30. November
7th National League - Calcutta: Mohun Bagan 3-3 JCT Mills - Goals: 1-0,2-0,3-1 George Ekeh (4',32',60'), 2-1,3-3 Harvinder Singh (56',88'), 3-2 Kwabena Yeboah (62').
In a thrilling National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta today, Mohun Bagan drew 3-3 against JCT Mills. Bagan had taken a 3-1 lead after an hour, with Nigerian George Ekeh scoring the first hattrick of the 7th NFL but JCT came back strongly to draw level two minutes from time, Harvinder Singh scoring his second of the match for JCT. Earlier JCT's new Ghanian striker Kwabena Yeboah had reduced the margin to 2-3, to set-up a thrilling last half-an-hour, where JCT could have walked away as winners but good goalkeeping from Rajat Ghosh Dasdidar and missed efforts from the strikers denied the Millmen their first victory. For Bagan the lesson learned once again was, they have a great force upfront with Barreto, Bhutia and Ekeh but at the back they are porous and that is giving away too many points.
MOHUN BAGAN: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Isa Musah Eroje, Satish Bharti, Palash Karmakar, Basudeb Mondal (Sumitava Sengupta), Kajal Bhattacharjee, Renedy Singh (Ajay Singh), George Ekeh, Jose Barreto, Baichung Bhutia.
JCT: Arvind Kumar, Jagjit Singh Randhawa, Musa Aliu, Harpreet Singh, Daljit Singh, Jaswinder Singh (Gyan Moin Thapa), Hardeep Singh Saini (Jaspreet Singh), Jo Paul Ancheri, Harvinder Singh, IM Vijayan (Kuldip Singh), Kwabena Yeboah.

7th National League - Chennai: Indian Bank 1-1 Churchill Brothers SC - Goals: 1-0 Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya (40'), 1-1 Noel Wilson (42').
Indian Bank held Churchill Borthers to a 1-1 draw in an evening match at the Nehru Stadium, Chennai. Sri Lankan striker Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya put the bankmen in the 40.minute in the lead but only two minutes later the Goans drew parity through a penalty from captain Noel Wilson. After three matches Indian bank remain unbeaten, while Churchill Brothers haven't won yet. Something people would have thought the otherway around before the league started...

7th Assam Club Championships - Final: Oil India Limited 1-0 Assam State Electricity Board

28. November
7th National League - Bangalore: Indian Telephone Industries 0-1 Dempo SC - Goal: 0-1 Mario Soares (87').
Dempo returned to winning ways with a 1-0 away victory against Indian Telephone Industries in a National League match at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Dempo's oldie Mario Soares scored the winner three minutes from time with a placed grounder, which touched ITI goalie Gumpe Rime's finergtips but still went into the net.
ITI: Gumpe Rime, CK Jiteesh (Niyaz Rahaman), Sunil Kumar, AS Firoze, Akshay Das, Tejinder Kumar (James Singh, T Roopesh, KV Dhanesh, Raghuveer Singh, J Muralidharan (A George Kanikaraj), Zubair.
DEMPO: Francis Fernandes, Majekodunmi Bolaji, Stanley Colaco, Philip Gomes, Sameer Naik, Melvin Rodrigues, Lazarus Fernandes (Jose Colaco), Mario Soares, Wilton Gomes (Bijen Singh), Sergey Andreev, Francis Silveira (Raman Vijayan).

7th Assam Club Championships - Semifinal: Assam State Electricity Board 2-1 2nd Assam Special Reserve Force
25.Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy - North Zone final - Chamba: Delhi 1-0 Uttar Pradesh
25.Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy - West Zone final - Sangli: Goa 2-1 Maharashtra

27. November
7th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 1-0 JCT Mills - Goal: 1-0 Mike Okoro (59').
East Bengal continued their winning run in the National League with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against JCT Mills at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Their Nigerian striker Mike Okoro shot the winner in the 59.minute, when he got his shot on target between the goalpost and the JCT keeper Arvind Kumar.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy, Suley Musah, Arun Malhotra, Deepak Mondal, Douglas da Silva, Sasthi Duley, Shanmugam Venkatesh (Amjad Ali Khan), Subhas Chakrabarty (Malswam Tulunga), Anit Ghosh (Tushar Rakshit), Alvito D'Cunha, Mike Okoro.
JCT: Arvind Kumar, Jagjit Singh Randhawa, Musa Aliu, Harpreet Singh, Daljit Singh, Jaswinder Singh (Kuldip Singh), Hardip Singh Saini (Jaspreet Singh), Jo Paul Ancheri, Harvinder Singh, IM Vijayan, Hardeep Singh Gill (Gyan Moin Thapa).

