30. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Pax of Nagoa 2-2 Air-India - Goals: 0-1,1-2 Mohammed Rizwan (9',36'), 1-1 Ameachi Nwabunwanne, 2-2 Francis Afonso (88').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: State Bank of Travancore 1-0 Indian Nationals FC - Goal: 1-0 Asif Saheer.

29. April
11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group A: Andhra Pradesh 0-4 Jammu&Kashmir - Goals: 0-1 Ishfaq Ahmed (71'9, 0-2 Sheik Rizwan (75'), 0-3 Ishfaq Ahmed (82'), 0-4 Bilal Ahmed (85').
11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group A: West Bengal 1-1 Maharashtra - Goals: 0-1 Atchuta Rao (39'), 1-1 Ashim Biswas (85').

Note-1: The members of the IFA, at a special general meeting, agreed to increase the number of teams in the Calcutta Super Division. In 2002 and 2003, four First Division group A teams will be promoted and two, relegated. In 2004, 14 teams will figure in the Super Division from which four will be relegated and four promoted. Ten teams figure in the Super Division now. An U-16 tournament will also be started next year featuring the 16 5th Division teams.

28. April
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Final: Japan 2-1 Taiwan - Goals: 0-1 Shin Jung Wu (25'), 1-1 Kanako Ito (55'), 2-1 Shinobu Ohno (70').
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - 3rd Place Playoff: North Korea 1-4 China - Goals: 0-1,1-4 Han Duan (4',90'), 0-2 Jiang Shuai (15'), 1-2 Jong Chol Ok (17'), 1-3 Kam Kum Sil (19' - own Goal).

2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Bengal Mumbai FC 0-1 Indian Bank - Goal: 0-1 Syed Shabir Pasha (7').
Indian Bank gain promotion as the second team besides Dempo SC for the 20020/03 National League!

11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group B: Services 5-2 Manipur - Goals: 1-0 Thang Thang Kom (12' - own Goal), 1-1 Jatin Singh (37'), 2-1 Bikash Gurung (53'), 2-2 Gouminlal Kipgen (79'), 3-2 Thirunavakarasu (84'), 4-2 Sarat Sauben, 5-2 Antony Francis.
11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group B: Karnataka 0-0 Goa - Goals: none.

27. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: State Bank of Travancore 2-1 Air-India - Goals: 1-0 K Naushad (51'), 1-1 Tomba Singh (58'), 2-1 Sylvester Ignatius (75').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Bhratri Sangha 0-0 Pax of Nagoa - Goals: none.

11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group A: Andhra Pradesh 2-8 West Bengal - Goals: 1-0 DA Sridhar (2'), 1-1,2-4 Mehtab Hossain (22',56'), 1-2,2-5,2-7 Dulal Patra (28',69',81'), 1-3 Ashim Biswas (40'), 2-3 Irfan (49'), 2-6 Chinmoy Sarkar (74'), 2-8 Debashish Roy (90').
11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group A: Jammu&Kashmir 1-0 Maharashtra - Goal: 1-0 Amardeep Singh (16').

Note-1: National League champions Mohun Bagan stuck to its decision not to take part in the forthcoming Asian Champions League and resolved to settle all its internal problems across the table. The club's executive committee, which had decided on Wednesday not to form a team for the forthcoming football season unless the dissident group in the club withdrew all the court cases, took the decision considering the current scenario. The club's general secretary, Anjan Mitra said that the main litigant Amal Sen, who had been asked to appear before the committee on Saturday, failed to turn up citing personal reasons. "We have decided to send him a letter to know when he can be available. We will call him accordingly," Mitra said.

Note-2: Bhratri Sangha coach Shabbir Ali will be joining a National League club in the new season though he refused to divulge the name of the club. "It will not be proper to disclose the name of the club at the moment till I have officially signed. But everything has been finalised," he said. The former player and national coach said he had got offers from two other NFL outfits - Salgaocar and ITI - in October 2001 but did not accept them because of his contract with Bhratri Sangha. Shabbir Ali's contract with Bhratri Sangha, which is taking part in the 2nd Division NFL, will end on April 30. "I have done my best for the team which has a lot of talent. I have no intentions of continuing with the present club," he added.

26. April
As informed earlier, the new sport channel, Ten Sports from Dubai, has bagged the TV rights for the 2002 World Cup in Japan/Korea for the Indian peninsula.
Peter Hutton, Vice-president programming and events, informed indianfootball.com that Ten Sports will show 56 of the 64 games live - with the 8 final group matches that have simultaneous kick off times shown straight after the first game is shown, ie this is as close to getting every match live as you can get!
They will also have a nightly 2 hour highlights show called "Today at the World Cup", every night at 9pm starting from May 31 through to June 30.
Before the World Cup they will also show a 2 part special on Brazil, the Heart of Football - a documentary on the Brazilian World Cup qualification on May 29/30 at 9pm.
Baichung will be their studio guest throughout the World Cup, and they will be broadcasting at least one hour of preview shows every day. A lot of football on Ten Sports!

2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Indian Nationals FC 0-2 Dempo SC - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Dudu M Omagbemi (36',44').
Dempo SC have gained promotion to the National League and are back in the NFL after two season!

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Semifinal: Japan 1-1,3-0 China (after penalties) - Goals: 1-0 Ayako Kitamoto (5'), 1-1 Bi Yan (90').
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Semifinal: North Korea 1-1,3-4 Taiwan (after penalties) - Goals: 1-0 Ri Kwang Ok (31'), 1-1 Hui Chih Chang (38').

11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group B: Services 0-3 Goa - Goals: 0-1 Alex Ambrose (40'), 0-2 Wilfred Gomes (51'), 0-3 Ryan D'Souza (56').
11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group B: Karnataka 3-2 Manipur - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Antony Irudayaraj (25',43'), 2-1 Kamdouhao Hangsing (54'), 3-1 Shivamani (59'), 3-2 Gouminlal Kipgen (66').

