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30. April
10th National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 1-0 East Bengal Club - Goal: 1-0 Micky Fernandes (81').
Relegation threathened Salgaocar SC shocked title contenders East Bengal Club 1-0 in a 10th National League match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Salgaocar remain on a relegation spot in ninth place with now 11 points from 13 matches; while East Bengal remain second with 28 points from 15 matches.
Today's win could be worth a lot for Salgaocar in their fight for survival in the NFL as they came closer to the teams just above them Mohammedan Sporting and Air-India. For East Bengal today's defeat meant that their chances have become very slim and they now depend on how rivals Mahindra United do in their remaining matches. East Bengal are a point behind the Mumbai Jeepman but have played two matches more.
It was an attacking Salgaocar from the word go. The "Men in Green" who had played good football mostly throughout the league but have not been able to score wanted and needed the win. In the first half Samson Singh could have given his team the lead on a couple of occasions, but East Bengal also had their chances through Alvito D'Cunha and Mike Okoro.
After the breather it was once more Samson who wasted a good chance for his team, but Salgaocar were to score the winner in the 81.minute. Referee N Mohan awarded Salgaocar a freekick after Fabio dos Passos was brought down by Muttath Suresh. It was former Sesa Academy lad Micky Fernandes who took the freekick and he was to score. East Bengal did try to get the equaliser but it was to no avail.
SALGAOCAR: 1-Sangram Mukherjee, 12-Remus Gomes, 8-Agnelo Colaco, 22-Roberto Fernandes, 3-Selwyn Fernandes, 17-TV Biju Kumar, 6-Micky Fernandes, 14-Jerose Oliveira, 25-Rocus Lamare, 10-Fabio Dos Passos, 11-Samson Singh.
EAST BENGAL: 1-Naseem Akhtar, 8-Sasthi Duley (22-Debabrata Roy), 12-Anupam Sarkar, 26-Ngassa Ewane Guy Martial, 16-Covan Lawrence (2-Muttath Suresh), 29-Soumik Dey, 28-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 11-Kalia Kulothungan (30-Bernard Pires), 9-Alvito D'Cunha, 10-Mike Okoro, 15-Baichung Bhutia.
MAN of the MATCH: Micky Fernandes (Salgaocar).
YELLOW CARDS: Soumik Dey, Sasthi Duley, Ngassa Ewane Guy Martial (all East Bengal).
REFEREE: N Mohan (Services).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

2nd Division National Football League - Super Six: Churchill Brothers SC 3-1 Vasco SC - Goals: 1-0 Chanambam Jatin Singh (35'), 2-0,3-1 Odafe Onyeka Okolie (37',64'), 2-1 Anthony Pereira (42').

15.Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) Trophy - North Zone Qualifiers: Haryana 0-1 Uttaranchal
15.Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) Trophy - South Zone Qualifiers: Kerala 2-0 Andhra Pradesh - Goals: 1-0 Firoz (54'), 2-0 Javed OK (69').

4th AMFA Futsal Cup - Semifinal: Manipur Police SC 4,4-5-4 NEROCA [penalties]
4th AMFA Futsal Cup - Semifinal: Southern Sporting Union 4-3 Tiddim Road Athletic Union

Note-1: Both EverReady SA and Subrata Bhattacharya denied that the later would join the Calcutta Premier League side as their new coach in the new season after reports had appeared in sections of the media that deal had already been signed.
Talking to UNI in Calcutta today, Mr Bhattacharya said, "There are talks on other matters, but not for becoming the coach of Eveready." "No such talks have started between me and the club regarding taking up the coaching assignment," he said.
EverReady's Alokesh Kundu further confirmed to UNI, "This is a baseless report. I dont know who spread this rumour." "There is no such talk of Subrata taking up the coaching of our boys, at least for now," he said.
As of now Anjan Nath will remain coach though EverReady SA are on the lookout for a more renowned coach who can take them to the Premier Division of the National League, which the team has failed to do in the last couple of seasons.

Note-2: The Karnataka State FA today announced a 20 player strong Karnataka U21 state team for the South Zone qualifiers for the 15th Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) in Tirur, Kerala which started today.
KARNATAKA U21: B Prakash (Captain), Ajith Bronson, M Ayinash, Naveen Babu, N Shivakumar, Ravindra, S Arun, Sugandar, Y Jai Kumar, S Jayanandan, V Archan, S Shivashankar, Arif Pasha, C Prakash, ML Joseph Daniel, Jenny Freddie, D Velu, GS Srinivasmurthy, Naveen Babu, Arvind. Coach: Aslam Khan. Assistant Coach: D Manivannan. Manager: Abdul Jabbar.

29. April
2nd Division National Football League - Super Six: Tata Football Academy 0-1 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC - Goal: 0-1 Raju (27').

15.Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) Trophy - NorthEast Zone Qualifiers: Mizoram 2-1 Manipur - Goals: 0-1 Seikhohai Tuboi, 1-1,2-1 Tetea Tlau.

12th Youth Soccer Championship, Kohima - Round 1: 90s Footprint 2-0 Elevate Club - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Khriesaneilie Sote.
12th Youth Soccer Championship, Kohima - Round 1: Merulietsa FC 0-0,4-2 Sporting Club [penalties] - Goals: none.

Note-1: by Hming Sanga: Lalhmingliana, Rajya Sabha MP from Mizoram today inaugurated the qualifying round of the 15th U21 National Football Championship - NorthEast Zone. A thrilling opening encounter between Mizoram and Manipur saw host Mizoram getting the maximum three points with a 2-1 win.
Addressing a strong crowd of football fans at Assam Rifles Ground in Aizawl, Lalhmingliana said, "Northeast India is emerging as the powerhouse of Indian football. To name a few players, Bhaichung Bhutia, S Malsawmtluanga (Mama), Bijen Singh and others now are now household names in Kolkata; a city we call the Mecca of Indian football."
Lalhmingliana asserted that he has high hopes for the football talents of the Northeast. "Even the All-India Football Federation has high expectations from the players of the Northeast to raise the standard of football in India, football in India is not merely a sport anymore, it is a profession for all those with talent, I want to tell you that the opportunity is limitless," the MP said.

Note-2: by Armstrong Vaz: Profilic scorer and winner of three Man of the Match awards in the Goa Pro League Wesley Coutinho who narrowly missed out on a slot in the Santosh Trophy winning squad has been selected in the under-21 team but finds himself displaced from the cpataincy slot by Godwin Franco. The Goa U21 team will participate in the U21 National Football Championship, West Zone qualifiers. Four of the selected players will join the team after their 2.Division NFL engagements in Bangalore.
GOA U21: Godwin Diego Franco (Captian), Tyson Caiado, Seby Castanha, Rowilson Roland Rodrigues, Denzil Franco, Rosevelt Ignatius Telles, Mario Mascarenhas, Faisal Martins, Raymond Anthony Marques, Ivo Fernandes, Cedric Fernandes, Reagan Agnelo Fernandes, Edison Benicio Sequiera, Donald Rocha, Wesley Antonio Coutinho, Marcus Mascarenhas, Stafford Paul Pereira, Gerald Francis D'Mello, Queterio Pango, Agnelo D'Souza, Francisco Fernandes. Coach: Ajay Acharya. Manager: Savio Barreto.

Note-3: The Chandigarh FA has announced it's Chandigarh U21 state team for the North Zone qualifiers for the 15th Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) in Gurgaon, Haryana. The Chandigarh Juniors will be led by India Juniors keeper Pawan Kumar.
CHANDIGARH U21: Pawan Kumar (Captain), Inderpreet Singh, Harminder Singh, Mukesh, Deepankar, Akhil, Sandeep Bisht, Mohit Raj, Sandeep Jr, Jatinder Sharma, Sandeep, Ashwani Chetan, Jasdeep, Ajay Bhatt, Man Singh, Saluodin, Naresh, Jasbir Singh, Sahil. Coach: Ramesh Bhatt. Manager: Surinder Kumar.

28. April
10th National League - Goa: Sporting Clube de Goa 0-1 Mahindra United - Goal: 0-1 Shanmugam Venkatesh (45+3').
Mahindra United moved back to the top of the 10th National League table with a lone goal away victory against Sporting Clube de Goa at the floodlit Nehru Stadium, Margao. Mahindra United now have 29 points from 13 matches, while Sporting Clube's slim title chances deminished as they remain on 19 points from 12 matches.
Indian international midfielder Shanmugam Venkatesh's first half injury time goal was all that the Mumbai Jeepmen needed to win this crucial NFL match, which if they had lost would have given Sporting Clube the chance to make the two way title race into a three way affair.
Mahindra coach Derrick Pereira risked to field a number of his player had been having some small injury problems and had to pay the price as Krishnan Nair Ajayan had to be replaced by Rauf Sher Khan after just five minutes. Others like Brazilian Jose Barreto and Venkatesh did a good job under such conditions.
Both sides played an attacking brand of football with chances on both sides be Nigerian Dudu for Sporting Clube or Ghanian Yakubu for Mahindra United. It remained goalless until the third minute of injury time when Yakubu crossed the ball from the left into the centre and the ball somehow reached Venkatesh who placed the ball into the goal past Sporting Clube keeper Luis Xavier Barreto.
After the break Sporting Clube brought on their midfield general Bibiano Fernandes, who infused some more life into the Goan attack's but the Mahindra defence stood their ground with seasoned duo Mahesh Gawli and Deepak Kumar Mondal keeping the Sporting Clube strikers at bay. Mahindra could have even doubled the lead late in the match through Yakubu but he hit the wood work.
SPORTING CLUBE: 30-Luis Xavier Barreto, 7-Hardip Singh Saini (46' 23-Bibiano Fernandes), 6-Philip Gomes, 3-Mathew Gonsalves, 26-Seby Martins, 11-Nicolas Borges, 22-Joseph Pereira, 19-Nicholas L Rodrigues (81' 25-Joe Rodrigues), 20-Adebayo Adewusi (88' 17-Francis Silveira), 9-Chidi Edeh, 10-MacPherlin Dudu Omagbemi.
MAHINDRA: 24-Sandip Nandy, 27-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 4-Deepak Kumar Mondal, 18-Peter Siddique, 23-Steven Dias (90+4' 19-David Adjei), 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh, 7-Sushanth Mathew, 28-Krishnan Nair Ajayan (5' 29-Rauf Sher Khan), 8-Jose Ramirez Barreto (46' 11-Subhas Chakraborty), 10-Yusif Yakubu.
MAN of the MATCH: Mahesh Gawli (Mahindra United).
YELLOW CARDS: Chidi Edeh (39', Sporting Clube); Irungbam Surkumar Singh (63', Mahindra).
REFEREE: Rizwan ul Haque (Delhi).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

2nd Division National Football League - Super Six: State Bank of Travancore 2-3 Army XI - Goals: 0-1 Vijay Thapa (3'), 1-1 AG Mohammed Aslam (16'), 2-1 MA Abdul Hakkim (53'), 2-2 Ramachandran (58'), 2-3 Nguernilal (59').