7th Assam Club Championships - Semifinal: Oil India Limited 1-1,1-0 Guwahati Town Club (golden Goal)

26. November
AFC Champions League, Round 3 - Leg 2: Mohun Bagan AC 1-2 Taejon Citizen (KOR) - Goals: 0-1 Lee Chang-Yup (13'), 0-2 Gong Oh-Kyun (66'), 1-2 Jose Barreto (87').
Mohun Bagan fought hard and bravely against a superior opponent but lost 1-2 in the end against Taejon Citizen, losing 1-8 on aggregate against the South Koreans in the home-and-away tie.
MOHUN BAGAN: Amit Sinha Roy, Dulal Biswas, Satish Bharti, Isa Musah Eroje, Palash Karmakar (Kajol Bhattacharya), Sumitava Sengupta, Basudeb Mondal, Jayanta Sen (Gourab Dutta), Jose Barreto, George Ekeh, Baichung Bhutia (Sunil Chettri).
TAEJON CITIZEN: Choi Eun-Sung, Kim Sung-Keun, Lee Chang-Yup, Chang Chul-Woo, Kim Jung-Soo; Kim Dae-Soo, Kim Kook-Jin, Kim Chan-Joon, Gong Oh-Kyun,; Lee Young Joo, Kim Kwang-Sun (Lee Kwang-Jin).

AFC Champions League, Round 3 - Leg 2: Osotspa FC (THA) 6-3 Churchill Brothers SC - Goals: 1-0,2-1,3-1,6-2 Vimon Junkham (9',43',51',75'), 4-2,5-2 Phaitoon Thabma (65',70'), 1-1,3-2 Noel Wilson (20',59'), 6-3 Tansasit Tong-In (83' - own Goal).

7th National League - Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 1-2 Vasco SC - Goals: 0-1 Marcos Pereira (39'), 0-2 Sushanth Mathew (42'), 1-2 Ishfaq Ahmed (54').
HAL lost 1-2 against Vasco SC in a National League match at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Vasco decided the match with two goals late in the first half. The first one was scored by Brazilian midfielder Marcos Pereira in the 39.minute, while Sushanth Mathew increased the lead three minutes later. HAL were only able to pull one back in the 54.minute through a header from Ishfaq Ahmed but that was it.
HAL: Mark Mascarenhas, Mehraj Din Wadoo, Parameshwaran, Obinna Winners, Abhijeet (Shivamani), Sunil Kumar (Mahendra Mani), Satish Kumar (Rajendra Prasad), Dayanand, Ishfaq Ahmed, Kenneth Onu, Raja Baliev Nurlan.
VASCO: Rogerio Ramos, Seby Dias, Selwyn Fernandes, Sanjay Parte, Menino Fernandes, Riston Rodrigues, Shamshi Raza (Agnelo Gomes), Santa Singh (Nitin Pradhan), Sushanth Mathew, Marcos Pereira, Rui Wanderley Weis.

25. November
7th National League - Chennai: Indian Bank 3-1 Dempo SC - Goals: 1-0,3-1 Syed Shabir Pasha (54',81'), 2-0 Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya (60'), 2-1 Francis Silveira (63').
Indian Bank scored a convincing 3-1 victory against Dempo SC in a National League match between the two promoted sides at the Nehru Stadium, Chennai. Two goals from Syed Shabir Pasha and a brilliant strike by Sri Lankan striker Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya enabled Indian Bank to beat a totally off-colour Dempo, who only were able to reduce the margin through super-sub Francis "Pocket" Silveira.

Note-1: The Delhi Soccer Association announced today that defending champions Hindustan Club and runners-up Indian Nationals FC will be among the 15 clubs competing for the top honours in the DSA-SAIL Open Club Senior Division Football League, to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru North Ground, from December 2.
The top five teams in each group will qualify for the Super League, which will commence after the completion of the Durand Cup at the Ambedkar Stadium.

24. November
7th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 1-0 Mahindra United - Goal: 1-0 Alvito D'Cunha (25').
East Bengal beat Mahindra United 1-0 in a National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. More was expected in a match-up of two title contenders infront of a 30.000 strong Sunday crowd but nothing much happened. East Bengal's Alvito D'Cunha scored the winner in the 25.minute of a chip from Chandan Das over the Mahindra defence, which he intercepted and shot home past goalie Feroze Sheriff.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy, Suley Musah, Arun Malhotra, Deepak Mondal, Douglas da Silva, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury (Shasthi Duley), Shanmugam Venkatesh, Anit Ghosh (Amjad Ali Khan), Alvito D'Cunha, Chandan Das (Malswam Tulunga), Mike Okoro.
MAHINDRA: Feroze Sheriff, Peter Siddique, Surkumar Singh, Syed Hussain, Odartey Lawson, Debjit Ghosh, James Singh (Parveen Arora), Petr Strandel (Biby Thomas), RPSingh, RC Prakash (Abhisek Yadav), Monga Aby Samson.

23. November
7th National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 1-0 JCT Mills - Goal: 1-0 Tomba Singh (7').
In a match of former National League champions, Salgaocar beat JCT Mills 1-0 at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. The winner came early in the match off a defensive mistake by JCT captain Daljit Singh, who under pressure tried to backpass the ball to goalie Arvind Kumar but a fast thinking Tomba Singh got to the ball before Arvind Kumar and shot home.