25. April
Note-1: The Indian national teams Tour to South Africa in May has been postponed indefinitely. The Tours promoter, UK-based Sapphire Enterprises Ltd, informed the AIFF that the tour could not be held now because of the inability of the South African Football Association to raise a team to play in the tournament, as their top 30 players are in the World Cup preparatory camp. Consequently the AIFF has cancelled the preparatory camp slated to start on May 1. SAFA had suggested the second and third week of December for the tour but the AIFF expressed its inability to send the team then because the National League will be underway that time. The cancellation of the tour is yet another setback for the exposure starved Indian team, who have not played a match since the Tour of England last summer. It was slated to participate in the SAF Games (Pakistan), SAFF Cup (Bangladesh) and the Afro-Asian Games but all these tournaments were cancelled for different reasons.

Note-2: NFL champions Mohun Bagan have decided not to field a team in the forthcoming season unless the dissident group in the club withdraws all Court cases it had filed. "We are ready to face any consequence for this decision, but the committee wants to get rid of these hassles once and for all," the general secretary, Anjan Mitra, said. The decision against fielding a team was taken by the executive committee and is being seen as a pressure tactic to force the dissidents to withdraw the cases which have been pending for quite some time. Stating that the executive committee would not revoke its decision under any circumstances, Mitra admitted that it may hurt the sentiments of club supporters but the committee had no other choice. "I am sure that all our members and fans will understand the circumstances," he said. The dissidents in the club had filed three cases against the club's managing committee. While one case challenges the elections that were held in 1992, another was filed to stop the club's efforts to start a McDowell-Mohun Bagan combine for the football team. The third case pertains to club accounts. Mitra said against the backdrop of the court cases it becomes impossible to concentrate on the game. "If they feel they can run the club better than us, they should go for the members' mandate. We are ready to hold elections but they obtained a stay order from the court on the last one," he added.

2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: State Bank of Travancore 1-2 Indian Bank - Goals: 1-0 Sylvester Ignatius (8'), 1-1 Kusun Nadika (22'), 1-2 Hamilton Bobby (39').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Bengal Mumbai FC 0-3 Pax of Nagoa - Goals: 0-1 Sanni Michel, 0-2 Savio Pereira (60'), 0-3 Sebastiao Endro (70').

11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group A: West Bengal 3-2 Jammu&Kashmir - Goals: 1-0 Ashim Biswas (14'), 1-1 Sheik Iqbal (26'), 1-2 Shahnaz Iqbal (32'), 2-2 Debkumar Sashmal (74'), 3-2 Debashish Roy (76').
11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group A: Andhra Pradesh 0-2 Maharashtra - Goals: 0-1 Ashish Bhoir (26'), 0-2 Mohamed Khan (79').

24. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Indian Nationals FC 1-4 Air-India - Goals: 0-1,0-3 Anthony Fernandes (16',28'), 0-2 Gurjinder Singh (25' - own Goal), 0-4 Suprith Jathanna (38'), 1-4 Cassius Owino (75').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Dempo SC 2-0 Bhratri Sangha - Goals: 1-0 Stanley Colaco (20'), 2-0 Dudu M Omagbemi (75').

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group B: China 17-0 Hongkong - Goals: 1-0,5-0 Li Dongling (1',45'), 2-0,7-0,12-0,15-0,16-0 Li Nan (22',54',73',83',85'), 3-0,14-0,17-0 Wu Miaomiao (29',82'), 4-0 Zhang Ying (40'), 6-0 Lu Yan (51'), 8-0,9-0,11-0 Wang Dandan (56',57',71'), 10-0 Hou Lijia (70',87'), 13-0 Ge Yang (76').
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group B: Singapore 0-18 Taiwan
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group C: Uzbekistan 0-2 Thailand
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group C: North Korea 7-0 Myanmar - Goals: 1-0 Posim (1'), 2-0,5-0 O Jong Im (9',32'), 3-0 Min Chung Bok (10'), 4-0 Ri Kwang Ok (14'), 6-0 Jong Chol Ok (43'), 7-0 Han Ryon Hui (44').

11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group B: Manipur 0-0 Goa - Goals: none.

23. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Pax of Nagoa 0-1 Indian Bank - Goal: 0-1 Noah Rozario (90').

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group A: India 0-9 Japan - Goals: 0-1,0-2,0-3,0-9 Shinobu Ohno (10',11',20',87'), 0-4,0-8 Kirana Maruyama (37',78'), 0-5 Chihiro Watanabe (38'), 0-6,0-7 Kanoko Ito (40',74').

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group A: South Korea 13-0 Guam - Goals: 1-0 Jang Jeong Hee (3'), 2-0,3-0,4-0,5-0,12-0,13-0 Park Eun Jung (12',21',28',30',90',90+'), 6-0,10-0,11-0 Han Song I (38',65',77'), 7-0,9,0 Lee Jang Mi (42',59'), 8-0 Lee Eun Hea (58').

11.Datta Ray Trophy - Quarterfinal-League - Group B: Karnataka 1-1 Services - Goal: 0-1 Sarat Sauban (73'), 1-1 Shivamani (82').

Note-1: The Football World Cup is coming to enthrall the people of Calcutta on Saturday. The World Cup, which would be presented to the winner at Yokohama in Japan on June 30, is coming to the city with the help of FIFA and one of the major sponsors Gillette from Zurich after being exhibited in South Korea and Japan. The trophy would be uncovered before an expected 100.000 football fans at the Saltlake Stadium on Saturday evening. The Cup is reaching the city on Friday via New Delhi. Star footballer Baichung Bhutia would fly down from London to carry the cup atop an elephant in the sprawling stadium. A three-hour laser show would be shown to celebrate the occasion.

Note-2: A few days ago it was announced that newly started TEN Sports had bagged the TV rights to show the 2002 World Cup exclusively on their channel. They paid 2,8 million US-Dollars, peanuts if compared to sums paid by European broadcasters but a lot for India. Rivals ESPN/Star Sports and Sony MAX failed in their bids...
But there seems to be a problem, as TEN Sports is upto now received by just a few households across India and until the World Cup TEN Sports will have to insure that people, willing to watch the biggest sports extravaganza in the world, have the chance to...

