31. July
Bangalore Super Division: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 1-0 ADE
Guwahati Super Division: Guwahati Town Club 0-1 Assam State Electricity Board
30. July
Bangalore Super Division: MEG 2-0 CIL
Guwahati Super Division: NF Railway SC 1-0 Rising XI
Note-1: A 20 player Indian U23 squad, accompanied by four officials left for Vietnam tonight. The team boarded an Indian Airlines flight in Calcutta for Bangkok en route to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. But one player couldn't leave with the team, Manitombi Singh, as his visa could not be processed. The Asian Games project director, Santo Mitra, stayed back to travel with Manitombi Singh tomorrow to Vietnam.
Note-2: Could Alvito D'Cunha be the next player to get a chance at a foreign club?
The new East Bengal signing Alvito D'Cunha seems to have made an impression in South Africa playing for the IFA XI, as
club officials from South African Professional League club Manning Rangers seem interested in signing Alvito. Before the
IFA XI tour, Manning Rangers had stated that they would be interested to sign one or two Indian players, now Alvito seems to
be the players of interest.
29. July
Bangalore Super Division: United Bangalore 1-2 Government Press
Note-1: What we at indianfootball.com had reported a few days ago, has been officially announced in Calcutta that Baichung Bhutia will play for Mohun Bagan in the 2002/03 season, returning to the Calcutta Maidan from the english second Division side Bury FC. When Baichung will have his debut at Bagan is unclear as he has commitments with the India team until the Asian Games in early-October and new national coach Constantine will not release any of his players, which isn't liked by the clubs.
28. July
Bangalore Super Division: BSNL 1-4 MEG
Guwahati Super Division: Assam Dynamo Club 3-1 Maharana AC
Friendly - Durban, South Africa: Manning Rangers FC 5-3 IFA XI
An IANS report: At least 10.000 South African Indian soccer fans cheered more for a visiting Indian side than for their
own favourites, Manning Rangers, when the teams clashed in the inaugural Gandhi Cup. Even though the Indian team lost 5-3 to
their hosts Sunday, they put up a good fight, with Rahim Nabi scoring a hat trick to the delight of the crowd.
"It was a real carnival atmosphere, with Indian music performances and bhangra dancing helping the camaraderie that
developed spontaneously," said Afzal Khan, managing director of Manning Rangers, who initiated the idea of bringing the first
Indian soccer team to South Africa in nearly seven decades.
"The Indian team was surprised at the huge turnout, almost all of the spectators were (South African) Indian, during
their first visit to the Chatsworth Stadium, where this game was played. They could not believe that there was a world class
stadium in this township for Indians who were forcibly settled there in the apartheid era."
Note-1: Salgaocar SC's Bengali goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey is on his way to Germany for a four week practice
and trial trip. At first Chaubey will be mainly training at the German 2.Bundesliga (second division) club Karlsruher SC and
later on he will have a trial at KSC for their first team and also their second team, which plays in the Oberliga (fourth
division). If not successful at KSC, he will also have a trial at fifth division VfR Heilbronn and maybe at some other clubs.
Kalyan Chaubey will be the second player after star-striker Baichung Bhutia to have a trial with a club in Europe.
Note-2: National League champions Mohun Bagan will start their campaign in the Asian Champions League on September 14 when they meet Sri Lankans Saunders Club in an away match at Colombo, while the return-leg would be held on September 22 at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. If Bagan win they would have Valencia from the Maldives.
27. July
Bangalore Super Division: Karnataka State Police 3-2 ADE
Guwahati Super Division: Guwahati Town Club 2-1 Young Amateur
Nadkarni Cup - Mumbai - Final: Mahindra United 2-0 Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers - Goals: 1-0,2-0 RC Prakash.
26. July
Bangalore Super Division: Indian Telephone Industries 2-1 LRDE
Guwahati Super Division: Assam State Electricity Board 8-1 City Police
Friendly - Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: KwaZulu Natal Provincial XI 4-0 IFA XI
An IANS report: The first Indian football team to visit South Africa in nearly seven decades lost their first match 4-0
amid a carnival atmosphere here as thousands of South African Indians swung to live Indian music to mark the occasion. But
the defeat at the hands of a team comprising some of the best players in the country who made up the KwaZulu-Natal provincial
invitation XI in the friendly match did not upset the Indians. "In fact, it provided us with a wonderful opportunity to gain
some international experience which we need so much if we want to improve our soccer in India," said Indian coach Mohammed
Habib. "We had many opportunities to score, but were not able to take advantage of them. Our players played very well. There
was good ball movement, dribbling and attacks on the goal but the South Africans with their better experience definitely
outplayed us."