12th Youth Soccer Championship, Kohima - Pre-Quarterfinal: Kuki Youth Club 3-1 Junior Anchor - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Mangkai (13',19'), 2-1 Neibu (41'), 3-1 Lamtinmang (70+').

Note-1: The Delhi SA today announced it's Delhi U21 state team for the North Zone qualifiers for the 15th Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) in Gurgaon, Haryana.
DELHI U21: Goalkeepers: Sandeep Singh Bisht, Kapil Kumar, Ankit Barwa. Defenders: Deepak Kumar Singh (Captain), Pradeep Nandi, Bharatindu Sharma, Tapan Joshi, Sanjay Kumar. Midfielders: Ashish Kumar Pandey, Kamal Singh, Gaurav Patra, Prince Sharma, DJ Kabui, Sourav Mishra, Yugal Kishora. Forwards: G Kamai, Rahamat Ali Khan, Rajesh Rawat, Prakash Nath, Bulbul L, Ashirwad Arya, S Alam.

Note-2: by Hming Sanga: The Mizoram FA has announced the squad for the upcoming U21 National Football Championship, North-East zone qualifier which will be played in Aizawl from April 29 to May 3, 2006.
MIZORAM U21: Laldingliana, Danny Lalrohlua, Aldrin Zomuanthanga, Lalhruaitluanga, Malsawma, Zohmingliana, Zarzoliana, Laltlantluanga, Robert Lalduhzuala, Lorraine Lalremruata, T Zodinthara, Sama Hnamte, Lalrinmawia, K Zosangliana, Vannunmawia, Zaidinmawia Hmar, Samson Ramengmawia, Lalhlimthara, Lalrochama, Lalthlengliana. Zoremsanga. Coach: Lalnunsiama. Manager: Lalhruaia Sailo.

27. April
10th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 2-0 Mohammedan Sporting Club - Goals: 1-0 Renedy Singh (48'), 2-0 Parveen Kumar (64').
Former champions JCT Mills scored a 2-0 win against promoted Mohammedan Sporting Club in a 10th National League match at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana. JCT Mills moved into sixth place with 17 points from 14 matches, while Mohammedan Sporting remain eighth on 14 points from as many matches.
It looked like JCT Mills wanted to prove something today. It was a transformed game compared to the lacklustre performances recently. And it was one man who stood out in a strong team performance, Renedy Singh. Renedy, who has been once more having injuries problems lately, showed why he is one of the best midfielders in India when he is fully match fit. His freekicks, corners and long-range efforts always meant danger for the Mohammedan Sporting goal.
JCT can only blame themselves for not taking the lead in the first half. There were chances galore and it was either failure on the part of the JCT players or Sporting keeper Arindam Ghosh who denied the Millmen from Phagwara the lead.
Things changed after the break as JCT upped their pressure even more and the induction of Sunil Chetri for Nigerian Johnson Segun Banner brought immediate results. Just three minutes into the second half Marcos Pereira played a long ball for Chetri, which was just cleared by a Sporting defender. Daljit Singh's throw-in was volleyed into the goal by Renedy Singh for the lead. JCT doubled the lead on 64 minutes when Chetri once more broke free on the left and centred the ball for Parveen Kumar to slot home. JCT could have consolidated the lead, but it ended as it had ended in the first half with no more goals.
MAN of the MATCH: Renedy Singh (JCT).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

2nd Division National Football League - Super Six: Churchill Brothers SC 1-0 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC - Goal: 1-0 Vanlal Rova (81').

Note-1: East Bengal's long-serving Nigerian striker Mike Okoro has been trying to sure up his prospects for the next season by regularly contacting the Mahindra management and expressing his desire to turn out for the Mumbai giants. Okoro has been unsettled at East Bengal this season and seems to have had a falling out of favour with the new East Bengal coach Phillipe de Ridder who has utilised him infrequently this term. Okoro used to be a regular under former coach Subhas Bhowmick and was an instumental part in the Red-and-Gold's golden years under Bhowmick.
Also wanting to join him at Mahindra United seems East Bengal's utility man Syed Rahim Nabi who has been revealed to have sent out a request to join Mahindras through a personal representative during the team's week long halt in Mumbai. It would be interesting to note that until the Air-India game, Syed Rahim Nabi had played the full ninety minutes in each and every match for the Calcutta maidan giants in this season's NFL. However Shylo Malswam Tulunga who has played every minute of all the matches too has been rumoured to have made a similar approach to the Mahindras.

Note-2: Copy Corner Sporting led by Rasheed outplayed Dragon All Starz 6-1 in the third week of the First UAE Indian Expat Football league organized by Gulf International Promotions Dubai. The sixteen-team league played at the Dubai Club for Special Sports.
Copy Corner went on the offensive from the word go and it was no surprise when Dileep opened the scoring in the 5th minute. Two minutes later Mohammed Kareem increased the lead. Riyaz who had a good game for the Copy Corner team made it 3-0 just before half time to give them a comfortable lead. On resumption the Dragon All Starz were a better lot with Melwyn Chandy, Siraj Udeen, Sahreef Abdul Azeez and Nestor Lopez playing their hearts out. Their hard work paid off with Melwyn finishing off after a good pass from Nestor to reduce the margin. This only inspired the Copy Corner team who scored three quick goals through Mohammed Kareem, Riaz Katti and Rashed K to round off a well deserved win. With the win Copy Corner climbed four places into fourth position while Dragon All Starz remain on 15th position. 11th Placed Zyco Dubai led by Goalkeeper Naushad K held a strong St Marys team to a 0-0 draw. The determined Zyco lads matched St Marys who started the day in top position in all departments of the game. Babu Job, K Riyaz and Manoj Athanikal played some good football to keep the St Marys team at bay. Vice Captain Keegan D'Costa, Roy Das, Gary Hasset and Brian Alphonso did their best to score but were held back by a stubborn Zyco defence. The teams had to finally settle for a draw and split the points. Almoe FC led by Sheldon Buthelo pulled out all stops to defeat a strong SFX Old Goa by two goals to nil. In fast paced game Evano Fernandes scored in the run of play in the 6th minute after playing a one two with Ashraf Syed. The teams tried for goals but were not successful and had to change ends with Almoe leading by a solitary goal. On resumption Old Goa striker Peter Fernandes missed a sitter and this cost his team as Suresh Pereira increased Almoe lead in the 15th minute with a good strike off a ball from Suresh Pereira. Piedade Fernandes, Henry Carvalho and Nilesh Dincar did their best but could not convert their superiority into goals. Almoe are in 5th position with nine points from four outings while SFX Old Goa occupy bottom spot. Siolim United got back to their winning ways and climbed to the top of the table defeating a stubborn Phoenix Loutolim 2-1. John Fernandes opened the scoring for the Siolim team with a well taken goal in the 8th minute. Captain Shriram Vernekar increased the tally in the 15th minute only to see Lucas Fernandes grab a goal in the next minute. Renato Fernandes, Moses D'Silva John Dias did their best for the Loutolim team managed by Marquees but could not find the equalizer. The Siolim lads defence led by John Sequeira and Gerald Fernandes held on to secure a well deserved win. Phoenix Loutolim slipped to 10th position. Siolim United consolidated their position at the top of the table with a second victory of the night defeating Desert Cubs 3-0. Captain Shriram Vernekar scored a brace before half time to change ends at 2-0. In the second half Desert Cubs came back strongly but could not contain the Siolim lads who added a third goal through Jovito D'Souza. Roger Kottor, George Mammen, Justin Matthew and Amrit Pal Singh played well for the Desert Cubs but could not avoid the defeat. Desert Cubs slipped to 14th Position in the 16-team table. Strong contenders Varca FC got back to their winning ways scoring a facile 4-0 victory of St Anthonys. Shane Thomas scored the first hattrick of the tournament scoring in the 5th, 11th and 18th minute to give his team a well deserved 3-0 lead. St Anthony did put up a strong fight with Sandy Fernandes, Darryl Rasquinha, Jude D'Souza and Oswald playing a steady game. They could not however stop the flow of the Varca lads who rounded off the match with a last minute goal by Evern D'Souza. Varca climbed to 8th position. Title contenders Vaxim Divar had to thank Randel Pereira for their 1-0 victory over a young Dubai Republicans side. In a fast paced game the Republican lads attacked from the word go but a strong Divar defence kept them at bay. Peter Cross, Sunny Gabriel, Jansen Machado and Brendan Bothelo did their best but could not penetrate the Divar defence. Their own defence however withstood the pressure from the Divar lads namely Derrick Pereira, Colin D'Cruz and Randell Pereira. The latter finally managed to slot in a goal after a goalmouth melee to snatch the winner for Divar. Dubai Republicans and Divar remain in their respective positions of 9th and 7th respectively. Cansaulim FC playing some smart soccer climbed one notch into 3rd position defeating Zuari FC 2-0. Cansaulims main striker Brian Almeida struck twice in the 5th and 18th minute to give his team a well-deserved victory. He received able support from Jonathan D'Souza and Remedious Furtado. Zuari had themselves to blame for the defeat with several missed chances. Good midfield play by Savio Cardozo and Karlton Rozario could not be translated into goals by their goal shy forwards. Zuari slipped one place into 13th position in the table. In their second game of the night Dubai Republicans shocked 2nd-placed St Marys imposing a 1-0 defeat on them. A solo goal by Melwyn Banz was all that separated the teams. St Marys had the better of exchanges but their forwards were guilty of missing several chances. They could have easily walked off with a big victory but on the contrary had to go home emptied handed. It was sheer determination on part of the Republican lads that brought them a goal. Emirates Flight Catering led by Inacio Fernandes scored a solitary 1-0 victory over a stubborn Desert Cubs. The game was played on a fast pace with Desert Cubs dictating terms in the initial stages. However the Catering lads slowly got into the game and an opportunist goal by Sebyton Colaco secured the victory for the team. Poly Fernandes, Joe D'Silva and Thomas Dias put a good performance for the Emirates team while Rahul D'Souza, Jackson Thomas and Shaun D'Souza played well for the Cubs. Emirates Flight Catering are in 3rd position while Desert Cubs are in 13th place. In their second game of the night St Anthony put up a much better performance to draw with a strong Cansaulim. In fact it was St Anthony who shocked Cansaulim by taking a 10th minute lead with Sydney Lemos giving them a well deserved lead. St Anthony held on with Sandy Fernandes, Oswald Fernandes and Deril Carvalho holding the fort well. Cansaulims Benit D'Souza, Prashant Morajkar and Brian Almeida did their best to penetrate the St Anthony Defence but were unable to do so until the last minute when Benit sent in a bullet of a shot past a helpless Trevlin in Goal. In the last match of the night Copy Corner playing their second game had to pull out all stops to overcome a stubborn SFX Old Goa 3-2. Mohammed Kareem opened the scoring in the 6th minute only to see Captain Peter Fernandes equalize for the Old Goa lads. The teams changed ends on equal terms. On resumption Anoop Ravindran scored for the Copy Corner team to take a 2-1 lead. However SFX Old Goa had other ideas and once again equalized through William Fernandes. The game appeared heading for a draw. However Captain Rasheed K stole the winner for the Copy Corner team scoring in the last minute after receiving a good pass from Manoj. The league is played once a week and the finals are scheduled for 8 June. A total of sixteen teams are taking part on a round robin league basis.