Note-3: After an English FA "A" licence assessment took place at Coventry City FC a few weeks ago, Chas Khehra has been awarded the UEFA "A" licence coaching award. According to the FA assessors Chas is the first person of Indian origin to achieve this award in the UK and quite possibly in the world. Chas, who is an Academy coach at Coventry City FC also works for Sapphire Enterprises who promote South Asian football in the UK and around the world.

22. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: State Bank of Travancore 0-1 Dempo SC - Goal: 0-1 Dudu M Omagbemi (90').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Bhratri Sangha 1-3 Air-India - Goals: 1-0 Dipankar Biswas (13'), 1-1 Naushad Moosa (27'), 1-2 Tomba Singh (42'), 1-3 Narender Meetei (90').

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group B: China 0-0 Taiwan - Goals: none.
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group B: Singapore 2-1 Hongkong - Goals: 0-1 Fung Kam Mui (28'), 1-1 Nursayaima Abdul Aziz (53'), 2-1 Huraizah Ismail (67').
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group C: North Korea 1-0 Uzbekistan - Goal: 1-0 Ri Kwag Ok (9').
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group C: Thailand 0-2 Myanmar - Goals: 0-1 Thu Zar Htwe (40'), 0-2 Nhin Si Myint (89').

Note-1: For the first-time in the 2002/03 season the AFC will hold the Asian Champions League with the best teams from the vast Asian continent participating! But India's newly crowned NFL champions, Mohun Bagan, might not take part to continue the trend of Indian teams not playing the AFC Club tournaments. The reasons given by Bagan secretary Anjan Mitra are ridiculous, as he said, by June 5, the last entry dates of teams, he will not know the structure of the Mohun Bagan team and also the court case surrounding the Mohun Bagan club name, which according to plans was supposed to be changed in United Mohun Bagan has not been done so far and so he can't ask the UB Group for extra money. Both no reasons at all...

21. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Indian Nationals FC 0-2 Bengal Mumbai FC - Goals: 0-1 Emil Vartazarian (40'), 0-2 Ram Ishwar Mahato (83').

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group A: India 6-0 Guam - Goals: 1-0 Blanka Barreto (44'), 2-0 Ibempishak Devi (54'), 3-0 Maynol N Rocky (68'), 4-0 Rehana Kahtun (73'), 5-0,6-0 Pukhrambam Geeta Rani Devi (82',83').

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group A: Japan 7-0 South Korea - Goals: 1-0 Aya Miyama (6'), 2-0 Kanako Ito (25'), 3-0,7-0 Shinobu Ohno (51',87'), 4-0 Ayako Kitamoto (74'), 5-0 Kana Watanabe (79'), 6-0 Karina Maruyama (81').

Note-1: The schedule of the ongoing Asian U-19 Women's championship has been altered with the floodlit matches being cancelled due to problems in getting continuous power supply, according to Alberto Colaco, AIFF secretary.
There were a couple of power failures on the very first day of the floodlit match when the tie between Taiwan and Hongkong was in progress. Consequently, there will be now a match in the morning (April 22,23,24) starting at 8.30 am. There will be one match in the evening at 4 pm (April 22,23,24). The first semifinal will be played at 8.30 am on April 26 and the match for the 3rd/4th places will be at 8.30 am on April 28. The second semifinal (April 26) and the finals (April 28) will be played at 4 pm.

20. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Dempo SC 2-0 Pax of Nagoa - Goals: 1-0,2-0 William Abeke (6',60').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: State Bank of Travancore 3-1 Bhratri Sangha - Goals: 0-1 Dipankar Biswas (57'), 1-1,3-1 Asif Saheer (65',90'), 2-1 Krishnan Ajayan (86').

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group B: China 15-0 Singapore
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group B: Taiwan 15-0 Hongkong
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group C: North Korea 10-0 Thailand - Goals: 1-0 Kang Kum Sil (1'), 2-0,3-0 Jang Chol Ok (22',26'), 4-0,9-0,10-0 Jong Pok Sim (30',72',89'), 5-0,6-0,7-0,8-0 Kim Hyang Mi (42',49',54',60').
Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group C: Uzbekistan 1-5 Myanmar - Goals: 0-1 Nhin Si Mytnt (11'), 0-2,1-4 Soe Miat Thida (25',70'), 0-3 Aye Nanda Hlaing (30'), 1-3 Usma Nova Komola (40'), 1-5 Ryin Thida Nyint(89').

19. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Indian Nationals FC 0-1 Indian Bank - Goal: 0-1 Hamilton Bobby (10').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Bengal Mumbai FC 0-3 Air-India - Goal: 0-1 Narender Meetei (36'), 0-2 Naushad Moosa, 0-3 Samson Singh.

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group A: India 0-4 South Korea - Goals: 0-1,0-2,0-4 Han Song-I (22',23',52'), 0-3 Lee Jong Mi (48').
INDIA: Thabal Devi, Ibempishak Devi, Rehena Khatun, Geeta Rani Devi (Sharmila Sapui), Pooja (Blanca Barretto), Kiranmala Devi, Nosaba Alam, Maymol Rocky (Binod Kumar Devi), Rebeika Devi, Sandhya Rani Devi, Ibeyaima Devi.
SOUTH KOREA: Kim Jung Mi, Han Sing I, Lee Eun Hea (Park Jung), Yun So Yun, Lee Jang Mi, Kang Soo Jin (Sin Hye Jin), Jung So Young (Jang Jeong Hee), Kim Sang Hee, Park Young Hee, Lee Shin Jeong.

Asian Under-19 Women's Championship - Group A: Japan 15-0 Guam

18. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: State Bank of Travancore 1-1 Pax of Nagoa - Goals: 0-1 Sebastiao Endro (30'), 1-1 Asif Saheer (66').