25. July
Bangalore Super Division: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 2-1 MEG
Guwahati Super Division: Maharana AC 0-0 Rising XI
Note-1: The focus in Goa is shifting back to football on the pitch, as the start of the Governor's Cup football tournament, organised by the Goa FA, has been dated for August 10. All Professional League and First Division League clubs are going to take part.
Note-2: AFC U-17 and U-20 venues confirmed, from footballasia.com:
The venues for the final rounds of the Asian Under-17 and Under-20 Championships have been confirmed by the AFC. The AFC
U-17 Youth Championship is to be held in the United Arab Emirates from September 6 to 22 at the Al Wahda Club in Abu Dhabi
and the Al Shabab Club in Dubai. Kick-off times for the round-robin matches from September 6 to 14 are scheduled for 5.45pm
and 8.15pm while the knock-out matches will start at 5.30pm and 8.30 pm.
Meanwhile, the AFC U-20 Championship will be played at two different locations in the Qatar capital of Doha. The Al
Arabi Club and Al Ahli Club will be the venues for the 12-team competition which will be played from 15 to 31 October. Round
robin matches will start at 6.30pm and 8.30pm, and knock-out matches will begin at 5.30pm and 8.30pm.
The final round draws for the two tournaments are to be held on August 3.
Note-3: India's first assistant referee Komaleeswaran Sankar at a World Cup was fecilitated by the Karnataka State Football Association at a simple function at the Bangalore Football Stadium today.
24. July
Bangalore Super Division: Government Press 1-1 CIL
Guwahati Super Division: Assam Dynamo Club - NF Railway SC
Note-1: The time for speculation is over, Baichung Bhutia confirmed today that he will be playing for Mohun Bagan in the ongoing season. Bhutia would sign the contract after coming to Calcutta on way to the LG Cup in Vietnam.
Note-2: Tollygunge Agragami have filed a case against AIFF at the Alipore court, Calcutta stating that they had violated the rules in the 2000/01 National League and as a result the club incurred a big monetary loss. The petition pointed out that IM Vijayan had played for FC Kochin without an international transfer certificate from Bangladesh, where he had played a couple of matches for a club. Tollygunge also filed a breach of contract case against former coach Amal Dutta for abruptly leaving his job midway during the NFL. The AIFF diciplinary committee imposed a fine of Rs 50.000 on IM Vijayan and Rs 100.000 on FC Kochin. But they refused to give full points to Tollygunge against FC Kochin. The petitioner pointed out, that if Tollygunge had those extra five points (Tollygunge lost one match and drew the return league match), they would have finished in a much better position in the league and received prize money. But since they did not get those points they finished 8th.
23. July
Bangalore Super Division: ADE 1-0 United Bangalore
Note-1: An 18-member IFA XI, which has seen quite a number of changes from the initial list, left for South
Africa today evening. As per international rules, the squad have no foreigners in the line-up.
SQUAD: GK: Sandip Nandy, Sudip Sarkar. DF: Dulal Biswas (Captain), Kabijit Khotel, Lolendra Singh, Hussain
Mustafi, Rabi Karmakar, M Suresh, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury. MF: Sandip Das, Anit Ghosh, Malswam Tulunga, Sujoy Dutta. FW:
Syed Rahim Nabi, Alvito D'Cunha, Ashim Biswas, Dipendu Biswas, Sandip Ghosh. Coach: Mohammed Habib.
22. July
Bangalore Super Division: MEG 1-1 Karnataka State Police
Mumbai Elite Division: Air-India 3-0 Mumbai Customs
Note-1: AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco is leaving for Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia to attend a meeting conveyed by AFC, to draw out modalities for the conduct of the first ever Asian
Champions League. India are supposed to be represented by National League champions Mohun Bagan and runners-up Churchill
Brothers.
According to the draw, Mohun Bagan play Saunders FC, Sri Lanka in the first round, while a first Round win would set-up
a meeting against Valencia, Maldives. Churchill Brothers have a first round bye and would face Cang Saigon in Round 2 but the
Churchill management hasn't assured its participation.
Note-2: The IFA XI coach, Mohammed Habeeb will decide whether his team will play a third match on their tour
of South Africa, against an all-Black side, which ranks quite high in the South African league. However, with the time
available, the decision on whether the team will play three matches has been left to Habeeb.
Today all 18 squad members practised under Mohidul Islam at the Mohammedan Sporting ground, while coach Habeeb was out of
town. Tomorrow the team leaves for South Africa.