Note-3: The Kerala FA today announced their 20 player squad for the South Zone qualifiers for the 15th Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) to be hosted by the KFA in Tirur.
KERALA U21: Goalkeepers: C Praveen, N Noufal, NM Anoop. Defenders: K Noushad, CT Albin, VP Suneer, KM Vipin, P Sajesh, D Sajin. Midfielders: KP Sakeer, TT Shaji, K Asif, Andrews, P Oscar Yesudas. Forwards: OK Javeed (Captain), L Sajan, R Kannan, EK Arun, R Firos, C Surajudeen. Coach: PK Rajeev. Manager: M Mohammed Saleem.

Note-4: The Andhra Pradesh FA today announced a 20 player strong AP U21 state team for the South Zone qualifiers for the 15th Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) in Tirur, Kerala.
ANDHRA PRADESH U21: SA Anwar Javeed (Captain), M Srinivasa Rao (vice-Captain), Neelapu Sudeep Kumar, Mohammed Nasir, Danala Bhaskara Rao, V Kiran Babu, R Kishore, Shaikh Saidul, D Shekar, Mohammed Moazzam, Hasan Bin Mohsin, Syed Murtaza Hussain, V Srinivasa Rao, Mir Ali Mohsin, G Naresh Kumar, B Satish Kumar, E Murali Krishna, MW Chandrasekhar, Mir Ali Mohammed Moosvi, Khaleel Abdullah Saadi. Stand-byes: Mahesh Varma, Tariq. Chief coach: Habeeb Ali. Manager: AA Aleem Khan.

26. April
2nd Division National Football League - Super Six: Vasco SC 2-2 State Bank of Travancore - Goals: 0-1 T Asif Saheer (32'), 1-1 Anthony Pereira (54'), 2-1 Agnelo D'Souza (71'), 2-2 M Mohammed Rafi (90+').

Note-1: The AIFF is on the lookout for a new national coach and it looks like that a renowned coach from Europe will take charge of Team India in Jne. The AIFF has put together a short list of 10 potential candidates with the AIFF set to invite five coaches for a round of interviews on May 24/25 in New Delhi.
Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr is one of the five besides former FC Chelsea manager Ian Porterfield, French veteran Michael Hidalgo and Dutchmen Hans Westorhof, a former PSV Eindhoven and Ajax Amsterdam coach.

25. April
AFC Cup 2006 - Group A: Mahindra United 0-1 Al-Muharraq, BAHRAIN - Goal: 0-1 Abdulla Al Dakeel (9').
Federation Cup champions Mahindra United suffered a lone goal defeat at the hands of Bahraini giants Al-Muharraq in a AFC Cup home match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao in Goa. Mahindra's chances of making it to the knockout stages of the tournament suffered severely as the Jeepmen remain third with three points from four matches. Al-Muharraq meanwhile continue to top the group with now 10 points.
Mahindra had their problems in the first half and Al-Muharraq took advantage of that. The Bahrainis took the lead in the 9.minute when striker Al Dakeel Abdulla scored of a pass from midfielder Mahmood Abdulrahman. Mahindra had their best chance in the first session on 24.minutes when Ghanian Yakubu Yusif found Surajit Bose whose shot was saved by the Al-Muharraq. A little while later Mahindra keeper Sandip Nandy denied Abdulla Al Dakeel his second goal of the match.
In the second half a different Mahindra United took the field with Shanmugam Venkatesh, Steven Dias and Rauf Khan coming on. Especially Dias's crosses created numerous chances for the Mumbai giants, who just could not score on the day. They not only should have equalised, but could have won the matches if Yakubu, Subhas Chakraborty, Sushanth Mathew and Peter Siddique had utilised the chances that came their way. In the end Mahindra returned from the match empty handed and they will have to win next week against Al-Ahed of Lebanon to keep their slim chances of advancing alive.
MAHINDRA: 24-Sandip Nandy, 18-Peter Siddique, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 4-Deepak Kumar Mondal, 5-Samson Fernandes (57' 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh), 7-Sushanth Mathew, 21-Gouramangi Moirangtem Singh (54' 29-Rauf Sher Khan), 19-David Adjei, 11-Subhas Chakraborty, 9-Surojit Bose (50' 23-Steven Dias), 10-Yusif Yakubu.
AL-MUHARRAQ: 1-Ali Hasan Al Thani, 2-Sadeq Ali (45+2' 5-Jasim Al Chuban), 6-Reyadh Al Basri (87' 24-Yusuf Salmeen), 29-Bashar Bani Yaseen, 7-Hadi Abdulnabi, 13-Mahmood Abdulrahman, 14-Fahad Hasan, 16-Ali Aamer Musaifer, 28-Faouzi Aaish (76' 18-Isa Al Abbad), 10-Abdulla Al Dakeel, 19-Leandson Dias Da Silva.
YELLOW CARDS: Fahad Hasan (81', Al-Muharraq).
REFEREE: Satop Tongkhan (Thailand).

2nd Division National Football League - Super Six: Army XI 0-1 Tata Football Academy - Goal: 0-1 S Satish Kumar (24').

Note-1: by IANS: More Asian football role models are needed to attract Asians living in Britain towards the game, former England defender Graeme Le Saux has said.
Addressing an entrepreneurial event organised by an NGO in Manchester, Le Saux said that Asians had taken to cricket because they had many role models in that game, both in Britain and the subcontinent.
"From Sachin Tendulkar to Nasser Hussain, British Asians are inspired by successful cricketers. But when it comes to football there is hardly anyone to look up to," said the former Chelsea player.
"Though Newcastle United's Michael Chopra is someone to watch out for, the British Asian youth need more Michael Chopras and boxing champion Imran Khans to attract British Asians into sports," he stressed.
Le Saux, who played for England 34 times, also blamed the lack of Asian presence on the pitch and on the tendency of Asian parents to discourage their children from taking up sports seriously.
"Asian parents want their children to follow a profession in medicine, law or engineering not in sports," he said.
The 37-year-old player said that to become a successful player one has to start at a young age.
"It's the seven- and eight-year-olds who get trained to become footballers. So, parents have to encourage and support their children in taking up football seriously," he said, recalling how he started playing in his mother's garden.
Le Saux was born in Jersey and played for Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, and Southampton. A member of the successful Chelsea team that won both the Cup Winners' Cup and the League Cup in 1998, Le Saux was also part of the England team that went to the 1998 World Cup and one of the few players to play in all four of England's matches.