7th National League - Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 0-0 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: none.
The Bangalore-derby between HAL and ITI in the National League at the Bangalore Football Stadium ended in a goalless draw. The story of the match is easily told, HAL wasn't able to score of their chances, while ITI wasn't able to do anything with their good built-ups, as they lacked a genuine striker, with Najeeb injured and the signed Ghanians waiting for their clearance. So the much expected encounter ended as a drab affair.
HAL: Mark Mascarenhas, Mehraj Din Wadoo, Parameshwaran, Obinna Winners, Dayanand, Sunil, Ishfaq Ahmed, Rajendra Prasad (Xavier Vijayakumar, Mahendra Mani), Satish Kumar, Kenneth Onu (Shivamani), Raja Baliev Nurlan.
ITI: Gumpe Rime, CK Jiteesh, AS Firoze, Sunil Kumar, Akshay Das, KV Dhanesh (T Roopesh), Tejinder Kumar, Raghuveer Singh, James Singh (Louis Nickson), Zubair (Jayakar).

22. November
7th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 2-3 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 0-1 Baichung Bhutia (20'), 0-2 George Ekeh (29'), 1-2 Isa Muash Eroje (45+' - own Goal), 2-2 Roque Barreto (58'), 2-3 Jose Barreto (67').
Churchill Brothers wanted to avenge the defeat, which they had suffered against Mohun Bagan in the last match of the last National League, giving the title to the Calcutta giants but their plans didn't work out as they lost again, this time 2-3 at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. For Mohun Bagan they got their first win of this National League, the last one was the earlier mentioned NFL title winning match against Churchill in April 2002.
Bagan welcomed back their star strikers India captain Baichung Bhutia and Brazilian Jose Barreto, who both contributed with goals. Bhutia opened the scoring in the 20.minute, while Nigerian George Ekeh doubled the lead just nine minutes later. But Churchill Brothers, who played their hearts out, got even with Bagan. First they pulled one back in injury time of the first half, when Isa Musah Eroje deflected a shot from Tiken Singh into his own goal and then midfielder Roque Barreto equalised in the 58.minute. But Bagan had the last laugh, when Jose Barreto scored the winner in the 67.minute of an interesting match.

21. November
7th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 3-2 Mahindra United - Goals: 1-0 Ashim Biswas (19'), 1-1 Odartey Lawson (42'), 2-1 Laltu Das (54'), 3-1 Akeem Abul Alem (67'), 3-2 Monga Aby Samson (90').
The young Tollygunge team earned a deserved 3-2 victory against much-more fancied rivals Mahindra United in a National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Tollygunge opened the scoring through Indian U20 striker Ashim Biswas in the 19.minute of a cross from Akeem but three minutes before the interval Mahindra's equalised through Ghanian defender Odartey Lawson. In the 54.minute Tollygunge regained the lead through an oppurtunistic goal by substitute striker Laltu Das, which was increased by Nigerian Akeem Abul Alem in the 67.minute who looped the ball over Mahindra goalie Naseem Akhtar after a cross from Amitava Chanda. Late in the match Tollygunge became complacent and Mahindra were able to pull one goal back through striker Monga Aby Samson from Ivory Coast, just before the final whistle.
TOLLYGUNGE: Amar Deb, Amitava Chanda, Isiaka Awoyemi, Debkumar Sashmal, Dipayan Majumdar, Mehtab Hossain, Sandip Das, Sujoy Dutta, Srikanta Dutta (Laltu Das), Ashim Biswas, Akeem Abul Alem.
MAHINDRA: Naseem Akhtar, Surkumar Singh, Odartey Lawson, Debjit Ghosh, Anthony Pereira (Syed Hussain), James Singh, Khalid Siddique (Biby Thomas), RP Singh, Peter Strandel, RC Prakash, Abhishek Yadav (Monga Aby Samson).

20. November
7th National League - Goa: Dempo SC 2-1 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 1-0 Lazarus Fernandes (64'), 1-1 Dennis Cabral (71'), 2-1 Ratan Singh (73').
Dempo's sensational winning run in the National League continued with a 2-1 win against another Goan rival, this time Salgaocar. In a scrappy match, Dempo went ahead in the 64.minute, when Lazarus Fernandes chipped over Salgaocar keeper Kalyan Chaubey but after that Salgaocar worked hard to equalise and got the wanted result. In the 71.minute hard-working Salgaocar midfielder Dennis Cabral shot into the net of a cross of Bungo Singh but only a complte of minutes later a whopping long-ranger from Ratan Singh sealed the match for Dempo, who now have won both their opening matches of the National League.

Note-1: The AFC Champions League match between Mohun Bagan and Taejon Citizen next week might come handy for the IFA (Bengal body) and it's major tournament, the IFA-Shield. The IFA will talk to the South Korean club about participating in the IFA-Shield, scheduled from January 8 to 20, 2003. Also South African club Manning Rangers have been approached. Their participation have confirmed - the City big teams: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Tollygunge Agragami, Mohammedan Sporting plus Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting and Mahindra United. A Goan side will also take part, either Vasco or Churchill Bros in the planned nine-team tournament. If talks fail with Manning Rangers, IFA have Uzbek-side Pakhtakor in mind.