21. July
Bangalore Super Division: LRDE 1-1 CIL
Mumbai Elite Division: Western Railway 1-0 Bengal Mumbai FC
Note-1: Baichung Bhutia will lead a 21 member Indian under-23 national team in the LG Cup in Vietnam from
August 2 to 10. India play on August 2 against Singapore U23, while they face Vietnam U23 on August 6. Besides Bhutia, former
captain Jo Paul Ancheri and Debjit Ghosh are the overage players, with midfielder Jules Alberto being a surprise omission
for the three places for seniors. Besides Jules also Virender Singh and Hardip Singh Sangha were not considered.
SQUAD: GK: Sangram Mukherjee, Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Nasim Akhtar. DF: Mahesh Gawli, Deepak Mondal, Satish Kumar
Bharti, Samir Naik, Debjit Ghosh, Arun Malhotra. MF: Jo Paul Ancheri, Manitombi Singh, Renedy Singh, Tomba Singh, K Ajayan,
Shanmugam Venkatesh, Sasthi Duley. FW: Alex Ambrose, Bijen Singh, Abhishek Yadav, Praveen Kumar, Baichung Bhutia. Chief coach:
Stephen Constantine.
Note-2: At the Annual General Meeting the elected executive committee of Goa Football Association headed by
Joaquim Alemao was dissolved and a new watch-dog committee appointed to investigate the mismanagement and admistrative lapses
as pointed out by the auditor. Vilas V Sardessai, former senior AIFF president and GFA president who chaired the meeting was
congratulated by the members following a resolution moved by Noel da Lima Leitao for conducting the proceedings in a very
dignified manner.
It was nearly after two and half hours discussions which involved the affiliated club members and Joaquim Alemao, Aggie
Alcassoas, secretary; Henry Brito, treasurer that AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco, who was the senior vice-president of the now
dissolved committee, took on the floor, made an impassioned speech seeking to restore the decaying image of GFA and his
proposal that the present committee be dissolved and two committees be set up found instant favour with all members.
The proposal to set up an administrative committee to run the day-to-day affairs of the association and the other -
financial committee to investigate the financial matters was accepted unanimously. Vinod Parkot, Agnelo Mascarenhas, Peter
Vaz, Victor Fernandes and Armando Barbosa were appointed to the administrative body while Alex de Sousa, Vishwas Vaigankar
(both former treasurers) and Pradeep Padgaonkar will comprise the finance committee which will now scrutinise the audit
report and fix resposibility for the mismanagement as well as lapses. Both committees will have a tenure of three months and
the adjourned meeting will be reconvened on October 20 to discuss the reports of the two committees. Subsequently, within 45
days, the elections to the new managing committee will be held.
Note-3: Nasir Ahmed has been appointed Mohammedan Sporting's goalkeeping coach. Ahmed will officiate as chief coach in the absence of Mohammed Habeeb, who will travel with the IFA XI to South Africa. Meanwhile, club officials are understood to have expressed disappointment over the team's defence force and are planning to recruit a defender, favourably from Africa.
20. July
Bangalore Super Division: Indian Telephone Industries 1-0 BSNL
Note-1: At an official function in Durgapur today, the Mohun Bagan-SAIL Football Academy project was
launched. Baga secretary Anjan Mitra said, "The aim of this academy is to train boys for the future, making them fit to don
the national colours and bring international laurels. This is the beginning of a gurukul."
The exact number of trainees and their age group have yet to be decided. About 25 to 40 boys are likely to be recruited
for the under-13 and the under-15 category. The coach, too, will be named later. The academy has all the ingredients to
materialise into a dream project. But some doubts will remain till the promises are fulfilled, after the Haldia failure of
Bagan. "Other popular clubs should also come up with such academies. The annual budget of the academy is around Rs 50 lakhs."
revealed Mitra. Mohun Bagan have given an initial maintenance payment of Rs 1.5 lakh to Durgagur Steel Plant. "We can eke out
an income from this project only when a player from this academy is charged a transfer fee on his decision to join another
club. If an academy player joins our senior team, then also it will be profitable," he said. More than a year after the
academy was originally planned, an MoU was signed between Bagan and Dr Subir Kumar Bhattacharyya, managing director of DSP,
to start of the residential academy. The initial agreement is for six years.
19. July
Bangalore Super Division: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 6-0 Government Press
Calcutta Super Division: Mohun Bagan AC 3-1 Bhratri Sangha
Note-1: Dulal Biswas has been named captain of the IFA XI for the South Africa trip. The 18-member squad was
announced today with Bhratri Sangha's Nigerian striker, Amochi, being the only foreigner. The squad leaves Tuesday.