17. April
The Players of the 2001/02 National League champions Mohun Bagan were accorded a heroes' welcome at the Calcutta Airport! The arrival was delayed by a day following a 24-hour "Bangla bandh" sponsored by the Left parties in Calcutta yesterday. Hundreds of club fans and officials greeted the team members with traditional fervour with sprinkling colour dust matching club uniform green and maroon. After the team members' arrival by an Indian Airlines flight this morning, the players were escorted by a motorcade and receptions were given in some places on the VIP Road. Club secretary Anjan Mitra said the members will be accorded reception by the on July 29 to coincide the Mohun Bagan's Day.

2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Dempo SC 1-0 Bengal Mumbai FC - Goal: 1-0 Dudu M Omagbemi (1').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Indian Nationals FC 0-3 Bhratri Sangha - Goals: 0-1 Christian Okolonko (15'), 0-2 Abdul Khalique, 0-3 Palash Karmakar.

16. April
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Indian Bank 1-1 Air India - Goals: 0-1 Tomba Singh (20'), 1-1 Kusun Nadika (57').

15. April
6th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 0-1 Mohun Bagan AC - Abdul Wastu Saliu (73').
History repeated itself as Churchill Brothers lost by a goal against Mohun Bagan and once again the National League title in the last match of the league in a sold out Nehru Stadium, Goa! A 73.minute header by Nigerian midfielder Abdul Wastu Saliu enabled Bagan to keep the trophy in Calcutta and win the trophy for the third time!
In the match Churchill Brothers had more of the exchanges, as Churchill were able to keep Bagan's Brazilian superstar Jose Barreto under control but its strikers missed good chances.
CHURCHILL: Edward Ansah, Rajesh Meetei, Mahesh Gawli, Osumanu Husseini, Denzil Ferrao, Roque Barreto, Ratan Singh, Francis Coelho, Aqeel Ansari (Somatai Shaiza), Sayed Amin Mousavi (Francis Silveira), Yakubu Yusif.
MOHUN BAGAN: Bibash Ghosh, Dulal Biswas, Hussein Mustafi (RC Prakash), Debjit Ghosh, Lolendro Singh, RP Singh (Amar Ganguly), Basudeb Mondal, Abdul Wastu Saliu, Renedy Singh, Jose Barreto, Abdullatif Seriki.

6th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 1-1 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 1-0 Jose Carlos da Silva (41'), 1-1 Alex Ambrose (60').
In a match, which decided the fourth place finish in the National League, East Bengal drew Salgaocar 1-1 at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. East Bengal took the lead in the 41.minute of a Jose Carlos da Silva penalty, after Dharamjit Singh had handled the ball but Salgaocar equalised through the in-form Alex Ambrose in the 60.minute when dependable Ghanian defender Suley Musah gifted the ball to Ambrose and he shot past Sangram Mukherjee in the East Bengal goal.
EAST BENGAL: Sangram Mukherjee, Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Suley Musah, Jackson Egypong, Deepak Mondal, Shankarlal Chakraborty, Bijen Singh (Soumitra Chakraborty), Chandan Das, Omolaja Olalekan, Dipankar Roy (Dipendu Biswas), Jose Carlos da Silva.
SALGAOCAR: Kalyan Chaubey, Roberto Fernandes, Franky Barreto, Coven Lawrence, Jose Esteves, Dennis Cabral, Eugene Gray, Majekodunmi Bolaji, Dharamjit Singh, Sunday Seah, Alex Ambrose (Bruno Coutinho).

6th National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 0-2 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goals: 0-1 Rajendra Prasad (59'), 0-2 Dayanand (79').
HAL scored an upset 2-0 victory against Mahindra United away at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai in the last National League match of the season. HAL scored both their goals in the second half, first Rajendra Prasad opened the scoring of a penalty, then Dayanand added the second one of a left-footer.

6th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 2-1 Vasco SC - Goals: 1-0 Hardip Singh Saini (3'), 2-0 Stephen Abarowei (47'), 2-1 Peter Rodrigues (71').
In a deciding National League match JCT beat Vasco 2-1 at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana to make sure that they stay in the top division in India! JCT took an early lead in the 3.minute from a grounder by medio Hardip Singh Saini and after that the Millmen had their chances to score but only in the 47.minute their only foreign recruit, Nigerian Stephen Abarowei doubled the lead. Vasco was only able to reduce the deficit, when Peter Rodrigues headed in a Marcos Pereira cross in the 71.minute.

6th National League - Kochi: FC Kochin 0-5 Tollygunge Agragami - Goals: 0-1,0-4 Ashim Biswas (10',75'), 0-2 Mehtab Hussein (58'), 0-3 Akeem Abul Alem (70'), 0-5 Moses Owira (77').
FC Kochin suffered a devastating 0-5 defeat at the hands of Tollygunge Agragami in their last match of the National League at the Nehru Stadium, Kochi. This defeat relegated FC Kochin, the country's first professional club, to the 2nd division and if the club continues to exist is in question. Tollygunge stayed in the National League in style as hard-working youngster Ashim Biswas scored twice plus further gaols from Mehtab Hossain, Akeem Abul Alem and Moses Oira.

6th National League - Jalandhar: Punjab Police 2-1 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: 1-0 Kuldip Singh (47'), 2-0 Rajesh Kumar (65'), 2-1 George Ekeh (78').
Though already relegated from the National League, Punjab Police scored an impressive 2-1 victory against ITI at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Jalandhar. The Policemen went ahead in the 47.minute, when Kuldip Singh pounded on a loose ball, while Rajesh Kumar doubled the lead of a header after a corner in the 65.minute. ITI's Nigerian striker George Ekeh headed in the ball after a Zaheer Abbas freekick.

2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: State Bank of Travancore 1-3 Bengal Mumbai FC - Goals: 0-1,1-2 Chima Okerie (20',73'), 1-1 Yakubu Rubiu Mallam (36' - own goal), 1-3 Adeshin Sadiq.
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Indian Nationals FC 0-4 Pax of Nagoa - Goals: 0-1 Mario Pereira (2'), 0-2 Ameachi Nwabunwanne (60'), 0-3,0-4 Sebastiao Endro (66',85').