19. November
7th National League - Goa: Vasco SC 1-1 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 0-1 Sheikh Sanjib (7'), 1-1 Rui Wanderley Weis (67').
In the end defending champions Mohun Bagan were lucky to get away with a 1-1 draw in their opening match of the National League against Vasco SC at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Bagan opened the score off a counter attack in the 7.minute, with India international medio Renedy Singh sending in a cross from the left into the box which Vasco goalie Rogerio Ramos failed to clear, enabling striker Sheikh Sanjib to score. Vasco dominated the match throughout but where only able to score once in the 67.minute through a penalty taken by Brazilian striker Rui Wanderley Weis, after Bagan's new Nigerian defender Isa Musah Eroje's left hand touched the ball inside the box.

7th National League - Bangalore: Indian Telephone Industries 1-0 Indian Bank - Goals: 1-0 Mohammed Najeeb (8'), 1-1,1-2 Imran Mohammed (60',81').
Promoted Indian Bank scored a surprise 2-1 victory away against Indian Telephone Industries in the National League at the Bangalore Football Stadium. ITI went ahead early in the 8.minute through a goal from striker Mohammed Najeeb and controlled the match in the first half but after the breather, the match shifted in favour of Indian Bank and their Sri Lankan defender Imran Mohammed scored both the goals of corners to win the match for the Chennai team.
ITI: Narshiman Balaji, CK Jiteesh, AS Firoze, Sunil Kumar, Akshay Das, Tejinder Kumar (Niyaz Rahaman, Zubair), KV Dhanesh, James Singh, J Muralidharan (Raghuveer Singh), V Jayakar, Mohammed Najeeb.
INDIAN BANK: Felix Edward, Willy (Hamilton Bobby), David Maria Gerald, Imran Mohammed, Anthony Noel, Nathaniel, VK Harish (Moahmmed Bin Hassan), Ravi Babu (Noah Rozario), Mohammed Quizar, Syed Sabir Pasha, Kasun Jayasuriya.

17. November
7th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 2-0 Tollygunge Agragami - Goals: 1-0 Shanmugam Venkatesh (44'), 2-0 Mike Okoro (58').
East Bengal made a winning start to their National League campaign, defeating Calcutta rivals Tollygunge Agragami 2-0 at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Indian international Shanmugam Venkatesh opened the scoring for East Bengal a minute before half-time, while Nigerian striker Mike Okoro headed in the second in the 58.minute to seal the match for East Bengal.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy, Surya Bikash Chakraborty (Subhashish Roy Chowdhury), Suley Musah, Deepak Mondal, Douglas da Silva, Sasthi Duley, Malswam Tulunga (Alvito D'Cunha), Anit Ghosh, Dipankar Roy (Amjad Ali Khan), Shanmugam Venkatesh, Mike Okoro.
TOLLYGUNGE: Gopal Das (Amar Deb), Amitava Chanda, Isiaka Awoyemi, Debkumar Sashmol, Dipayan Majumdar, Mehtab Hossain (Niladri Chakraborty), Sandip Das, Sujoy Dutta, Srikanta Dutta, Ashim Biswas, Akeem Abul Alem.

7th National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 1-0 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goal: 1-0 RC Prakash (22').
Mahindra United scrapped through 1-0 against HAL in the National League at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai. United striker RC Prakash placed the ball into the left corner of the net in the 22.minute but the bigger issue today was Mahindra's new Czech midfielder Petr Strandel being unable to stand the November heat. Strandel had to be stretchered out in the second-half.

16. November
7th National League - Goa: Vasco SC 0-1 Dempo SC - Goal: 0-1 Francis Silveira (75').
Dempo's return to the National League started with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Goan rivals Vasco at the Nehru Stadium, Goa. The goal of the day was scored by on-loan striker Francis Silveira in the 75.minute, only 10 minutes after coming into the match.

14.Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Final: Assam Regimental Centre 3-1 Punjab Police

Note-1: Rumours from Goa say that Bruno Coutinho might soon start his coaching career. Goan Sports Minister Mickey Pacheco, also the Fransa FC president, has offered the coaching job of Fransa FC to the Arjuna Awardee. Fransa are on the look-out for a new coach after their coach Shabbir Ali left for National League side Indian Telephone Industries.

Note-2: The football event of the Hyderabad National Games will be held from December 12 to 21 at the ground at Goshamahal and the Lal Bahadur Stadium.

15. November
7th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 2-2 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 0-1 Sunday Seah (2'), 1-1 Yakubu Yusif (12'), 2-1 Tiken Singh (18'), 2-2 Bungo Singh (74').
The National League got off to a colourful and interesting start at the Nehru Stadium, Goa with a 2-2 Goan derby between Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar. Liberian striker Sunday Seah opened the scoring for Salgoacar as early as the 2.minute but in the 12.minute Churchill's Ghanian striker Yakubu Yusif equalised, while Tiken Singh shot Churchill into the lead just six minutes later. But Salgaocar drew level in the 74.minute through Bungo Singh's cracking 25-yarder, in an exciting match!
Earlier the National League was inaugurated by the Vice-President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who kicked a ball amidst a colourful setting and musical fanfare, while the match was telecast live on DDs Metro channel.

