out of the NFL midway. The rule, however, leaves it to the federation to decide its course of action in case of any other development. The IPFA clubs fear that AIFF may interpret the last rule to its own advantage to punish the erring clubs. Given the present state of affairs, the start of NFL from Dec 10 seems unlikely as the IPFA clubs are determined to stay out of the league in case their demands are not met. While the three Calcutta clubs have remained united so far, Salgaocar have already told the Goa FA that they too are not interested in playing. The NFL emergency committee will meet in the Capital on Dec 5 and is supposed to release the fixture next day. But the soccer circle feels the AIFF may be forced to postpone the league further. Things may only become clear after the federation elections on Dec 16.
Meanwhile, current national coach Sukhwinder Singh is perturbed about preparation of the national team for the group 8 World Cup qualifiers, now slated to take place in the first week of March. He is concerned at the limited preparation time, as clubs may not be willing to release players for a fortnight's camp. The AIFF is also in a quandary because of the new dates for World Cup qualifying matches. If the NFL is again suspended, the schedule is likely to go haywire. Already the AIFF is toying with the idea of letting teams like Air India and ITI which may not have any players in the Indian team, play NFL matches whilst the Millennium Cup is going on.
In another interesting development Dempo SC, Goa have confirmed their participation in the National League, in case the teams affiliated to the newly formed IPFA stick to their decision to boycott the league. The NFL committee had asked the Goa FA to contact Dempo to confirm their participation in the NFL by 4 December. And Dempo responded to the AIFF call well in advance by faxing their confirmation to the NFL chairman yesterday. Dempo had also been asked to join the IPFA but have taken a decision not to join and rather take a place in the NFL

Note-2: Industrialist and AIFF presidential hopeful Samir Thapar today exuded confidence that he would comfortably win the elections to the Indian soccer's governing body and asserted that current incumbent Dasmunshi was no threat to him. Thapar said he will win as he has a overwhelming majority. "I have the support of the state associations and the newly-formed IPFA." The IPFA is a conglomerate of premier soccer clubs, which are on a collision course with the AIFF. About Dasmunshi's warning that the dissident clubs risked suspension if they played a parallel league, Thapar said such developments are bound to harm Indian soccer. Thapar enjoys the support of fellow industrialists Vijay Mallya (UB Group) and Anand Mahindra (Mahindra United). Mallya is the supremo of the nine-member IPFA. Thapar held Dasmunshi responsible for "reducing Indian soccer to its present miserable plight" and blamed him for doing nothing to promote the game.