Note-2: The South Zone qualifiers for the 15th Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Municipal Flood Light Stadium, Tirur in Kerala. The U21 South Zone qualifiers will be inaugurated by Kerala FA President KMI Mather. The matches will kickoff at 18.30 IST and the tournament will be sponsored by Tirur Brother's Club.
Click here for the >>15th Dutta Ray Trophy (Under-21) - All Five Zones qualifier fixtures

Note-3: by Xavier Rutsa: 19 teams will take part in the 12th Youth Soccer Championships organized by Classic Club, Kohima, starting on April 28 running until May 13 at the local ground, Kohima. This year the tournament is being played under the theme "Strive to excel", with 16 teams from Kohima, two from Phek and one from Dimapur districts taking part in the 15 day-long meet.
In their fixtures release in Kohima, in Group A comprises 90's Footprint, Elevate Club, Japfu SC, Chadi and United XI, Group B last year runners-up Kuki Youth Club, Junior Anchor, Young Excel Club and Zenith Sporting Club, while in Group C it appears to be toughest group, with two title winners (1995, 1998) New Market XI, Clarion Club, Meluri Sporting Club, Merhulietsa FC and Sporting Club and in Group D, Winsome soccer, Golden Plover Club, Green Valley, Penguin Club and Charity Club.
In the opening match on April 28 Kuki Youth Club meet Junior Anchor.

24. April
AFC CUP Group A match preview:
After having played all their three away matches in the AFC Cup so far, tomorrow Indian Federation Cup champions Mahindra United host Bahraini Cup Winners Al-Muharraq in a home match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao in Goa. Due to the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai being termed unsuitable for Asian level competition the Jeepmen had to shift their three home matches to nearby Goa.
After three away draws Mahindra United will look to win all three matches at home to try and reach the AFC Cup knockout stage. The match against Group A leaders Al-Muharraq will be the biggest test as they are seen as the strongest team in the group. Mahindra come off two wins in the National League and having got back the initiative to win their first NFL title, they will be coming with a positive frame of mind. But the Jeepmen will miss Brazilian star Jose Ramirez Barreto due to injury, who had only played eight minutes in the last NFL match. Some other players like Surkumar Singh, Shanmugam Venkatesh and Krishnan Nair Ajayan have also small niggles, but are set to play. Mahindra will depend on their Ghanian striker Yakubu Yusif, who played a great away in Manama a couple of weeks ago.
Al-Muharraq have come to Goa with the Bahraini League title in their kitty, their 28th overall title. And the Bahraini's will want to keep their advantage in Group A, which they lead with seven points from three matches. Numerous players of the team are Bahraini internationals with Brazilian striker Leandson Da Silva the key threat to Mahindra's.
The match will kickoff at 16.30 IST and will be shown live on Zee Sports.

Note-1: by Xavier Rutsa: The Nagaland U21 state team was announced in Kohima today.
AIFF Vice-President Atuo Mezhur exhorted the players to give their 100 per cent while playing. "The three toughest teams in Northeast are Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram , whoever qualifies will play in Bihar," he said and adding "the national under-21 will commence on May 15 for final rounds."
He also announced the name of 20 players, who will represent Nagaland in the qualifying round in Aizawl, Mizoram. The team will leave Kohima on April 27.
Nagaland plays their matches on May 1 taking on Manipur and on May 3 will meet Mizoram.
NAGALAND U21: William Koso, Chubawati (both Goalkeepers); Dominic Kirha, Seyiekhrietuo, Vikuzo, Chullen, Nzangthung, Alfred, Meren Jamir,Tosovi, Mechivilie, Dziesengulie, Lemtong Konyak, Beilie Rio, Lipok Sashi, Namzumgoa, Jibal, Benethung, Khaingam, Tiasunep. Chief Coach: Roko Angami.

Note-2: "Mission Kickoff" will be organising Summer Soccer Camps in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh in May, June and July. The camps are open to boys and girls aged 10 to 17, and will be of seven days duration at the Pinegrove School in Kasauli in the Himalayan mountains.
The camps are about football, fun and friends. The children will receive coaching in skills based on the Coerver Methods and Soccer Star Skill Testing per the English FA module. The kids would also be able to do physical conditioning and will be able to do recreational things as well.
The Camp Dates: May 22-29; June 6-12; June 13-19; June 22-28; July 7-9 (Special World Cup Carneval 2006)
The camp would cost Rs 7,000 per child plus Rs 1,000 for travelling Delhi - Kasauli - Delhi.
You can contact the Camp Director Bikram Thockchom under 98918-14331 to become part of the camp and/or get additional infos.

23. April
Here a caption of the Kolkata TV interview which was done with our IndianFootball.Com Editor-in-Chief Arunava Chaudhuri.
Kolkata TV over the next few weeks will be showing a series of interview's done with Arunava on the upcoming 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

On Saturday, April 15 - the Bengali New Year (Paila Baishak) East Bengal's Belgian coach Philippe de Ridder released two books on Calcutta - the city, football and his impressions to raise money for children's charity in the city. Dr. Kanchan De is a longtime East Bengal Club fan and also a long time follower of the IndianFootball.Com Website, who has send in his report and some pictures from the event for our IndianFootball.Com LIVE section.
For the report&pictures on the "Dr. Kanchan De at de Ridder's book launch for children's charity" go to >>IndianFootball.Com LIVE.

The latest IndianFootball.Com Guest Column comes from Melwyn Fernandes titled "Silent Assailant, Dedicated footballer, Disciplined Coach and Humble individual - Mecabeus (Mecca) Rodrigues". Melwyn looks at the player, coach and human being...
Read the complete article here >>IndianFootball.Com Guest Column - Melwyn Fernandes .

10th National League - Mumbai: Air-India 1-1 East Bengal Club - Goals: 1-0 Vijith Shetty (17'), 1-1 Baichung Bhutia (29').
East Bengal Club's quest for their fourth NFL title was hit by mid-air turbulence as the Calcutta giants were only able to play out a one-all draw against relegation fighting Air-India in a 10th National League match at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai. East Bengal moved to 28 points from 14 matches to hand the initiative back to title rivals Mahindra United. Air-India moved a little away from the relegation zone with now 15 points from 14 matches.
It was the second time this season that the Red-and-Gold brigade could not beat the Airmen from Mumbai. The January 29 match in Calcutta had then ended goalless.
East Bengal started with their usual burst putting pressure on the Air-India defence, but it was the home team who took the lead in the 17.minute. Nigerian Bashiree Mohammed Abbas cross from the right was headed in by midfielder Vijith Shetty past East Bengal keeper Abhra Mondal's outstreched hands. East Bengal needed some time to regroup, but it was left to inform India skipper Baichung Bhutia to equalise in the 29.minute. East Bengal's Cameroonian midfielder Ndem A Guy Kiyeck Herve intercepted the ball in the middle to release it through a long ball for Baichung Bhutia, who beat a defender and goalie Raju Ekka to score his 11th goal of the NFL campaign. Baichung is now the league's top scorer. East Bengal could have gone ahead before the break but missed their chances easily.
After the break the match shifted into the East Bengal half with Air-India regrouping well and they started to put pressure on the Calcutta giants. Air-India where capably led by Paresh Shivalkar, who later got the "Man of the Match" award for his stellar performance, but his team wasted chances through Bashiree plus substitutes Paresh Shivalkar and T Narender Meetei, otherwise East Bengal would have left Mumbai with another loss. Still East Bengal also had a good chance through Cameroonian defender Ngassa Ewane Guy Martial's header which hit the crossbar, which could have also given them the victory.
AIR-INDIA: 21-Raju Ekka, 11-Hringsolal Thomte, 6-Uttam Leishangthem Singh, 2-Haobijam Napoleon Singh, 28-Abiodun Kolawole Martins, 19-Santosh Koli, 14-Javed Ansari (56' 4-Paresh Shivalkar), 5-Vijith Shetty, 26-Soccor Velho (68' 10-T Narender Meetei), 20-Paresh Shivalkar, 30-Bashiree Mohammed Abbas.
EAST BENGAL: 21-Abhra Mondal, 17-Surya Bikash Chakraborty (46' 6-Dipankar Roy), 26-Ngassa Ewane Guy Martial, 16-Covan Lawrence, 29-Soumik Dey (46' 9-Alvito D'Cunha), 7-Jayanta Sen, 28-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 20-Ndem A Guy Kiyeck Herve, 22-Debabrata Roy, 32-Gouranga Datta, 15-Baichung Bhutia.
MAN of the MATCH: Paresh Shivalkar (Air-India).
YELLOW CARDS: Vijith Shetty (7'), Abiodun Kolawole Martins (35', both Air-India); Ndem A Guy Kiyeck Herve (9'), Jayanta Sen (65', both East Bengal).
REFEREE: Abdul Saleem (Delhi).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

Note-1: After receiving a grant from FIFA to build Football House in Dwarka, New Delhi under the FIFA Goal Project, the AIFF is next in line to receive another grant from FIFA under the FIFA Goal Project second phase development plan. This time around the AIFF could get upto $ 400,000 US-Dollar's to develop it's youth development base in India.
The idea of a National Football Academy seems to be out of contention, the AIFF is now looking at setting-up centres in the four corners of the country. The AIFF is in the process of identifying the locations for these proposed centres having communication with the state FAs, but it looks like Delhi, Calcutta, Bangalore and Goa are potential locations for the centres, which could be used for youth training, coaches and referee's education plus as regional bases of the AIFF.
After receiving the AIFF recommendations, FIFA would send Development Officers to check the mentioned venues to find the suitable one's.