14. April
As reported a few days ago, INDIA might be touring South Africa in May and today the national coach, his assistents and the probables were named by the AIFF but still the AIFF and the tour organisers are awaiting the clearance from the Indian government, as one of the matches is supposed to be played against Pakistan, with whom India has no sports relationship.
Sukhwinder Singh has been retained as the national coach with AIFF secretary Colaco saying that Sukhwinder Singh will continue to coach the national team upto the Busan Asian Games later in the year "unless a foreign coach is signed prior to that". Sukhwinder Singh also gets two new assistants in Derrick Pereira of Vasco and Aloke Mukherjee of Tollygunge but it wasn't announced, if a technical director or a goalkeeping coach will be send with the team or not.
In South Africa, INDIA is supposed to play a four-nation tournament against South Africa, Namibia and Pakistan, while also two friendly matches against South African clubs sides are planned. The tour is being organised by England-based Sapphire Enterprises.
Also Alberto Colaco announced that the team is not final from this list of 28 probables, with Jo Paul Ancheri injured and in the list, while Khalid Jamil and Mohammed Najeeb out of the list like the injured IM Vijayan. But the biggest omission so far is INDIA captain Baichung Bhutia, who has just returned from injury.
Further players might be included after the final Phase of the second division in Pondicherry, where former Salgaocar coach Marcus Pacheco has been send as a spotter.
The probables camp would start on May 1 in Delhi.
PROBABLES: GK: Narshiman Balaji (ITI), Kalyan Chaubey (Salgaocar), Rajat Ghosh Dastidar (Mohun Bagan), Gumpe Rime (HASC), Virender Singh (Mahindra). DF: Satish Bharti (Tollygunge), Agnelo Colaco (Vasco), KV Dhanesh (ITI), Mahesh Gawli (Churchill Bros), Debjit Ghosh (Mohun Bagan), Tapan Ghosh (Mahindra), Deepak Mondal (East Bengal), M Suresh (Mahindra). MF: Jules Alberto (Mahindra), Jo Paul Ancheri (East Bengal), Roque Barreto (Churchill), Abhay Kumar (Vasco), Dipankar Roy (East Bengal), Renedy Singh (Mohun Bagan), Hardip Singh Sangha (JCT), Noel Wilson (Churchill Bros), Shanmugam Venkatesh (Mahindra). FW: Alex Ambrose (Salgaocar), Alvito D'Cunha(Salgaocar), Kalia Kulothongan (FC Kochin), Praveen Kumar (Punjab Police), RC Prakash (Mohun Bagan), Bijen Singh (East Bengal).

2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Bhratri Sangha 0-2 Indian Bank - Goals: 0-1 Imran Mohammed (34'), 0-2 Kusun Nadika (60').
2.Division National League - PHASE III - Group League: Dempo SC 3-0 Air-India - Goals: 1-0,3-0 Dudu M Omagbemi (44',71'), 2-0 Alesha Shameki (60').

11. April
6th National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 4-3 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Jose Barreto (2',15'), 0-3 Basudeb Mondal (28'), 1-3,4-3 Sunday Seah (32',76'), 2-3 Alvito D'Cunha (41'), 3-3 Alex Ambrose (73').
In one of the most memorable match of the National League's six year history Salgaocar beat Mohun Bagan 4-3 in a thriller, after at one stage they were trailing the Calcutta giants 3-0 at the Nehru Stadium, Goa! Infront of a sellout crowd Bagan directly started to ensure it's cushon of two points remained ahead of their final showdown with Churchill Brothers on April 15 for the title. Jose Barreto score two goals in the first 15 minutes with Basudeb Mondal adding another one in the 28.minute and all Salgaocar fans in the crowd must have thought that the match had been settled and the fear of a trashing might have been there. But Liberian Sunday Seah reduced the deficit in the 32.minute and Alvito D'Cunha added another one in the 41.minute to recandle Salgaocar's chances. In the 57.minute Bagan's Brazilian midfieler Amauri da Silva was given marching orders, making things even more easier for Salgaocar. Alex Ambrose equalised in the 73.minute under cheers and Sunday Seah added a second in the 76.minute to complete the turn-around.
SALGAOCAR: Kalyan Chaubey (Jude Siddi), Ryan D'Souza (Dharamjit Singh), Franky Barreto, Roberto Fernandes, Dennis Cabral (Bruno Coutinho), Roque Pereira, Majekodunmi Bolaji, Eugene Gray, Alvito D'Cunha, Alex Ambrose, Sunday Seah.
MOHUN BAGAN: Bibash Ghosh, Dulal Biswas, Debjit Ghosh, Hussein Mustafi, Lolendro Singh, RP Singh (Ajay Singh, Abdul Wastu Saliu), Basudeb Mondal, Amauri da Silva, Renedy Singh, Abdullatif Sereiki, Jose Barreto (Uday Konar).

6th National League - Jalandhar: Punjab Police 0-2 Mahindra United - Goals: 0-1 Austin Okolo (2'), 0-2 Mohammed Najeeb (75').
Punjab Police, who had been relegated before this match, lost 0-2 against Mahindra United in the National League at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Jalandhar. Mahindra went into the lead early with Nigerian striker Austin Okolo scoring in the 2.minute, while Mohammed Najeeb increased the lead of a header after a Biby Thomas corner in the 75.minute.

6th National League - Kochi: FC Kochin 0-1 East Bengal Club - Goal: 0-1 Dipendu Biswas (75').
FC Kochin's chances to stay in the National League received another blow as they lost 0-1 against defending champions East Bengal at the Nehru Stadium, Kochi. Substitute Dipendu Biswas scored in the 75.minute off a pass from Brazilian Jose Carlos da Silva.

10. April
indianfootball.com today celebrates it's fourth anniversary!!!
On April 10, 1998 I started the indianfootball.com website and from the start we were the No.1 website on Indian football!

6th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 1-0 Tollygunge Agragami - Goal: 1-0 Hardip Singh Saini (84').
JCT Mills scored an important 1-0 victory against Tollygunge Agragami at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana to remain in contention for survival in the National League. Hardworking midfielder Hardip Singh Saini scored in the 84.minute but Tollygunge players argued with the referee that the ball had not crossed the line.