Note-1: India's football talents would their to display their best in the month-long Subroto Cup which gets underway in Delhi on November 20. In the inaugural match at the Ambedkar Stadium, defending Champions Govt Higher Secondary School, Aizawal, Mizoram will take on Apex Public School, New Delhi in the junior category.
Around 52 teams - in the junior (under-17) and sub-junior (U-14) - would participate in the November 20 to December 18 tournament. Two schools from Nepal have confirmed their entry, one in each category, while a school each from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are also expected to participate. The winner and runners-up of the junior category will take home Rs 50.000 and Rs 30.000 while in the sub-junior class the award would be Rs 30.000 and Rs 20.000.

Note-2: FC Kochin officially informed the Kerala FA that their team will not be participating in the Kerala State Club Football Championships which is scheduled to be held at Malappuram in the 3rd week of December.

14. November
14.Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Semifinal: Punjab Police 0-0,5-3 SSB, New Delhi [after penalties]

Note-1: We announced it yesterday on our site, today the AIFF followed it up with a press conference in the capital. The AIFF president PR Dasmunshi, addressing a press conference jointly with Jauhar Lal, director, Human Resource, ONGC, said that all the oil sector units, ONGC, BPCL, HPCL, IOC,GAIL, IBP, Cochin Refineries and Chennai Refineries Limited have decided to sponsor the NFL to the tune of Rs. 40 million. "While ONGC will remain the principal co-ordinator, the NFL will be known as OPSU-NFL," he said.
The federation has also decided to reintroduce the man of the match award system for all the 132 matches. "The awards will be in kind rather than in cash," Dasmunshi said. The winners of each match will also receive Rs. 25,000. There will be no cash award for the teams in case the match ends in a draw.
Thanking the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and petroleum minister Ram Naik for helping out in clinching the deal, Dasmunshi said the prize money for the teams would remain the same like last year. While the winners would receive Rs. 4 million, there would be cash awards till the sixth place.
Doordarshan continues to hold the broadcasting rights of the AIFF and will show matches live or deferred. While a new football weekly might be shown on a private sports channel.

Note-2: The IFA (Bengal body) has increased the price of tickets for the National League from Rs 10 to Rs 15 for this season. The IFA has also decided to stop issue complimentary passes. The first match of the National League in the Calcutta will be on Sunday, between East Bengal and Tollygunge Agragami, at Saltlake Stadium .The kick-off is at 14.30 h.
The members of both clubs will be allowed entry on showing their membership cards. IFA's complimentary passes have often been sold, that too right in front of the venue that has been stopped.

Note-3: Now something to laugh for you all from the UK:
An amateur football team in Birmingham is proving to be every referee's nightmare - because all the players share the same name. Each member of The Sikh Hunter New Boys boasts the surname Singh - as do the side's joint managers. And while it presents a herculean task for local sports reporters, the common bond seems to be working wonders - with the side six points clear at the top of the Birmingham Amateur Football Alliance. At least it makes writing the team sheet easy Sikh Hunter co-manager Nick Singh Mind you, when you can keep the team-talk as simple as "Boot it upfield to Singh", that's hardly surprising. Nick Singh, who co-manages the team with namesake Shangara, told the Independent newspaper: "We have to operate on a nickname basis on the field. "You can't go around shouting out surnames. But at least it makes writing the team sheet easy - you just put down one name and then ditto the rest." Nick insisted it was not just the name factor that boosted team spirit. "There's a lot of commitment in our team," he explained. "Our goalkeeper comes from Sheffield for every match and another member comes from Leicester just to play. They are an excellent bunch of lads."
And they're all Singh-ing from the same team-sheet.

13. November
AFC Champions League, Round 3 - Leg 1: Taejon Citizen (Korea) 6-0 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 1-0 Kim Young-Kwen (7'), 2-0 Lee Kwang-Woo (18'), 3-0,4-0 Gong Oh-Kyun (24',44'), 5-0 Kim Kwang-Sun (53'), 6-0 Kim Eun-Jong (73').
Mohun Bagan: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Yakubu (Sumit Sengupta), Satish Bharti, Lolendra Singh, Jayanta Sen (Gaurab Dutta), Basudeb Mondal, George Ekeh, Renedy Singh, Jose Barreto, Sunil Chetri.

14.Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Semifinal: Assam Regimental Centre 3-1 Manipur Police

Note-1: At long last, the National League has a title sponsor and someone no one expected...
AIFF marketing agents Strata confirmed today that public sector undertaking Oil and Natural Gas Commission will be the title-sponsors of the 7th edition of National League kicking-off in Goa on Friday. ONGC also confirmed their acceptance as title sponsors.
ONGC thus became the fourth title sponsor of the NFL, after Philips (1996/97, 1997/98), Coca Cola (1998/99, 1999/2000) and Tatas (2001/02). Only in the 5th NFL there was no title sponsor. Strata also confirmed that Tatas are the likely sponsors for the next Federation Cup slated for April next year.
The Indian vice-president, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat will be the guest of honour in the inaugural match - a Goan derby between last year's runners-up Churchill Brothers and former champions Salgaocar SC. The match will kick-off at 15.45 h with a deferred live telecast on DD Sports. The NFL match between Vasco SC and promoted Dempo SC will be telecast live on DD Sport on Saturday, from 15.45 h onwards.
In a bid to promote the NFL, Strata are trying to introduce a weekly TV show called Football India. The 30-minute programme, to be shown either on DD Sports or Ten Sports, will focus on highlights of the matches that have taken place and interviews with star players and coaches. Strata itself is likely to produce the programme, expected to start next week.
Meanwhile, India's memorable triumph in the LG Cup in Vietnam in August this season can be viewed on Ten Sports on Friday at 20.00 h.