22. April
Note-1: Yesterday in Mumbai Paradox Studios Limited, India's premier game development company, announced their partnership with Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia and his management company Total Sports&Entertainment India. The two sides signed a two-year exclusive worldwide contract to create Mobile game titles based on the popular football icon. The games are scheduled to release across the leading networks in the Indian market.
Going by the increasing popularity of Mobile games and the mass appeal that Baichung Bhutia has in the country, the games will definitely prove to be a huge success in the Indian market. These games will be an exciting mix of strategy, skill and speed and will even feature some of Bhutia's signature moves for football fans. Commenting on the games, the ace footballer says, "Football is a high-action game and it'll be great to see it going Mobile. I saw some of the games that Paradox has created and they're great. I am looking forward to my affiliation with them as they recreate the thrill and action of the field on to the Mobile platform."
On the alliance Paradox CEO Salil Bhargava said, "Baichung Bhutia is perhaps the only player in Indian football history to gain such a star status. He is one of the most prominent sporting icons in India and we look forward to a dynamic association with him and TSEIPL. With India on its way to becoming a hotbed for the Wireless platform, sports-based Mobile games are particularly gaining a huge popularity with the audiences. Paradox, as an organisation, is committed to offer top-notch content to them."
On this occasion, TSEIPL Indian Subcontinent&Middle East MD Navneet Sharma said, "This is a very valuable opportunity to explore India's emerging Wireless gaming market. Paradox is a leader in the Indian gaming space and has a deep understanding of the Indian market. We are extremely glad at this strategic alliance with Paradox."
Another first for Baichung Bhutia in Indian football...

Note-2: The Premier India Football Academy started three years ago under the name of the Indian Youth Soccer Academy in Mumbai and has since been working at grassroot level to give children a chance to learn the basics of football. PIFA carried out camps across India, has taken Indian kids to Europe for exposure and has now started four football centres across Mumbai.
Now the PIFA is adding another chapter to it's history, the addition of a football club playing in the Mumbai District FAs Senior Division from next season. The team will be called PIFA Colaba Youngstar. The team is a senior youth Academy side which will give older children from the PIFA youth development programme a chance to showcase their talent to bigger clubs. The team training will be gradually changed as per the guidelines set up by the Academy. The PIFA aims to be promoted to the Mumbai Elite divsion in the next three years.
IndianFootball.Com can only wish the PIFA all the best!

Note-3: St Marys Football team led by Goalkeeper Denzil Austin retained top spot in the First UAE Indian Expat Football League played at the Dubai Club for Special Sports. A total of 16 top Indian teams are participating in the league organized by Gulf International Promotions Dubai.
Surprise leaders St Marys defeated second placed Siolim United by two goals to nil in a fast paced game. Hardworking Keegan D'Costa opened the scoring for the St Marys lads with a well taken shot in the tenth minute. Joshua D'Sa consolidated the lead in the fifteenth minute after receiving a good pass from Leon Almeida. St Marys Roy Das was a constant threat for the Siolim citadel. Siolim were complacent and paid the price. Although a better team poor finishing let them down. John Sequeira, Innocent Menezes and Jovito D'Souza had a good game for the Siolim team but could not avoid the defeat. With the defeat Siolim United dropped down to fifth spot. Almoe Football team led by Sheldon Buthelo were in top form chalking out two big victories on the night. In the first match Almoe got the better of high flying Emirates Flight Catering 3-1. Playing fast attacking football striker George Baretto put the Catering team in the lead with an opportunist strike in the third minute. Stunned by the goal the Almoe lads hit back with Franklin Ferns scoring in the sixth minute to level the scores. The teams were equal at half time. It was a different story after the break. Almoe came back with all guns blazing which took the catering lads by surprise. Two quick goals by Franklin Ferns and Rejo Abraham gave the Almoe lads a comfortable lead. Almoe hung on to the lead and emerged 3-1 winners. The Catering lads Savio Soares, Thomas Dias and Manuel Fernandes gave a good account of themselves. In the second game of the night for Almoe they pulled out all stops to humble Dragon Starz 4-0. This time it was Suresh Pereira who scored two classic goals to give his team a 2-0 lead at half time. On resumption the Dragon Starz put up a strong resistance with Ganesh Thampi, Melvin Chandy and Shareef Abdul Azeez playing their hearts out. The Almoe lads were in no mood to let the game slip and added two more goals in the run of play through Franklin Ferns and Sachin Shivram. Almoe occupy second spot while Dragon All Starz are in fifteenth position. Two title contenders Zyco Dubai and Vaxim Divar played out a dull draw to share the spoils. Zyco Captain Rajath and Abubacker played a stellar role for the team but good defending by Diwars Erbrito Fortes, Randell Pereira and Ashok Saterdkar prevented the Zyco team from scoring. Divars Russel Rodrigues and Orlando Viegas did make a couple of attempts but the Zyco Goalkeeper Nowshad was upto to the standard making two good saves. Divar are in seventh position while Zyco are in eleventh position. Emirates Flight Catering bounced back from their earlier defeat to shock Phoenix Loutolim by two goals to nil. Joe D'Silva was in top form and opened the scoring for the Emirates lads scoring from close range in the eighth minute. Christopher Dias, Captain Renato Fernandes and Baptist D'Souza played well for the Loutolim team but could not convert their superiority into goals. However the Catering team had other ideas and Sebyton Colaco pounced on a defensive lapse to score the second goal for his team to emerge two nil winners. Emirates Flight Catering climbed to third Position while Loutolim led by Manager Marquees received a walkover from SFX Old Goa who failed to turn up for their game. Loutolim are in sixth position. Strong contenders Varca FC were held to a goalless draw by a determined Zuari FC. Franky Baretto, Shane Thomas, Lenin Fernandes and Goalkeeper Jose Manuel were in good form but could not convert their form into goals. Zuari on the other hand played combined soccer and went close on several occasions but poor finishing let them down. Lynton D'Souza, Avinash Pinheiro and Savio Cardozo were the stalwarts for the Zuari tem. Varca are in 10th position while Zuari lie in 12th place.
In an exciting game between two attacking teams Cansaulim FC and Copy Corner FC the former emerged a 1-0 winner. Both teams were equally balanced with Benit D'Souza, Brian Almeida and Remedios Furtado playing fast attacking football for the Cansaulim team. Subair M, Manoj Ganesh and Abdul Salam were the heart of the Copy Corner team and played their best. However no goals were forthcoming with both the keepers in good form. Thomas Philip of Copy Corner and Michael Fernandes of Cansaulim both made some good saves. Agnelo Fernandes of Cansaulim broke the deadlock in the fourteenth minute to score what turned out to be the winner. With the victory Cansaulim climbed to fourth position while Copy Corner slipped to eighth position. Strong Zyco Dubai played out a second goaless draw of the night when they were surprisingly held by fourteenth placed St Anthony. Babu Job, Abdul Salam and Rajath did their best to penetrate the St Anthony Defence but rock solid defending by Sydney Lemos, Deril Carvalho and Trevlyn Rodrigues enabled St Anthony to hold on to a draw and a precious point.
Desert Cubs led by Roger Kottor played their hearts out to hold a strong Dragon All Starz to a goaless draw. Mammen George, Shaun D'Souza and Rajiv Jose were instrumental in Desert Cubs draw. Nestor D'Souza, Melvyn Chandy and Mohammed Fazdly did their best for the Dragons but could not wrest the initiative. Desert Cubs are in 13th position while Dragon All Starz are in 15th position. In a clash of titans old rivals Varca FC and Vaxim Divar played out an exciting draw. Although both teams failed to find the net there were many missed opportunities. Randell Pereira, Orlando Viegas and Joanas D'souza played well for the Divar team but were either stopped by the Varca defence marshaled by Nishanth Fernandes and Arnold Noronha or Jose Manuel in goal brought off some good and timely saves. Varca too had their moments when captain Franky Baretto and Shane Thomas raided the Divar goal only to find Orlando Viegas and Derrick D'Souza standing in their way. In the last game of the night new entrants Dubai Republicans shocked Zuari FC by two goals to one. An own goal by Adrian Sequeira gave the Republicans a shock lead in the tenth minute. This gave the lads a much needed confidence and the attacked at will. The Zuari defence led by Ashton D'Souza and Manuel Rodrigues withstood the pressure until half time. In the second have hardworking Ashton took advantage of a defensive lapse to score from close range and draw level for the Zuari team. Both teams tried their best to score the winner with Sunny Gabriel scoring in the dying minutes to give the Republicans a well deserved victory. Gordon D'Silva, Sunny Gabriel and Lloyd Rodrigues played well for the Republicans while Lynton D'Souza, Avinash Pinheiro and Ashton d'Souza were outstanding for the Zuari team.
The league continues on Wednesday 26 April at 8.30pm with games scheduled to be played at the Dubai Club for Special Sports:

21. April
The recently launched Bengali news channel Kolkata TV will from today air a series of interviews with IndianFootball.Com Editor-in-Chief Arunava Chaudhuri on the upcoming 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
The interviews will be shown at 23.00 IST with repeat telecast at 10.30 IST the next morning.