SQUAD: Sudip Sarkar, Sandip Nandy, Dulal Biswas, Lolendra Singh, Sandip Das, Ashim Biswas, Hussain Mustafi, Dipendu
Biswas, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Anit Ghosh, Alvito D'Cunha, Rabi Karmakar, Sandip Ghosh, Malswam Tulunga, Syed Rahim Nabi,
Amochi, M Suresh, Sujoy Dutta.
Note-2: An under-19 Calcutta Mayor XI for the Dana Cup (Denmark) and the Norway Cup was also announced
today. Announcing the team, mayor Subrata Mukherjee said the team, coached by Goutam Sarkar, would leave on Sunday.
SQUAD: Kamal Biswas, Bishnu Soren, Abhishek Aich, Indranarayan Pal, Sanjoy Sarkar, Bisesh Mondal, Rajiv Ahmed,
Dinesh Biswas, Joydeb Bose, Amit Poddar, Suman Dutta, Mithun Saha, Jamidul Mullick, Chaitan Mandi, Samir Sarkar, Sujit Das,
Sandip Karmakar.
18. July
Bangalore Super Division: LRDE 1-0 MEG
Note-1: Komaleeswaran Sankar, the first Indian to officiate at the World Cup, was felicitated by the
Calcutta Referees Association and the Indian Football Association in Calcutta today, for bringing honour to Indian football.
Recalling his experience in Japan, Shankar said he has learnt from his fellowmen that "fitness and positioning, besides
a thorough knowledge of the games' rules, were crux of success of the men in black".
Note-2: JCT Mills may have struggled to avoid relegation in the 6th National League, but they have the
consolation of winning the Fair Play Award, which made them richer by Rs. 2.5 lakhs, according to AIFF sources.
Based strictly on the minimum yellow and red cards received during the course of the NFL and referees report, JCT earned
821 points to top the 12-team list.
Note-3: Jose Barreto signed today for Mohun Bagan, ahead of the clubs first Calcutta Super Division tomorrow against Bhartri Sangha. Besides Barreto, Nigerian defender Yakubu Rubiu Mallam and Manoj Joshi signed for the green-marron club.
Note-4: For the second year running Mahindra United have problems with signed players.
Mahindra's allowed Sporting Clube de Goa striker Dudu MacPherlin Omagbemi to continue in Goa, despite signing for the
two clubs, while the Mumbai club is insisting on Indian international Debjit Ghosh to play for them. The transfer has been
put on hold by the AIFF as Debjit signed for Mahindra after playing a few matches in Bangladesh for Muktijoddha Sansad, so
the player needs an "International Transfer Clearance" to return to play for an Indian club but Calcutta sources say, Debjit
never produced an ITC before signing for Mahindra's making the transfer a non-starter. So lets wait and see what happens...
17. July
Bangalore Super Division: Karnataka State Police 1-0 United Bangalore
Calcutta Super Division: Tollygunge Agragami 0-2 Calcutta Port Trust
Note-1: There seems to be financial irregularities in the Goan FA. Here a report from the Navhind Times:
Serious lapses and financial irregularities have been detected by the auditors following the 2001-02 audit of Goa FA. For
the first time, a deficit of Rs 29.52 lakh has been shown against a surplus of Rs 18.72 lakh for the previous year (2000-01).
The auditors have stated in their report that drastic fluctuations of excess expenditure over income have been due to
expenses regarding tournament and leagues to the tune of Rs 15.74 lakh, incentives/awards/prizes to the tune of Rs 16.94
lakh, age-group training expenses to the tune of Rs 8.99 lakh paid in the financial year 2001-02. "As regards expenditure on
various tournaments, coaching camps, ex-gratia payments, organisational expenses, office and other contingencies, wherever
expenditure is not supported by sufficient external documentary evidence, we have relied upon sanction accorded by the
secretary," the auditors have pointed out.
The GFA has been taken to task for not maintaining up-to-date cash books following which the auditors said: "We could not
count the cash." Further, the report added: "The GFA is holding heavy cash balances invariably which is not deposited in the
bank up to the date of audit (March 31 2002)." Similarly, the report highlighted the fact that the cash balance of Sahara Cup
tournament which was audited as on 31-3-2001 had not been deposited in the bank till 31-3-2002. The auditors have taken
strong objection to the delayed deposition of money from gate collection of matches in the bank account which they opined
should have been done immediately. "Time lag in gate collection and bank deposit is very risky," the auditors stressed.
The audit report directed that "powers and duties of the treasurer are to be restored immediately. It is seen that cash
is handled by the secretary. As per the constitution of the association, cash is to be handled by the treasurer in addition
to other fiscal matters."