12. November
AFC Champions League, Round 3 - Leg 1: Churchill Brothers SC 1-1 Osotspa FC (Thailand) - Goals: 1-0 Yakubu Yusif (52'), 1-1 Jaihan Kittisak (71').

14.Kohima Royal Gold Cup - Quarterfinal: Punjab Police 4-0 Lajong SC, Shillong

11. November
Calcutta Super Division - Playoff-final: East Bengal Club 3-0 Mohammedan Sporting Club - Goals: 1-0 Douglas da Silva (2'), 2-0 Sasthi Duley (45'), 3-0 Malswam Tulunga.
East Bengal win their 28th Calcutta Football League title in style!
East Bengal: Sandip Nandy, Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Deepak Mondal, Douglas de Silva, M Suresh (Amjad Ali Khan), Malswam Tulunga, Anit Ghosh, Sasthi Duley (Subhas Chakraborty), Shanmugam Venkatesh, Mike Okoro (Alvito D'Cunha).
Md Sporting: Prasanta Dora, Biswanath Mondal, Insan Ali, Hussain Mustafi, Amandeep Singh, Arunava Sarkar (Bhuvan Chandra Joshi), Amit Das (Arjan Ali), Habib Adekunle, Khemtang Paite, Syed Rahim Nabi, Dipendu Biswas (Nazimul Haque).

Note-1: Several persons, including policemen, were injured when violence erupted among spectators during the Calcutta Super Division playoff final at the Saltlake Stadium. According to MH Verma, SP North 24 Parganas, seven policemen received injuries during the commotion. 15 people were detained but nobody was arrested, he added. Play was held up for 25 minutes from halftime when Mohammedan Sporting officials led their team off the field in protest against the police decision to clear the stand filled with Mohammedan Sporting fans. But meanwhile East Bengal players were waiting on the ground. But adding further twists to the pandemonium, organisers IFA decided to take the referee and other match officials off the ground, fearing further trouble. Soon football prevailed as Mohammedan Sporting players returned to the ground. According to eyewitnesses, trouble began when firecrackers from nearby stands were dropped into the area earmarked for Mohammedan Sporting fans. The latter protested in front of the police and after seeing no action from them, they hurled brickbats and even tried to break the wooden fencing. Sporting officials, however, alleged the police had beaten up their supporters "without any provocation". "Our supporters were jeering the team for their poor performance and there's nothing wrong in it. But the police misread it and chased them away", said Sultan Ahmed, Sporting secretary. Club coach Mohammed Habeeb also supported his view. He also ruled out any provocation from the East Bengal stands. Ahmed complained that more than 100 of his club supporters were injured in police action. East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick also came down on the incident. "This is ridiculous. Such thing only happens in Calcutta. There was absolutely no logic behind stopping the game," he said.

10. November
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi - Final: Shahdara Club 0-0,4-3 City Club (after penalties) - Goals: none.

9. November
Note-1: The AIFF disciplinary committee met today and took decisions on some pending issues.
The hosts of the just conlcuded Santosh Trophy, the All Manipur Football Association has been fined Rs 100.000 and also will not to be allotted any national football championship till the end of next season (2003/04) following crowd trouble at the Santosh Trophy. The semifinal between Manipur and Goa on November 2 was abandoned following crowd violence in the 55 minute and had to be replayed the next day.
It was also decided that a 60-day suspension will be imposed on East Bengal defender Arun Malhotra for testing positive for a banned substance on the eve of the Indian team's departure for the Asian Games. The suspension will run from September 24 to November 23, 2002.
The committee chaired by Hardev Jadeja also decided on the suspension of players following the Santosh Trophy. Bengal Assistant Coach Sisir Ghosh was handed a three-month suspension and also imposed a fine of Rs 5.000. If the fine is not paid within 30 days, the suspension will be extended for another two months.
In other cases, Tamil Nadu's Kalia Kulothungam has been suspended for four matches and also slapped with a fine of Rs 5.000. Bengal's Chandan Das and Tamil Nadu's F Jegan, R Palmso Moses, T Pugazhendi and C Premnath were suspended for two matches.
The committee also took serious note of the behaviour of the Manager of Services football team for showing disrespect to the chief guest, Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, and the organising committee by not permitting the Services players to receive the bronze medal during the prize-giving ceremony.

Note-2: The Calcutta Super Division final, featuring East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting, will be held the upcoming Monday and for the final match a press conference was held today in Calcutta, with club officials and coaches of both clubs present.
The IFA officials claimed they have succeeded in drawing the attention of corporate bodies, among them TVS Motors, Nestle Milo and UB Group, who are "Sponsoring" the championship playoff. At first, it's for Monday's game only, but the IFA is hopeful of getting their co-operation also in the future.
Monday's match will be telecast deferred live on Akash Bangla, a satellite channel. ESPN holds telecast rights of all matches conducted by the IFA, but this time they have made an exception and allowed the local satellite channel to beam the match 30 minutes after the kick-off.