10th National League - Mumbai: Mohun Bagan AC 0-0 Dempo SC - Goals: none.
Calcutta giants Mohun Bagan AC, and defending champions Dempo SC played out a second goalless draw in three days, in Mumbai at the Cooperage ground. The match was not entirely without incident as the score-line would have one believe. Mohun Bagan were reduced to ten men as their central defender Sanjeev Maria got two yellow cards from referee P Bhaskar in the space of two first half minutes. At the same end, the determined Bagan missed 3-4 guilt-edged chances in the second half on the counter-attack, that could have ensured them a surprise victory under the given circumstances.
Both teams fielded relatively depleted line-ups - Mohun Bagan missing Mehtab Hussain, Tomba Singh, Dharamjit Singh, Noel Wilson; Dempo without inspirational defender Majekodumni Bolaji. Jerry was given another run-out on the Bagan right flank, and the diminutuve youngster did not disappoint with his explosive bursts and mazy dribbles, which more than made up for his inexperience. With Clifford available again for Dempo, the gutsy veteran Johnny D'Cruz started on the other flank, with Samir Naik dropping to right back, and John Dias partnering captain Stanley Colaco.
The match was pretty evenly played out until the sending off in terms of control of possession. Mehraj was playing the enforcer in midfield with great dexterity, while Awudu, as always, playing strong in possession. Chinmoy Sarkar blazed over from the top of the dee after being teed-up by Coffe cutting inside, while Subrata made some good punches and positioned well for saves from Ranty and Ishfaq, shots which could and should have been tucked away.
After the sending off, to which the despondent Maria responded just with a slow walk off the field shaking his head, Mehraj dropped into the central defender role, with Awudu helping out Chinmoy in midfield. However, Sushil took on this role of playing the midfielder from Awudu in the second half, and the idea was definitely more rewarding, as Bagan created many more deadly chances on the counter with Awudu initiating them, with the hold-up, with Jerry, Coffe, and Sushil supporting with quick runs from deep. However, it was both Jerry and Sushil who mised the sitters to open the scoring, each time losing their composure when it mattered, and snatching their shots over.
For Dempo, despite them dominating possession, and being encamped in the Bagqn half for virtually the whole of the second half, it proved a fruitless exercise. Ranty had his third off-colour game in succession, while the killer pass was just not supplied by the deep-lying Beto. Probably the only positive they could take out of this was the fact they kept a clean-sheet, considering they have the worst defence in the league thus far - but even that fact should be tempered a bit, keeping in mind Bagan having played with a player less mostly.
Now these teams squabble out for what will expectedly be just a consolatory third place in the league - with just three games left in eather team's season.
MOHUN BAGAN: 12-Subrata Pal, 15-Dulal Biswas, 20-Sanjeev Kumar Maria, 28-Eduardo Chacon Coelho Lacerda, 16-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 25-Jerry Zirsanga (76' 27-Akum Ao), 26-Mehraj Din Wadoo, 29-Chinmoy Sarkar, 19-Coffe Edem Agbessi, 9-Awudu Ibrahim (88' 10-Dipendu Biswas), 24-Sushil Kumar Singh.
DEMPO: 1-Abhijit Mondal, 16-Sameer Naik, 3-John Charles Dias, 4-Stanley Colaco, 5-Y Raju Singh, 19-Johnny D'Cruz, 7-Nasimento Silvera, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 15-Clifford Miranda, 9-Ranty Martins Soleye, 22-Ishfaq Ahmed (71' 17-Joaquim Abranches).
MAN of the MATCH: Subrata Pal (Mohun Bagan).
YELLOW-RED CARD: Sanjeev Kumar Maria (35', Mohun Bagan).
YELLOW CARDS: Sanjeev Kumar Maria (33', Mohun Bagan); Y Raju Singh (28', Dempo).
REFEREE: P Bhaskar (Tamil Nadu).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

Kerala Football League - Final: State Bank of Travancore 1-1 Viva Kerala - Goals: 1-0 NP Pradeep (43'), 1-1 Manoharan (64').
Viva Kerala won their first Kerala Football League title by the draw of lots!
After the end of regulation time a penalty shootout should have decided the winner but due to crowds pouring onto the ground and fading lights, a draw of lots was carried out to determine the winner.
The best player and the winner of Rs.5,000 was Baba Thunde of Viva Kerala.

Note-1: PTI report: Learning a lesson from the Fransa Pax fiasco, Indian footballers are contemplating forming an association so that they are not left at the mercy of the clubs and their financial security is ensured.
This would be the second occasion when an attempt in this direction is being made after the first one in 1988 failed to take off.
However, the idea is still at a nebulous stage and nothing concrete has been decided yet.
The idea of the Football Players Association of India (FPAI) came up before the national team's departure for the Asian Cup qualifiers against Japan.
Indian skipper Bhaichung Bhutia was expected to represent the players' interests in talks with the All India Football Federation at a later date, but no discussions have taken place till date.
"The talks were mainly focussed on remunerating players when they were on national duty and a grading system for footballers," a top AIFF official told PTI, adding the Federation was not aware of talks on a new association.
"I have heard about attempts to form a players' body, but nobody has contacted me in this regard yet.
"I am not saying that an association cannot be formed. But no concrete proposal has come to me as yet," the East Bengal striker said.
The ace forward had stressed on the need of an Indian footballers' union in 1997 itself, following a disagreement between then national coach Syed Nayeemuddin and Somatai Shaiza.
The fresh attempts at forming an association has gathered momentum after the plight of Fransa's players came to light. After club president Micky Pacheco disbanded the team, the footballers were rendered jobless as Fransa expressed its inability to pay them salaries and other dues.
The AIFF has decreed that the players can join other clubs but they are reportedly finding it difficult to procure a 'No objection certificate' from the club management.
"The Federation can only take up their case if there is a official representation from the players," the AIFF official said.
Former Mohun Bagan stalwart Subrata Bhattacharya was instrumental in forming the previous such body, called the Indian Footballers' Association, which never took off in real terms.
"I had invited all the senior players to Delhi in February 1988 to discuss the formation of a players' body. We had agreed that till something concrete takes place, nobody would speak to the media in this regard.
"But one of the senior players divulged all the details to a correspondent and when the whole issue came into the media, the other players became very annoyed. They said if this was the attitude of some of the footballers, they would not like to be a part of such an association," the former national player said from Kolkata.

Note-2: Nigerian Emeka Ezeugo, who played for East Bengal Club and Mohammedan Sporting Club in the 1980s, has joined the Nigerian national team set-up. He is the new one amongst national coach Austin Eguavoen's three assistants, the other one's being Daniel Amokachi and Ike Shorunmu.

20. April
10th National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 1-0 East Bengal Club - Goal: 1-0 Yakubu Yusif (45+1',pen).
Mahindra United achieved a wholly-deserved victory over table-toppers East Bengal Club, to regain the initiative in the final phase of the NFL title run-in. United now have their destiny in their own hands, as they have played a game less than East Bengal, but trail by a solitary point, with five games left. Thus came to an end East Bengal's five-game winning streak, which incidentally began after their defeat to United only, in the first leg match at Calcutta, in early-February. Strikingly, this is the first time Mahindra have done a 'double' over the Calcutta giants in any NFL season, beating them home and away by the identical 1-0 scoreline.
The first 5-10 minutes were played at a slow pace, as both teams felt each other out and the conditions. East Bengal then came close early on as Ndem, and then Baichung, missed relatively easy chances. At the same time, United too managed to hit the apex of the goal-piece, from a corner not cleared properly. Off another Mahindra corner, East Bengal countered well, as Deepak Mondal and Mahesh Gawli were caught flat-footed and ball-watching a simple lob clearance over them, as Baichung scampered away on goal. Luckily for Mahesh, he recovered in time to distract Baichung enough, that he fluffed his shot. However that was probably as close to goal East Bengal got for the whole game. Captain S Venkatesh, and KN Ajayan, played and pressed in central midfield like men possessed, rarely allowing East Bengal to link up their midfield with Baichung. Ndem was shackled well too by the aggressive Surkumar Singh, Peter Siddique, and Deepak, whenever he managed to venture into their zones. There were starts for four ex-Mahindra players for East Bengal - Kulothungan (replacing Gouranga Dutta, with Ndem starting in attack), Debabrata Roy (replacing Soumik Dey, with Nabi starting at left-back), Naseem Akhtar (in goal for Abhra Mondal) and Covan Lawrence (a straight swap for M Suresh), and also Anupam Sarkar returned after suspension instead of HR Mondal, from their previous games' starting line-up. Kulothungan was largely ineffective, and was substituted after half-time. Debabrata was shackled aggressively by Surkumar, while Anupam was constantly harassed by the close-control of Rauf Khan, and whenever Yakubu drifted wide. The big surprise was Jose Marcio Ramirez Barreto not starting, despite being pencilled into the line-up at the prelinary stage. Subhas Chakraborty filled in admirably right from the get-go though. Thus United created a strangle-hold on the match. Hoewever, they were guilty of wasting a few opportunities, with Rauf and Yakubu missing particular sitters with the goal beckoning. The deserved opener came just on the verge of the half-time whistle, as a good cross from the right on a pacy Mahindra attack, with Yakubu gunning for it, was inexplicably punched by Anupam Sarkar. Yakubu duly converted the penalty, shooting low to Naseem's left. Mahindra's high-paced and high-energy pressing game had unshackled East Bengal, and from then on, it seemed when, not if, they would score the second.
Alvito and Dipankar were introduced in the second half. But the greater attacking intent by them only had the effect of more pacy forays forward into open spaces by Mahindra each time they won back possession. The only part of the game when East Bengal looked to gain some control, was when Marcio Barreto was on the field for the 7 minutes of the second half - a fact which probably hindered United's aggressive style, by keeping onfield a man who was in real discomfort to move. Immediately upon his removal, Surojit Bose added further dribbling ability to Mahindra's forays. Throughout the match, whenever East Bengal tried the long-ball to by-pass the midfield, the ever-green Peter Siddique rose magnificently to meet header after header, and return the ball back into the other half. Also special credit was due to Surkumar Singh, who single-handedly intercepted both Alvito and Nabi time and again with his explosive and determined running. So much so, that even though he got injured and was limping for the last quarter of an hour, as United had used up their substitutes, rarely an opponent got past him. Little wonder he was awarded the man-of-the-match for his grit and commitment.
It was arguably Mahindra's performance of this NFL season, and what a stage to put on the show. East Bengal on the other hand, will have to take stock, and hope United drop a couple of points or more somewhere or the other, for them to be able to take advantage. To that matter the itinerary is kinder to them, as they play only 4 matches after their encounter here with Air-India on the 23rd, while United will play a total of eight (five NFL + three AFC) in the same period. May the best team continue to win...
MAHINDRA: 1-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 27-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 18-Peter Siddique, 4-Deepak Kumar Mondal, 11-Subhas Chakraborty, 28-Krishnan Nair Ajayan (75' 19-David Adjei), 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh, 29-Rauf Sher Khan, 23-Steven Dias (58' 8-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 65' 9-Surojit Bose), 10-Yusif Yakubu.
EAST BENGAL: 1-Naseem Akhtar, 12-Anupam Sarkar (46' 6-Dipankar Roy), 16-Covan Lawrence, 26-Ngassa Ewane Guy Martial, 19-Syed Rahim Nabi, 7-Jayanta Sen, 28-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 11-Kalia Kulothungan (46' 9-Alvito D'Cunha), 22-Debabrata Roy (73' 10-Mike Okoro), 20-Ndem A Guy Kiyeck Herve, 15-Baichung Bhutia.
MAN of the MATCH: Irungbam Surkumar Singh (Mahindra United).
YELLOW CARD: Irungbam Surkumar Singh (76', Mahindra United).
REFEREE: Pradip Kumar (Tamil Nadu).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