Note-1: The AIFF has decided to penalise Bhratri Sangha's two Iraqi footballers, Safaa A Hafa Hamid and Salman Hashim, who had recently disappeared from the country. The AIFF has also informed the Iraqi Football Federation that the players, despite having received their salary in advance till April, have left the country without informing the club officials.

9. April
6th National League - Goa: Vasco SC 3-0 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Rui Wanderley Weis (9',34'), 3-0 Jose Luciano (38').
Vasco kept their outside chances alife to win the National League title, after a convincing 3-0 victory against ITI at the Nehru Stadium, Goa but the story of the day was the Malaysian referee, Supian Ahmad Khalidi, officiating the match, the first time that a domestic match in India was being officiated by a foreign referee. Khalidi did a very good job, having control of the match throughout, something which has been missing among his Indian colleagues this season. In the match Vasco scored all their goals in the first-half and they were scored by their Brazilian imports, two by striker Rui Wanderley Weis and midfielder Jose Luciano.
VASCO: Rogerio Ramos, Sandrick Coelho (Sanjay Parte), Seby Dias, Agnelo Colaco, Jose Luciano, Caetano Pinho (Peter Rodrigues), Satish Minz (Santa Singh), Marcos Pereira, Abhay Kumar, Agnelo Gomes, Rui Wanderley Weis.
ITI: Narshiman Balaji, Nitin Pradhan, CK Jiteesh, KV Dhanesh, Amandeep Singh, Shamshi Raza, Zaheer Abbas, Raghuveer Singh (John KennethRaj), George Ekeh, Mohammed Salissu, Kenneth Onu.

6th National League - Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 0-1 Churchill Brothers SC - Goal: 0-1 Yakubu Yusif (30').
HAL lost 0-1 against Churchill Brothers in the National League at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Ghanian striker Yakubu Yusif scored the vital match-winner for the Goans in the 30.minute, who remain in the hunt for their first National League title.
HAL: Gumpe Rime (Subhash Kumar), Santosh Kiran, Parameshwaran, Satish Kumar (Louis Nickson), Gyanaprakash (Danair Abdyraimov, Sunil Kumar, Peter Siddiqui, Rajendra Prasad, Dayanand, Jimmy Mulisa, Raja Baliev Nurlan.
CHURCHILL: Edward Ansah, Rajesh Meetei, Mahesh Gawli, Osumanu Husseini, Denzil Ferrao, Roque Barreto (Somatai Shaiza), Ratan Singh, Noel Wilson, Aqueel Ansari, Abdul Ganiyu Saley, Yusif Yakubu.

8. April
A lot of news has come out today about the Indian national team playing in South Africa, among them a match or maybe even matches against Pakistan.
While the AIFF president DasMunshi informed that apart from playing against Pakistan, the Indian team was scheduled to play a friendly match against a South Africa XI and a local club. The decision on the tour would be taken on April 12 but especially issue of the match Vs Pakistan was politically important as the government of India would take the decision.
In Karachi meanwhile the Pakistan Football Federation secretary Agha Liaquat Ali said the matches would be held at Durban on May 12 and 17. "We had hopes that football will break the ice since the sponsors were keen to arrange a football series and, since there are many Pakistani and Indian expats in Durban, the matches will attract large crowds," Ali said.
SO WHAT IS TRUE???
Likely something of both but organisers Sapphire Enterprises will soon announce what will take place in South Africa, if given the go-ahead by the governments of India and Pakistan.
indianfootball.com will keep you uptodate on this interesting issue...

Note-1: The Hindustan Times reports that two Malaysian referees have arrived in Chennai to supervise some of the key matches of the National League, which has reached an exciting stage. For the first time in the history of Indian football, foreign referees have been flown in on an emergency basis to supervise matches in the domestic circuit. The duo is expected to supervise the two key matches - Salgaocar Vs Mohun Bagan (April 11) and Churchill Brothers Vs Mohun Bagan (April 15) - to be played in Margao. These two matches are likely to decide the fate of the league. The federation is believed to have been forced to take this decision after the general standard of supervision in the current NFL has come in for scathing criticism from different quarters, including the participating teams.

7. April
6th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 3-1 Punjab Police - Goals: 0-1 Praveen Kumar (3'), 1-1,2-1 Omolaja Olalekan (30',52'), 3-1 Dipendu Biswas (89').
East Bengal beat Punjab Police 3-1 in the National League at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta, which sealed Punjab Police's relegation to the second Division National League. Punjab Police started on a positive note in the 3.minute with a goal by Praveen Kumar as East Bengal started on a complacent note but slowly they started to play football and got their chances. Two goals by Omolaja Olalekan on the two sides of halftime, turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 lead, while Dipendu Biswas scored off a penalty, a minute from time, after Rajesh Kumar had handled the ball.
EAST BENGAL: Sangram Mukherjee, Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Ranjan Dey, Jackson Egypong, Suley Musah, Ratan Singh (Shankarlal Chakraborty), Chandan Das (Dipendu Biswas), Soumitra Chakraborty, Bijen Singh, Omolaja Olalekan, Jose Carlos da Silva.
PUNJAB POLICE: Satish Kumar, Balwinder Singh (Gurbinder Singh), Rajesh Kumar, Sumit Balli, Naresh Kumar, Kuldip Singh, Harnek Singh, Harish Sharma (Gurpreet Singh Jr), Gurinder Pal Singh, Praveen Kumar, Manjinder Singh (Sher Singh).

6th National League - Kochi: FC Kochin 2-1 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 0-1 Alex Ambrose (33'), 1-1 Kalia Kulothongan (40'), 2-1 K Bijumon (43').
FC Kochin won an important match today in its fight for National League survival. They beat Salgaocar 2-1 at the Nehru Stadium, Kochi, who on the other side lost their chances to win the National League title. Salgaocar went ahead in the 33.minute of a counter-attack by Alex Ambrose but only seven minutes later Kalia Koluthongan equalised for Kochin of a penalty and two minutes before the forst-half was over Kochin was leading of a longranger from K Bijomon.