8. November
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi - Semifinal: City Club 3-0 Hindustan Club
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi - Semifinal: Shahdara Club 1-0 Indian Air Force, Palam

7. November
18.Airlines Gold Cup - Semifinal: Mohun Bagan AC 2-1 Tata Football Academy
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Shahdara Club 1-1,5-3 Buddhist Blue Stars (after penalties)
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Hindustan Club 1-1,3-2 Simla Youngs (after penalties)

Note-1: India captain Baichung Bhutia might be forced to sit out of Mohun Bagan's crucial AFC Champions League first-leg match against Taejon Citizen, Korea on November 13. Dr Vece Paes conducted a MRI scan on Bhutia's troubled hamstring today and though the report is expected tomorrow, it is feared that Baichung will not recover in time from the injury sustained in the previous AFC Champions League match against Club Valencia, Maldives.
Bhutia's absence will put Bagan in trouble since the club has already registered 18 players for the first-leg including the striker. If Bhutia doesn't recover in time, the club will have to fly out with 17 men.

Note-2: Harpal Singh, winger at English Premier League side Leeds United, a "Player of Indian Origin" has joined West Yorkshire neighbours Bradford City, from the English first division, on loan. The Bradford born player has been part of Terry Venables' squad this season but has yet to make his first-team debut. The 21-year-old had loan spells at Bristol City and Bury last season before being awarded a new three-year contract at Elland Road. Singh has been a regular in the reserves this season.
Meanwhile last night Michael Chopra made his debut for the Newcastle United first team in a Worthington Cup match against Premiership rivals Everton. Newcastle lost 2-3 on penalties, with Chopra firing his shot over the target.

6. November
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Indian Nationals FC 0-0,4-5 Indian Air Force, Palam (after penalties)
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: City Club 2-0 Moonlight Club

5. November
58th Santosh Trophy - Imphal; Manipur - Final: Kerala 1-2 Manipur - Goals: 0-1 Tiken Singh (6'), 1-1 Abdul Naushad (87'), 1-2 Tomba Singh (94' - golden Goal).
MANIPUR won their first-ever Santosh Trophy title in the tournaments over 60 year history!
Tomba Singh scored the golden Goal four minutes into extratime to make it a historic day for the small Northeastern state. Tomorrow is a state holiday in Manipur, while the state government announced several awards and promotions to the coach and players employed in the state.
MANIPUR: Noren Singh, Uttamkumar Singh, Manitombi Singh, Ratan Singh, Shyamananda, James Singh, Renedy Singh, Tomba Singh, Bungo Singh (Helen Singh), Bijen Singh, Tiken Singh.
KERALA: TG Purushothaman, K Bineesh (ShivaKumar), Mohammed Shafeeq, Vinu Jose, K Sameer, Suresh Babu (Abdul Naushad), K Ajayan, Shabir Ali, Sylvester Ignatius, Abdul Hakkim (Boniface), Asif Saheer.

Note-1: AIFF president Das Munshi informed today in Imphal that the AIFF had signed a Rs 72,5 million deal with Doordarshan for telecast of the National League. He said he would have another meeting with Doordarshan officials on Thursday in New Delhi to finalise the details about the matches to be telecast.
According to the temporary calendar the National League will kick off on November 15 with Churchill Brothers taking on Goan rivals Salgaocar.
Noting that the Santosh Trophy in Imphal had been a success, Das Munshi, said that the Services team would be punished for unsportsmanlike behaviour in not accepting their bronze medal. He said he would take up the matter with the chairman of the Services Sports Control Board. The matter would also be taken up at the AIFF disciplinary committee meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, as well as the general body meeting on December 13 and 14 at the same venue, he added. Das Munshi informed the meeting will also take up the issue of the suspension of several players (of Tamil Nadu and of Bengal) and Bengal assistant coach Sishir Ghosh, by the organisers of the Santosh Trophy.

4. November
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Simla Youngs 1-1,5-4 Garhwal Heroes (after penalties)
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Shahdara Club 3-0 Moghuls Club

3. November
58th Santosh Trophy - Imphal; Manipur - Semifinal: Goa 0-0,3-4 Manipur (after penalties) - Goals: none.

18.Airlines Gold Cup - Semifinal: Tollygunge Agragami 0-0,3-1 Mohammedan Sporting Club (after penalties)
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Hindustan Club 2-0 New Delhi Heroes
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Moonlight Club 4-0 Delhi Police

Note-1: Something, which might be off help for the Indian national team in the future.
FIFA will reconsider rules that force players with dual nationality to commit themselves to one national team from an early age. FIFA's rules currently say that once a player appears in his first game for a national team, he may not switch national teams. "As a result of this article, a player may be forced to choose which national team he will commit himself to at the age of 15 or 16 and without any opportunity to reconsider his decision at a later date," FIFA said in a statement, adding the current rule was "incompatible with modern-day requirements." The FIFA players' status committee will draft new rules with the intent of having them take effect in 2004.