Kerala Football League - 3rd Place Playoff: Titanium XI 3-1 Kerala State Electricity Board - Goals : 1-0, 3-1 Ebin Rose (10',90+1'), 2-0 Usman (30'), 1-2 Noushad (40').

Note-1: Mahindra United's Brazilian star Jose Ramirez Barreto could not start the match against East Bengal Club today due to injury problems, so he warmed the bench initially. Barreto did come on in the 58.minute, but had to be substituted only seven minutes later with Surojit Bose as he was unable to play and was at unease.

Note-2: The All-Manipur FA has selected it's state team to participate in the U21 National Championship NorthEast qualifiers to be held at Aizawl, Mizoram.
MANIPUR U21: Y Surchandra Singh, Chand, H Devan Singh, Y Raju Singh, K Boiboy Singh, M Sanatomba Singh, Ninja Kabui, Th Saran Singh, M Ibochouba Singh, K Ajitkumar Singh, Kh Ramesh Singh, Saikhohao Tuboi (all Imphal East DFA), N Indrakumar Singh, Gaichungam Kamson, Jamkhotinlien, Sabir Ali, Romi (all Imphal West DFA), K Priyokumar Singh (DSA Bishenpur),

19. April
In the latest FIFA World Rankings released today INDIA gained a spot to be now 117th in the world amongst 205 ranked nations. INDIA lost two points in the rankings to now have 379 points, but gained a spot as many other also lost older points from their ranking tally. In Asia INDIA is now 22nd, down a place.

10th National League - Mumbai: Air-India 0-0 JCT Mills - Goals: none.
Air-India and JCT Mills played out a tame goalless draw in the 10th National League at the Cooperage ground, Mumbai. Both teams now have 14 points from 13 matches with JCT Mills ahead of Air-India on a better goal difference. JCT Mills are now sixth in the table, while Air-India seventh both moving up past Mohammedan Sporting Club on better goal differences.
MAN of the MATCH: Bashiree Mohammed Abbas (Air-India).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

Kerala Football League - Semifinal: State Bank of Travancore 2-0 Kerala State Electricity Board - Goals: 1-0 T Asif Saheer (42'), 2-0 NP Pradeep (87').

Note-1: The Tata Football Academy today held it's sixth Cadet Convocation releasing 19 cadets from the Jamshedpur-based Academy into the Indian football club scene. As in batches earlier there were some very talented players in this batch: Talented striker Vimal Pariyar is the most prominent of the batch with numerous others also part of the INDIA Junior set-up.
Released TFA cadets: Arindam Bhattacharjee, Shilton Paul; Warundeep Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Harmanjot Singh, Robert Lalthalma, Avdhesh Pal, C Chandrashekar Rao, Elangbham Herohito, Goutam Debnath; Lester Mark Fernandez, S. Satish Kumar, Sovan Chakraborty, Bimal Minz, Khanthang Paite, T Naoba Singh, Parwinder Singh; Vimal Pariyar, Pachau Lalampuia.

Note-2: Silchar District will become the second district in Assam state to have a top tier Super League to improve the competition amongst top clubs. So far only the capital Guwahati has had a Super League since the 1990s.
The Silchar District Sports Association has decided after a meeting with top clubs to split the current first division into a Super League and first division. The top six teams will make-up the Super League in it's inaugural season. There will be no relegation in the first season with the top two first division sides joining the other six sides to form an eight team Super League in 2008. As per the current scenario there will be a first and second division as well with the old third division set to be scrapped.

18. April
Kerala Football League - Semifinal: Titanium XI 2-2,3-5 Viva Kerala [penalties] - Goals: 0-1,1-2 Baba Thunde (37',42'), 1-1 Ebin Rose (39'), 2-2 Jackson Jacob (58').

17. April
Kerala Football League - Group B: State Bank of Travancore 3-2 Viva Kerala - Goals: 1-0 T Asif Saheer (18'), 1-1,1-2 Baba Thunde (33',61'), 2-2 MA Abdul Hakkim (77'), 3-2 Abdul Noushad (78').

Note-1: The details for the 2006/07 football season in Mumbai have been released by the Mumbai District FA.
The Dr. Nitu Mandke Memorial Zonal Knock-out Football Tournament will be held from May 1, 2006. The MDFA Elite and Super Divisions will commence after the completion of Inter-State Transfers, or by June 1, 2006. No foreign players will be permitted to represent any club in any of the MDFA Leagues.
The Harwood League for the Elite Division will consist of the following 14 teams:
1. Mahindra United; 2. Air-India; 3. Maharashtra State Police; 4. Western Railway; 5. Golden Gunners; 6. Central Railway; 7. Mumbai Customs; 8. H2K-Holy Family; 9. RCF SC; 10. Bengal Mumbai FC; 11. Bank of India; 12. Indian Navy; 13. Akbar Travels; 14. ONGC.
The league will be conducted on a single leg basis. After the completion of the single leg preliminary league, the first six teams will play a play-off league. The winner of the Play-off league will be declared the winner of the Harwood League. The bottom two teams at the end of the preliminary league will be relegated to the Super Division of the next season. Preliminary league results will not be carried forward to the Play-off league.
The teams are eligible to register a maximum of 30 players (minimum 18 before their first match).
The Super Division League will consist of the following 11 teams:
1. Union Bank of India; 2. Central Railway (Mumbai Division); 3. Bank of Baroda; 4. Income Tax; 5. Mumbai Port Trust; 6. Central Bank of India; 7. Rizvi Mumbai Muslims; 8. Sea View SC; 9. Dena Bank SC; 10. Kenkre Academy; 11. New India Assurance.
The format of the Super Division will be exactly the same as that of the Elite Division, including the Six-team Play-off league. The top two teams at the end of the play-off league shall be promoted to the Elite Division of the next season, while the two bottom teams after completion of the preliminary league shall be relegated to the Senior Division of the next season.
The teams are eligible to register a maximum of 25 players (minimum 18 before their first match).
The Women's League will consist of the following clubs, though the list is not final.
1. Sea View SC; 2. Franco Amboli FC; 3. Fr. Agnel SC (Blue); 4. Fr. Agnel SC (Red); 5. Khalsa College SA; 6. Bombay Gymkhana; 7. Rhema FC; 8. Bodyline FC; 9. Bandra West FA; 10. Colaba Young Stars; 11. Bandra Packers; 12. Mumbaikar United.
The mode of competition will be formulated depending upon the number of teams participating in the league. The matches will be of 50 minute duration (25 minutes halves) with a 10 minute break.
The teams are eligible to register a maximum of 22 players (minimum 18 before their first match).

Note-2: Agencies: A NIS-trained football coach and physiotherapist is spreading the gospel of the game in a small town in Punjab, hoping that one of his "wards" will be able to bend it like Beckham.
In the past five years, SS Chawla, the coach at Mehar Football Academy, has ignited the passion of the game in the youngsters of Kurali, a sleepy town about 26 km from Chandigarh.
Players from the academy set up by former footballer Parvinder Singh, have started making their mark in the big league.
"Two of our players Lakhwinder Singh (left full-back) and Harpreet Singh (goalkeeper) have been picked up by the JCT Phagwara," the coach said with a hint of pride in his voice.
Another player, Gurvinder Singh played for Goan outfit Salgaocar SC in 2004/05 while Ajay has represented Punjab in the national championships.
"It gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction when my students make their mark," Chawla said.
The players from the academy are a regular feature in tournaments in Punjab and Chandigarh.
The Kurali Under-19 team trained by Chawla finished on top while the U-14 team came second in the Punjab Football championships.