6. April
6th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 1-2 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 1-0 Sasthi Duley (28'), 1-1 Jose Barreto (38'), 1-2 Uday Kumar Konar (85').
Mohun Bagan had to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 against Tollygunge Agragami in a Calcutta derby in the National League at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Tollygunge captain Sasthi Duley scored a surprise lead in the 28.minute but Bagan have Jose Barreto, who equalised in the 38.minute of a header, after a Renedy Singh shot had hit the crossbar. Tollygunge had chances to go ahead in the second-half but missed them and Bagan once again needed a bit of Barreto magic to win, as he made centre-cross, which was volleyed in by substitute Uday Kumar Konar, five minutes from time.
TOLLYGUNGE: Amit Sinha Roy, Reazul Mustafa, Debkumar Sashmal, Satish Bharti, Amitava Chanda (Biswanath Mondal), Srikrishna Ghosh (Uttam Debnath), Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Moses Owira, Sasthi Duley, Ashim Biswas, Akeem Abul Alem.
MOHUN BAGAN: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Hussain Mustafi (Sumit Sengupta), Debjit Ghosh, Rishi Kapoor, James Singh (RC Prakash, Uday Konar), RP Singh, Amauri da Silva, Renedy Singh, Abdullatif Seriki, Jose Barreto.

5. April
6th National League - Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 0-1 Vasco SC - Goal: 0-1 Satish Minz (30').
Debutants HAL lost by a goal against a spirited Vasco in a National League match at the Bangalore Football Stadium. The goal was scored in the 30.minute when a Satish Minz header off a pass from Marcos Pereira on the left flank went into the net.
HAL: Gumpe Rime, K Jaikar (Ruslan Sydykov), Parameshwaran, Sunil Kumar, Gyanaprakash, Rajendra Prasad, Satish Kumar, Danair Abdyraimov (Gregory Clark), Jimmy Mulisa, Raja Baliev Nurlan, Dayanand (Vinod Kumar).
VASCO: Rogerio Ramos, Sandrick Coelho, Agnelo Colaco, Seby Dias, Bhola Dey (Sanjay Parte), Jose Luciano, Satish Minz (Santa Singh), Marcos Pareira, Abhay Kumar, Rui Wanderley Weis, Agnelo Gomes (Peter Rodrigues).

6th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 2-0 JCT Mills - Goals: 1-0 Yakubu Yusif (32'), 2-0 Osumanu Husseini (38').
Churchill Brothers beat JCT Mills 2-0 at the Nehru Stadium, Goa to stay in contention for the National League title. A header by the NFLs leading scorer, Ghanian Yakubu Yusif in the 32.minute and another header by another Ghanian, this time defender Osumanu Husseini in the 38.minute, enabled Churchill to take the match out of JCT's reach. JCT came close to scoring four times in the second-half but luck was not on their side as Churchill had become complasant with the two goal cushon.
CHURCHILL: Edward Ansah, Noel Wilson, Mahesh Gawli, Osumanu Husseini, Sameer Naik (Carlos Fernandes), Roque Barretto, Aqeel Ansari, Tejinder Kumar (Somatai Shaiza), Ratan Singh, Abdul Ganiyu Saley, Yakubu Yusif.
JCT: Arvind Kumar, Jagjit Randhawa, Balkar Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Daljit Singh, Jaswinder Singh (Jaspreet Singh), Hardip Singh Saini, Harinder Singh, Ram Pal (Hardip Singh Gill), Stephen Abarowei, Shaminder Singh (Harvinder Singh Jr).

6th National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 2-1 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: 0-1 Mohammed Salissu (40'), 1-1 Shanmugam Venkatesh (65), 2-1 Abhishek Yadav (67').
Mahindra United beat ITI 2-1 in a National League match at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai. In the 40.minute Ghanian Mohammed Salissu put ITI ahead with a left-footer after a pass from Kenneth Onu. But in the second-half Mahindras turned the match around in two minutes. In the 65.minute Shanmugam Venkatesh scored the equaliser after two ITI defenders had missed to clear the ball, while Abhishek Yadav scored the winner two minutes later.

Note-1: Two Iraqi footballers from Bhratri Sangha, Calcutta, fled Calcutta by a Royal Jordan Airlines flight on Thursday. Bhratri Sangha, start their campaign in the final Phase of the 2.division of the National Leauge against Indian Bank on April 14. Abdul Hamid Safa and Salman Hussain left by a noon flight without permission, the club authorities have complained to the AIFF and the local IFA. Salman had practice match on Thursday but Safa did not play due to illenss, the sources said. However, their friend, teammate and compatriot, Riad, was kept in the dark about the move. Club official Soumyajit Bhowmick, after an inquiry with the customs officials at the city airport, found that the two Iraqi footballers had left the country. The players had been paid their salary for February and March and boarding charges for April by the club, the sources said.

Note-2: The popularity of Brazilian football star Jose Barreto in India will be documented this weekend. The TV channels in Brazil are curious about the popularity of a Brazilian footballer in India, who is virtually not known in the soccer maniac nation. The representives of the most popular sports channel " Sports Global" have decided to film Barreto's movement from tomorrow when his club Mohun Bagan take on Tollygunge Agragami at Saltlake Stadium. The striker topped the list of scorers in the National League with 16 goals last year and this year in the second rung with 12 goals.

3. April
6th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 1-5 East Bengal Club - Goals: 0-1 Omoloja Olalekan (28'), 0-2 Bijen Singh (30'), 0-3 Jose Carlos da Silva (38'), 0-4,0-5 Dipankar Roy (55',57'), 1-5 Moses Owira (60').
East Bengal have gained good form too late this season, as they trashed Tollygunge Agragami 5-1 in the National League at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta today, their second big win in two matches. Goals by Nigerian Omoloja Olalekan, Bijen Singh and Brazilian Jose Carlos da Silva in the span of 10 minutes in the first half set the match beyond Tollygunge's reach but the goal spree for East Bengal continued in the second half as Dipankar Roy added two goals in minutes before Moses Owira pulled one back for the hamless Tollygunge team missing some of their first-eleven players. East Bengal might have continued with the goals but in the 75.minute they lost Deepak Mondal for a delibarate handball on the goalline but Sasthi Duley missed the penalty for Tollygunge.
TOLLYGUNGE: Sudip Sarkar, Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Suley Musah, Jackson Egypong, Deepak Mondol,Shankarlal Chakraborty, Chandan Das (Ranjan Dey), Dipankar Roy, Bijen Singh, Omoloja Olalekan (Dipendu Bswas), Jose Carlos da Silva.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Debkumar Sashmal, Satish Bharti, Amitava Chandra (Biswanath Mondal), Sasthi Duley, Srikrishna Ghosh, Moses Owira, Adeola Adeyeri (Uttam Debnath), Khemtang Paite (Prahlad Singh Rawat), Ashim Biswas.