As regards remuneration to referees and travelling expenses, the report said that they were not reconciled match-wise.
"Consequently, wherever vouchers have not been supported by sufficient external documentary evidence, we have accepted the
same as certified by the secretary. Transport/conveyance expenses should give more details backed by external vouchers
wherever possible," the report added.
The auditors also picked holes on administrative matters like the failure of GFA to follow appropriate procedures in
maintaining deposit registers to ascertain individual deposits, advances and receivables and payables register on individual
basis so as to exert more control over such accounts. "Adequate control over cash should be exercised and fidelity insurance
cover should be taken for cash handling," the auditors remarked.
The report has drawn attention of the GFA on the urgency in complying with the observations raised in the previous audits.
16. July
Bangalore Super Division: CIL 1-0 ADE
Calcutta Super Division: Mohammedan Sporting 1-2 EverReady Association - match abandoned, due to bad light, poor
ground condition and markings turned invisible
Calcutta Super Division: Bhratri Sangha 2-1 Food Corporation of India
Calcutta Super Division: Eastern Railway SC 3-0 SAIL
Note-1: Kamlesh Gosai (The Mecury) reports from South Africa: South Africa and India's sporting ties will
grow to include football when an Indian state representative team visits KwaZulu-Natal to play a provincial select team and
Manning Rangers next week.
At a press conference in Durban Rangers managing director Afzal Khan and India's Consul General Ajit Kumar announced that
the matches will be played to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi. The first match will see the visiting IFA XI from West Bengal play
against a provincial side comprising players from Rangers, AmaZulu, Lamontville Golden Arrows, African Wanderers and First
Division side Maritzburg City at Pietermaritzburg's Harry Gwala Stadium next Friday.
The second match against Rangers at Chatsworth Stadium two days later will be played for the Gandhi Cup. The winners will
pocket 20.000 USD. The tour will be reciprocated by Rangers next year when they will play a three-match series in Calcutta,
said Khan.
The initiative by India is aimed at further strengthening ties between both countries, said Kumar. "This tour will
develop closer relations on the sports field. It started with the cricket series when India was the first country to invite
South Africa after their readmission into world cricket. We hope in the future the full Indian national team comes and plays
the South African national team," Kumar said.
AmaZulu director and former Rangers manager, Lawrence Ngubane, will manage the Natal XI for the first match. The team
will be coached by Rangers' Clive Barker who will be assisted by Arrows coach Khabo Zondo.
The Indian squad arrives next Wednesday. An India national select eleven visited South Africa in 1934 when they played
15 matches, losing only one - in Pietermaritzburg to a Natal team.
Note-2: The final Indian U23 squad for the six-nation LG Cup in Vietnam will be announced on July 22. Project Director for the Asian Games Santo Mitra said that 22 players would be selected and the squad would leave for Ho Chi Minh on July 3. The side have been clubbed together with the U23 sides from Singapore and Vietnam in Group A, while the seniors from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand would clash in Group B. India play Vietnam on August 2, while they would face Singapore on August 6.
Note-3: Sources say that Mahindra United Goalkeeper Naseem Akthar has been called by the AIFF to join the Asian Games camp at Jamshedpur. Akthar is supposed to report today at the camp.
15. July
Bangalore Super Division: Indian Telephone Industries 4-0 Government Press
Note-1: The IFA XI which will play two matches against South Africa club Manning Rangers FC will not be
allowed to have any foreign players. This was intimated to the association over fax by the club, through their national
football federation, and also by the Celebrity Management Group, the tour organisers. The association, in its selection
meeting, thus brought in Dipendu Biswas, who could not find a berth due to the presence of the likes of Jose Barreto and
Seriki. There are also several players of the Indian U-20 squad, who pushed the country to the next round, to "boost their
confidence and to provide them with the much-needed exposure," according to IFA joint secretary Ranjit Gupta and selection
committee chairman Mantoo Ghosh. Dulal Biswas will be skipper. The committee amended and re-amended the list till they were
left with 22 names. These players, under coach Mohammed Habeeb, will not really be going through any 'camp' or training
session and only 16 will be chosen, on Saturday.
IFA XI Probables: GK: Sandip Nandy, Sudip Sarkar, Tapan Karmakar. DF: Dulal Biswas, Lolendra Singh, Abhijit
Khotal, Manas Das, Hussein Mustafi, Subhasis Roy Chowdhury, Rabindranath Karmakar, Debkumar Sashmal. MF: Anit Ghosh, Sandip
Das, Alvito D'Cunha, Mehtab Hussain, Malswam Tulunga, Sujoy Dutta. FW: Ashim Biswas, Sandip Ghosh, Syed Rahim Nabi, Subhas
Chakraborty, Dipendu Biwas.