2. November
58th Santosh Trophy - Imphal; Manipur - Semifinal: Goa 1-0 Manipur (after 55.minutes)
The 2nd semifinal at the LG Santosh Trophy, between last year's runners-up Goa and hosts Manipur was abandoned after 55 minutes of play with Goa leading 1-0. In an unprecedented move, the disciplinary committee of the AIFF decided to abandon the match as an unruly home crowd started pelting stones and water bottles after Goa forged ahead in the 55.minute through an opportunistic goal by Climax Lawerence. The Manipur players protested, contending that Lawerence, was offside, but referee SM Balu (Karnataka) ruled otherwise. Minutes after the goal, the referee tried to resume play twice but the crowd from almost every part of the 30.000-packed stadium flung water bottles, missiles and plastic chairs to the ground, forcing play to be called off. The scoreboard in the eastern side of the gallery was ransacked and the number plates flung to the ground. The reserve benches of Manipur and Goa too were not spared and both coaches and players had to rush to the centre of the ground for safety. Play was held up for 50 minutes as the organising committee made a frantic bid to appease the agitated spectators. Players from both sides, match officials and policemen too tried to pacify the crowd but without success. The crowd dispersed after Inspector General of Police Romen Kumar Singh announced through the public address system that the match would be replayed. Hardev Jadeja, chairman of the AIFF's disciplinary committee, who had earlier said that the match had been abandoned and the winner would be decided after consulting AIFF president and secretary, said after he had discussion with the two AIFF bosses that the match will be replayed tomorrow. According to a report from Calcutta, the AIFF favoured a replay of the match. "As per the rules, if a match is abandoned due to lack of order it has to be fully replayed," AIFF president Dasmunshi informed.
GOA decision to play: "There is no question of playing tomorrow as we were leading 1-0 while the match was abandoned," Goa coach Nobert Gonsalves told PTI shortly after the organisers decided to play the match again. Gonsalves said his team would take to the field only if the Goa FA gives directions in this regard. However, manager Sanjiv Nagvenkar told late night that Goa will play tomorrow following the safety guarantee provided by the police.

18.Airlines Gold Cup - Quarterfinal: Tata Football Academy 3-2 Calcutta Port Trust
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: City Club 4-0 Hans Club
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Indian Nationals FC 3-2 Collegian Club

1. November
58th Santosh Trophy - Imphal; Manipur - Semifinal: Kerala 3-2 Services - Goals: 0-1 JF Gangmei (9'), 1-1,2-1 Asif Saheer (12',22'), 2-2 Pritam Bahadur (69'), 3-2 K Ajayan (78').

18.Airlines Gold Cup - Quarterfinal: Tollygunge Agragami 2-1 Border Security Force
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Buddhist Blue Star 2-0 Frontiers Club
1.Lt. Governor's Cup - Delhi: Indian Air Force, Palam 1-0 Goans SC

Note-1: India U20 player Bungo Singh has been included in the AFC U20 Championship 2002 All-Star team. The selection criteria for the all-star team was based on a number of factors including positioning, fitness, consistency, technique, leadership and discipline.
AFC general secretary, Peter Velappan, said that the AFC are actively seeking clubs in Europe where these 11 players can go for trials. A great chance for Bungo, if chosen...
AFC U20 Championship 2002 All-Star team: Kawashima Eiji (Japan); Lim You-hwan (Korea), Nagata Mitsuru (Japan), Osamah Al Harbi (Saudi Arabia); Ilyas Zeytulayev (Uzbekistan), Thokchom Bungo Singh (India), Bilal Abuhamada (Qatar), Kwon Jip (Korea), Saad Al Abouad (Saudi Arabia); Firas Al Khatib (Syria), Kim Dong-hun (Korea).

Note-2: English Premier League side Newcastle United have tied up Indian-origin youngster Michael Chopra on a new three-year deal. The 18-year-old striker, who signed his first professional contract in December 2000, has committed his future to his home town club after making it to the fringes of the first team set-up. However, the goals the former England schoolboy international has plundered through the Academy ranks and more recently, in the reserves, have prompted the club to make their move. "We are thrilled that Michael has agreed a new contract with us," said manager Sir Bobby Robson. "He has been a prolific goalscorer for the junior sides in the last couple of years and has begun the new season with a bang for the reserves, so much so that he has justifiably forced his way into the first team picture. Michael, together with the other young players we have at the club, will have a major influence on our future, one that we hope will be very bright for Newcastle United." Robson's delight was mirrored by that of chairman Freddy Shepherd, who said: "Michael is an outstanding prospect and we are delighted he has demonstrated his commitment to the long term success of Newcastle United by signing this new deal." Chopra is a former pupil of Alan Shearer's old school, Gosforth High, and the United coaching staff believe the similarities do not end there. Prolific in front of goal and not afraid to make his presence felt, he is one of the brightest prospects in the United ranks. "I am absolutely thrilled to have signed a new contract with Newcastle United," he said. "I am very ambitious, as is the club, and we have shown over the past year that we are capable of winning honours and competing at the highest level. I would also like to record my sincere thanks to my family and all the coaching staff at Newcastle United who have helped me in my career so far."