Note-1: India have been grouped with Tadjikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bhutan in the Asian youth (U-20) Championship. The Group 4 matches will be held in Calcutta with India playing on July 10, 12 and 14.

Note-2: Churchill Brothers have complied with a directive from the Player Status Committee of the Goa FA to settle the outstanding dues of their former defender, Anthony Levino Pereira, amounting to Rs 128,000. The PSC in its directive on March 12, 2002, had directed the club to clear the player's dues, pertaining to the 1999-2000 season, within 15 days. Confirming that the club had done the needful, Agnelo Alcasoas, secretary of GFA, told The Statesman that the club had recently sent a cheque to Pereira and a copy of their forwarding letter to the state unit. Wingback Pereira, who has been playing for Mahindra United for the last two seasons, had complained to the GFA last May that he was yet to receive dues worth Rs 128,000 of a total annual contract of Rs 300,000. Churchill Brothers had earlier, rejected Pereira's appeal saying that the player had violated the contract by joining Mahindra United. Pereira is apparently the first player who has taken up the issue of non payment of dues officially and won his case.

2. April
6th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 1-2 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 1-0 Yakubu Yusif (2'), 1-1 Sunday Seah (54'), 1-2 Alex Ambrose (71').
Churchill Brothers chances to win the National League were dented with a 1-2 defeat against Goan rivals Salgaocar, who themselves with the victory increased their chances for the title at the well-filled Nehru Stadium, Goa. Churchill had taken an early 2.minute lead, after their prolific Ghanian striker Yakubu Yusif scored off a penalty after he had been brought down by Salgaocar keeper Kalyan Chaubey. But the picture turned as the match went on as Salgaocar went into the offensive and equalised through Liberian striker Sunday Seah of a pass from Roberto Fernandes in the 54.minute. Seah was the lifewire for Salgaocar and in the 71.minute he was brought down by Carlos Fernandes in the penalty area with Alex Ambrose making no mistake to score of the resultant penalty.
CHURCHILL: Edward Ansah, Francis Coelho (Carlos Fernandes), Osumanu Husseini, Mahesh Gawli, Denzil Ferrao, Roque Barretto, Aqeel Ansari, Tejinder Kumar (Somatai Shaiza), Ratan Singh (Francis Silveira), Abdul Ganiyu Saley, Yakubu Yusif.
SALGAOCAR: Kalyan Chaubey, Roberto Fernandes, Franky Barreto, Majekodunmi Bolaji, Covan Lawrence, Jose Esteves, Dennis Cabral (Bruno Coutinho), Dharamjit Singh, Eugene Gray, Alex Ambrose (Glador Zaire), Sunday Seah.

1. April
6th National League - Calcutta: Mohun Bagan AC 1-0 Mahindra United - Goal: 1-0 Jose Barreto (69').
Mohun Bagan earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Mahindra United in the National League at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta in front of approximately 40.000 spectators. Who else then Bagan's Brazilian superstar Jose Barreto scored the goal of a penalty in the 69.minute, after he himself had been brought down by Mahindra's keeper Nasim Akhtar.
MOHUN BAGAN: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Hussain Mustafi, Debjit Ghosh, Rishi Kapoor, Amauri da Silva, RP Singh (Ajay Singh), Basudeb Mondal (Uday Kumar Konar), Renedy Singh (RC Prakash), Abdullatif Seriki, Jose Barreto.
MAHINDRA: Naseem Akhtar, Anthony Pereira, Tapan Ghosh, . Suresh; Bernard Operanozie, Habib Adenkule, Isa Musa Eroje, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Khalid Siddique (Naushad Pari), Jules Alberto, Austin Okolo (Abhishek Yadav).

6th National League - Kochi: FC Kochin 0-1 Vasco SC - Goal: 0-1 Jose Luciano (').
FC Kochin once again lost at home at the Nehru Stadium, Kochi, this time 0-1 against Vasco SC, who with this victory remained in contention for the National League title. Brazilian midfielder Jose Luciano's long-ranger in the 37.minute settled the match in Vasco's favour.

Note-1: There are three bidders for the India telecasting rights for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea. The three bidders are - SET Max, ESPN-Star and the newly launched Ten Sports. The tenders will be opened in London in a couple of weeks. Doordarshan Sports was initially also bidding for the rights but then pulled out, as they questioned the feasability of the rights. The bids are believed to be in the range of three to six million US-Dollars and the final decision will be taken after examining the value versus cost criterion. The world's largest televised event has a standard rights package which includes all 64 matches, the opening and closing ceremonies plus highlights, which is all owned by FIFA but the rights are being sold by Kirch Media, the German media giants.

Note-2: The Sports Authority of Goa has given the three National League participating clubs from Goa, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar ans Vasco, a grant of Rs 2,5 million. The SAG stated that "the much needed aid has been given under the conditions that the grant is to be spent on training, participation, diet, equipment and travelling and that the teams should also field an under-19 national team for the nationals held by AIFF and that the teams must consist of at least 50 per cent Goan players."

Note-3: The season is not over but Mohammedan Sporting is already working on the new season. For the former Calcutta giants the 2001/02 is already over and the new season starts with pre-season training in mid-April. The club has been able to sign reputed Mohammed Habib plus five graduates from the latest batch of TFA and kept the services of talented goalkeeper Imran Khan.