Note-2: Baichung Bhutia is back in India and will soon be joining the training camp for the Asian Games in Jamshedpur. Asked if he had decided whom he would join in the coming season, Baichung answered that he will soon say if he would be joining Mohun Bagan or archrivals East Bengal.
Note-3: Two of Salgaocar SC's new recruits - Freddy Mascarenhas and Micky Fernandes - suffered injuries in a road accident, at the new Mandovi bridge, Panjim, early this morning. Both footballers were proceeding to Assagao, where Salgaocar SC is based for a conditioning camp, when their scooter was hit by a speeding Maruti Gypsy, at 6.45 am. While Freddy Mascarenhas is now recuperating at the trauma ward of the Goa Medical College, Micky is presently recovering at his Cuncolim residence. Doctors attending on Freddy Mascarenhas said the striker suffered injuries to his head and legs. "There is no fracture though," disclosed the doctor while speaking to Herald. Mickky on the other hand who also suffered injuries to his legs and right hand, was later discharged from the hospital.
14. July
Asian U20 Championship Qualifiers - Calcutta - Group 4: INDIA 4-0 Kyrgyzstan - Goals: 1-0 Malswam Tulunga (74'),
2-0 Ashim Biswas (77'), 3-0 Bungo Singh (83'), 4-0 Syed Rahim Nabi (88').
INDIA like a champions team scored four goals in the last 14 minutes to trash Kyrgyzstan 4-0 and make it to the finals
of the Asian U20 Championships! Something no one expected from them after their disappointing draw against Tajikistan in
their last match. The star of the match was once again the very talented former TFA lad Malswam Tulunga!
INDIA: VP Satish Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Prasanta Jaggi, Manas Das, Palash Karmakar, Malswam Tulunga, Bungo Singh,
Subhas Chakraborty (NP Pradeep), Ashim Biswas (Bhuvan Chandra Joshi), Syed Rahim Nabi, Birjab Machahary (James Singh).
KYRGYZSTAN: Valery Kashuba, Evegny Nistulaev, Erbol Madiarov (Sergey Chikishev), Ashot Vedorian, Vladimir Brykin
(Eduard Krivko), Sergey Serov (Aman Sarybaev), Azat Namanov, Timur Yaliev, Vadim Harchenko, Radik Vodopianov, Revaz
Chavelashvili.
Asian U20 Championship Qualifiers - Calcutta - Group 4: Tajikistan 3-0 Bhutan - Goals: 1-0,2-0,3-0 Faridun
Abdulloev (61',62',80').
Bangalore Super Division: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 1-2 BSNL
Note-1: GOOD NEWS: Islam Akhmedov will continue as the Indian under-17 and under-20 national coach for the two Asian Championships in September and October! Akhmedov had announced he would step down after the under-20 qualifiers as he had been criticised heavily by the media and the AIFF but now his contract has been extended, a good move by the AIFF!
Note-2: After the spectacular victory of the Indian under-20 national team, rumours came up in Calcutta that the IFA might consider sending the under-20 instead of the IFA XI on the tour of South Africa. It would be a great step and a useful one as well!!!
Note-3: At the annual general body meeting of the Delhi Soccer Association, Nawabuddin Zaheer, NK Bhatia and Hem Chand were elected as president, secretary and treasurer respectively. The AGM was presided over by Umesh Sood, the outgoing President of the DSA and the elections were conducted by AIFF observer, Ajay Jadeja, where 74 eligible council members were present. In the presidential election, Nawabuddin Zaheer beat Sharafatullah. For the post of secretary, the former joint-secretary NK Bhatia beat Dev Raj Katyal, while former DSA joint-secretary Hem Chand defeated another outgoing joint-secretary Syed Shaheer. After the election of the three office-bearers, the rival groups conceded the defeat and authorised the newly elected officials.
13. July
The IFA (Bengal body) has decided to break Calcutta Super Division action from July 24 to 31. The reason is, as reported
earlier, that an IFA XI, comprising of players from Super Division teams, will take part in two invitational exhibition
matches in South Africa on July 26 and 28. Brazilian superstar Jose Barreto is among the four foreigners named in the
probables' list of 30. Mohammed Habeeb is the coach. Both matches will be played in Durban, against Manning Rangers. The IFA
squad of 16 will be finalised on July 18, but the players will hardly be able to train together before and after that. Worse
still, the Super Division, which normally spills beyond schedule, will be affected because of two matches with little bearing
on the improvement of Indian football.
Probables: GK: Bibash Ghosh, Sandip Nandy, Sudip Sarkar, Tapan Karmakar. DF: Dulal Biswas, Kabijit Khotel,
Lolendra Singh, Manas Das, Hussain Mustafi, Reazul Mustafa, Rabi Karmakar, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Satish Bharti, Habib
Adenkule. MF: Alvito D'Cunha, Sandip Das, Anit Ghosh, Mehtab Hussain, Sujoy Dutta, Malswam Tulunga, Subhas Chakraborty,
Saikat Mondal, Ranvijay Singh. FW: Akeem Abolanle, Syed Rahim Nabi, Abdullatif Seriki, Ashim Biswas, Sandip Ghosh, Jose
Barreto. Coach: Mohammed Habeeb.
12. July
Asian U20 Championship Qualifiers - Calcutta - Group 4: INDIA 0-0 Tajikistan - Goals: none.
INDIA: VP Satish Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Prasanna Jaggi, Manas Das, Bhuvan Chandra Joshi (NP Pradeep), Malswam
Tuluanga, Bungo Singh, Subhas Chakraborty, Ashim Biswas (Birjab Machahary), Palash Karmakar, Syed Rahim Nabi.
TADJIKISTAN: Khodjimurodov Umedjon; Toukhtassounov Daler, Nuridinov Iskandar, Sadikov Makhmadali (Borotov
Murodali), Djabarov Sharif, Sultanov Doamshed, Borotov Pakhmonali, Nosirov Naim, Ismoilov Jamshed, Khuseinov Shuhratdjon,
Nasikhov Eradzh (Abdulloev Faridun).
Asian U20 Championship Qualifiers - Calcutta - Group 4: Kyrgyzstan 0-0 Bhutan - Goals: none.
Calcutta Super Division: Mohammedan Sporting 2-1 Food Corporation of India
Calcutta Super Division: Tollygunge Agragami 1-0 SAIL
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Final: Assam Dynamo Club 0-0,4-5 Assam State Electricity Board
[after penalties] - Goals: none.
11. July
An Indian Football Association XI, consisting of players from major Calcutta outfits, will fly over to South Africa on
July 23 to play two exhibition matches against a top club side there. The IFA XI would play the matches against Manning
Rangers on July 26 and 28 at Durban. This was confirmed from the IFA and Rangers. The Rangers Club has on its rolls a number
of players who have done duty for South Africa in the recent World Cup. The touring party would include 16 players, a coach,
a doctor besides two officials. The names of the players and coach would be finalised at the selection committee meeting of
the IFA on Friday.
10. July
Asian U20 Championship Qualifiers - Calcutta - Group 4: INDIA 4-1 Bhutan - Goals: 1-0,3-1 Ashim Biswas (12',48'),
1-1 Sonam Jamtsho (23'), 2-1,4-1 Malswam Tulunga (46',90').
INDIA: VP Satish Kumar, Prasant Jaggi, Manas Das, Amandeep Singh, Amjad Ali Khan (Palash Karmakar), James Singh
(Bhuvan Chandra Joshi), Malswam Tulunga, Bungo Singh, Subhas Chakraborty, Ashim Biswas (NK Pradeep), Syed Rahim Nabi.
BHUTAN: Pushpalal Sharma, Yeshey Nedup, Dorji Khandu (Wangchuk), Sonam Norbu (Sumesh Tamang), Pema, Sonam Jamtsho,
Sonam Dorji, Sonam Tobgye, Pasang Tshering, Sonam Tanzing (Ugyen Dorji).
Asian U20 Championship Qualifiers - Calcutta - Group 4: Kyrgyzstan 0-2 Tajikistan - Goals: 0-1 Sharif Djabarov
(18'), 0-2 Makhmadali Sadikov (30').
Calcutta Super Division: Eastern Railway 1-0 EverReady Association
Calcutta Super Division: Bhratri Sangha 0-1 Calcutta Port Trust
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Semifinal: Maharana AC 0-5 Assam State Electricity Board
9. July
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Semifinal: Assam Dynamo Club 1-0 Guwahati Town Club
Note-1: The draw for the Asian Games football tournament was carried out today in the host city of Busan,
South Korea. India have been drawn in the interesting but tough Group C along with China, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh.
The Chinese team will be the clear favourites from this group to advantge to the quarterfinals. Only the Group winners
and the two best second-placed teams make it into the knockout stage, making it quite difficult for the Indian team to
advance. But we have the hope that we can at least finish second!!!
But for the women no draw was needed as their are only five teams participating: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and
Vietnam but where is INDIA? As the Indian women's team is having a camp for the Asian Games...
Note-2: Marcus Pacheco has been appointed as the new coach of the Goan National League side Churchill Brothers SC after the contract with last seasons coach TK Chathunni was not extended.
8. July
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Quarterfinal: Maharana AC 2-0 Rising XI
Note-1: Meanwhile the clubs Vs country controversy reached a new high for this season.
East Bengal club have asked for four of their eight players to be released from the camp for the start of the Calcutta
league in less than two weeks time. If nothing happens East Bengal would also consent the AFC on the issue but new national
coach Stephen Constantine has made it clear that country comes before club. If any players are released without his consent,
then he might even resign from his newly received position. A tricky situation for the AIFF, as a foreign national coach is
not interested in the Indian version of the club Vs country problem.
Note-2: The coach of the Indian Junior sides under-17 and under-20, Islam Akhmedov, will be leaving India after his asignment with the under-20 team to qualify for the Asian U20 Championships. In May Akhmedov had qualified with the U17 team for the Asian finals and now has the same task at hand with the U20 team but he informed in Calcutta, he would leave India after this asignment. Officially Akhmedov said that India only need one foreign coach but he didn't name the real motives.
Note-2: The Indian Football Association (Bengal body) has decided to honour Kamaleswar Shankar, an assistant referee in three matches at the World Cup in Korea/Japan. IFA sources said Shankar, a FIFA referee from Tamil Nadu, had made Indian football proud after his participation in the 2002 World Cup. The felicitation is likely to be held at a function in Calcutta on July 18. The IFA had also requested Shankar to supervise a match in the city when defending champion Mohun Bagan open their Super Division league campaign in the third week of this month.
7. July
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Quarterfinal: Assam Dynamo Club 2-1 City Police
Note-1: The preparatory camp for probables of the Indian team for the forthcoming Asian Games began at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur today. The 31 players who reported at the camp were put through rigorous endurance test by the chief coach, Stephen Constantine, the project director of the squad, Santo Mitra, said. Mitra said while Jo Paul Ancheri would be arriving tonight, Mahindra's midfielder Tapan Ghosh could not turn up at the camp owing to his mother's illness. Tapan was expected to join the coaching camp within a day or two, he said. Skipper, Baichung Bhutia, currently abroad and yet to sign for any club, has reportedly informed the AIFF that he will join the camp any time. Mitra refused to comment anything about the players' fitness, saying that most of the players arrived only yesterday. He said midfielder Hardeep Singh Sangha was included into the probables list after the names of 33 players were announced earlier.
6. July
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Quarterfinal: Assam State Electricity Board 2-0 FCI, Guwahati
Note-1: The Nadkarni Cup final in Mumbai between Mahindra United - Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers has been postponed to July 27 due to the call-up of six Mahindra players to the India training camp for the Asian Games.
5. July
4. July
Note-1: India's own Brazilian superstar Jose Ramirez Barreto returned to Calcutta today to a heros welcome!
Mohun Bagan supporters thronged the airport and the club tent to have a glimpse of their own Samba star. Barreto returns
to Bagan, after a summer of rumours, where many believed that Barreto would move on to the bigger leagues in Europe.
Note-2: The Delhi Soccer Association mourned the tragic death of young footballer Sabyasachi Mitra in an
accident at Ghaziabad, according to DSA joint secretary NK Bhatia. Mitra, who represented the Delhi U-19 team in the Junior
Nationals at Shillong, drowned in the Hindon river where he had gone for a swim with his friends on Wednesday. He played for
Simla Youngs in the Delhi league last season. A prayer meeting was held in his memory at the Kali Bari today. The Delhi
Football Players Welfare Association and the Delhi Veterans Football Club also mourned the death of the young footballer.
3. July
2. July
Note-1: India's only international female referee, Bentla D'Couth, has been chosen for the Busan Asian
Games. Bengal's Udayan Halder will perform the duties of an assistant referee. But surprisingly Komaleeswaran Sankar, who did
duty at the just concluded World Cup as an assistant referee has not been named for the Games.
1. July
The AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco announced the U20 national team for the Asian U20 Championship Qualifiers, to be held
in Calcutta from July 10-14.
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Round 1: Rising XI 1-0 Young Amateur
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Round 1: City Police 1-0 SAI - Guwahati
Nadkarni Cup - Mumbai - Semifinal: Air-India 1-1,2-4 Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers [after penalties]
- Goals: 1-0 Altaf Ahmed (3'), 1-1 Douglas D'Sena (82').
Nadkarni Cup - Mumbai - Semifinal: Mahindra United 7-2 Haywards 2000
Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Cup - Guwahati - Round 1: Jewel Star 3-0 Nabajyoti Club
maintained by Arunava Chaudhuri