16. April
10th National League - Mumbai: Dempo SC 1-3 East Bengal Club - Goals: 1-0 Johnny D'Cruz (35'), 1-1 Baichung Bhutia (63'), 1-2 Syed Rahim Nabi (71'), 1-3 Dipankar Roy (85').
East Bengal Club came out on trumps over Dempo SC in an exhilarating battle at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai; to re-establish their four-point lead over challengers Mahindra United (who have played a game less). The Red-and-Gold brigade could consider themselves fortunate to a degree to walk away with the victory at the final whistle, in this their first of a triple-header of matches at the Cooperage, the next two of which are respectively against Mumbai outfits Mahindra United and Air-India. Dempo on the other hand, can now wave good-bye to the slightest of hopes they might have harboured of retaining their NFL title. But it was themselves who are to blame for their debacle, and their talisman Ranty Martins Soleye the main culprit on the eve. Dempo came into the game, like East Bengal, on a rich vein of form, which saw them atop the team-goalscoring charts. After soaking up the early East Bengal pressure, they converted one of their first clear-cut opportunities, as veteran Johnny D'Cruz hammered in a right-footed volley from within the penalty box after the ball had taken a deflection off Ngassa Martial off a Samir Naik long throw-in from the right. D'Cruz was filling in at left-midfield for the suspended Clifford Miranda, and had lost his marker, Habibur Rehman Mondal, to make his first impressions on the game count. The unexpected goal rattled East Bengal, and added to Dempo's confidence, as the Goans' midfield regained control of proceedings until the break. East Bengal coach de Ridder made a notable early substitution, bringing on Debabrata Roy for the straying Habibur, who sat forlorn upon being removed before half-time. Malswam Tulunga moved to right-back, with Ndem taking up the wide-right position, as the more defence-minded Debabrata slotted alongside Jayanta in central midfield. Dempo still found time to waste a couple of guilt-edged chances on the counter, and should have sealed the result before the first half-whistle.
A single goal lead is never enough, and so it proved. Ranty could have again doubled the lead after rounding rookie keeper Abhra Mondal, but for some inexplicable reason didn't pull he trigger at all despite the open goalmouth beckoning. de Ridder made two further substitutions before the hour mark - introducing the wily Alvito at half-time instead of the other full-back Soumik Dey, and then taking off Gouranga, who had lost his way after the initial burst at the start, and bringing on Dipankar Roy, to add balance to the team. Now East Bengal technically only had two defenders, with Mama and Nabi bombing forward from full-back, and Ndem supporting Baichung upfront, as Dipankar and Alvito created the width. Dempo backed off more and more. After D'Cruz was off the field receiving treatment for a heavy clash with Suresh, Mama made use of the extra space down the right to dink in a ball for Baichung. The star-striker wasn't closed down, and duly proceeded to punish the lapse in Dempo's defence with a trademark quick swivel and shot from a narrow angle, that deflected in, for the equaliser. Eight minutes later, and after more East Bengal pressure, as they looked now for the winner, Alvito's zipping in-swinging corner from the right was guided in by the alert Nabi at the far-post, who made most of Abhijeet Mondal flapping and tipping the ball straight to him. After that, Dempo looked in vain for an equaliser, as East Bengal very professionally shut up shop. They still had time to find a third, as Dipankar Roy coolly back-heeled from near the 6-yard box after wrong footing Abhijit. The move was a nice patient one, with the final assist through ball being threaded by Alvito.
Mr. de Ridder pointed to the skies, and said with a smile 'Somebody up there was with us today', after the match. The raucous Bengali contingent at the Cooperage, who surely would have made felt no absence of the Maidan atmosphere to the players, celebrated to their glory on this day.
DEMPO: 1-Abhijit Mondal, 28-Dhanraj Ravanan, 4-Stanley Colaco, 2-Majekodumni Bolaji, 5-Y Raju Singh, 16-Sameer Naik, 7-Nasimento Silvera, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 19-Johnny D'Cruz, 9-Ranty Martins Soleye, 22-Ishfaq Ahmed (68' 17-Joaquim Abranches).
EAST BENGAL: 21-Abhra Mondal, 19-Syed Rahim Nabi, 26-Ngassa Ewane Guy Martial, 2-Muttath Suresh, 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal (40' 22-Debabrata Roy), 28-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 20-Ndem A Guy Kiyeck Herve, 7-Jayanta Sen, 29-Soumik Dey (46' 9-Alvito D'Cunha), 32-Gouranga Dutta (57' 6-Dipankar Roy), 15-Baichung Bhutia.
MAN of the MATCH: Syed Rahim Nabi (East Bengal Club).
YELLOW CARDS: Ishfaq Ahmed (61'), Majekodumni Bolaji (75', both Dempo); Ngassa Ewane Guy Martial (9'), Ndem A Guy Kiyeck Herve (45+3', both East Bengal).
REFEREE: N Mohan (Services).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

Kerala Football League - Group A: Titanium XI 2-0 Kerala State Electricity Board - Goals: 1-0 Abdul Hameed (40'), 2-0 Jackson Jacob (58').

Note-1: No-Lights, Camera, and Action at Cooperage (Showing April 16-23):
Come today, the Cooperage field would have had 10 days to recover from the first batch of matches played on it in this years' NFL. Uniform green grass where there were brown patches, and more even ground conditions aren't the only developments made by the organisers in this interim. The WIFA managed to put up several temporary light towers in quick time, when being intimated about the live telecast of this batch of four Mumbai-NFL matches by the broadcasters Zee Sports. However, Zee's plans to bring the Mumbai football flavour to the viewer's living rooms at the prime-time slot of 7-9 pm has fallen flat, as WIFA and them are unable to iron out their differences as to who should bear the expenses for setting up the floodlights upon the already erect towers. "Zee are pumping in the huge money. We're talking about many crores. If they are so keen, on telecasting the match at night, they should be installing the flood-lights," mentioned a non-chalant Commander Kehar Singh yesterday, Treasurer - WIFA. Zee Sports COO, Gary Lovejoy, was coy on this particular topic, when talking to correspondents immediately after. "I deal with the AIFF. Its been interesting working with them, and we are always looking for ways to work together and be successful in our efforts in this venture into Indian football. Zee has a contract with the AIFF, and no one else. It's they who have to decide on what to do with the WIFA's involvement. Not us," said Mr. Lovejoy in reference to the 'lights' topic. As to the Cooperage ground itself, and the facilities present for Zee to set-up the broadcast infrastructure, Mr. Lovejoy seemed very upbeat and optimistic. "We were made to imagine that the Cooperage was some sort of debacle, and the pitch would be a mess. Its absolutely nothing like that. Its nice and green and even. Even better than some European pitches are at times. I have absolutely no complaints. And the ground just makes me feel at home, as if I'm somewhere in England. Its a proper and typical football ground, with the supporters and cameras right on top of the action. In this regard it is better than Saltlake (which is just too big), and Fatorda (which is more of a cricket stadium). We shouldn't have problems with the set-ups at all. Only thing is that we've turned the ground around, in terms of the places from where DD used to telecast the matches," continued Mr. Lovejoy. The cameras will be on the East side of the pitch, which should make for interesting viewing on the TV. "Just hoping the cameras avoid the bit of rust on the facing main-stand's roof," he added with a chuckle.
Showtimes' 4:30 pm, folks !

Note-2: The Mumbai District FA Summer Vacation Football Coaching Camps 2006 will be held across Mumbai at 10 centres from tomorrow until May 5. Each of the camp will have a maximum of 40 trainees. The ten venues and times are:
1. Colaba - Back Garden - 08.00 to 10.00 h
2. MSSA - 08.00 to 10.00 h
3. Madanpura - YMCA Ground - 08.00 to 10.00 h
4. Andheri - Bhavans College - 08.00 to 10.00 h
5. Nerul Gymkhana - 08.00 to 10.00 h
6. Vikhroli - Ravindra Mhatre Maidan, Kanamwar (Ngr.Opp. HS Vikhroli (E) - 08.00 to 10.00 h
7. Borivali - Don Bosco HS, Lt.Rd. Borivali (W) - 15.30 to 17.30 h
8. MDFA-Parel - 08.00 to 10.00 h
9. RCF-Chembur - 08.00 to 10.00 h
10. Vasai - Vidya Vikasini HS, Gokhware, Vasai (E) - 08.00 to 10.00 h

15. April

10th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 0-1 Mahindra United - Goals: 0-1 Jose Ramirez Barreto (56').
Mahindra United returned to winning ways after three winless matches with a lone goal victory against former champions JCT Mills in a 10th National League match at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana. JCT Mills remain seventh with 13 points from 12 matches, while Mahindra United renewed their hunt for league leaders East Bengal Club with now 23 points from 11 matches.
JCT MILLS: 22-Kalyan Chaubey, 13-Baldeep Singh, 24-Narinder Singh, 3-Julius Irabor Apkele (5-KV Dhanesh), 12-Daljit Singh, 8-Jaswinder Singh, 16-Marcos de Carvalho Pereira, 6-Sukhwinder Singh, 15-P Renedy Singh (20-Johnson Segun Banner), 11-Sunil Chetri, 17-Parveen Kumar.
MAHINDRA: 1-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 4-Deepak Kumar Mondal, 18-Peter Siddique, 5-Samson Fernandes, 29-Rauf Sher Khan, 7-Sushanth Mathew, 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh (90+2' 2-Jinto Jose), 9-Surojit Bose (85' 26-Hekmat Dumbar Singh), 28-Krishnan Nair Ajayan, 10-Yusif Yakubu, 8-Jose Ramirez Barreto.
YELLOW CARDS: (JCT Mills - unknown); Sushanth Mathew (?' , Mahindra United)
MAN of the MATCH: Marcos Pereira (JCT Mills).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

Kerala Football League - Group B: Kochin Port Trust 0-4 Viva Kerala - Goals: 1-0 Denson Devadas (13'), 2-0 Shiyju M (30'), 3-0 Manoharan (77'), 4-0 Shineraj C (79').

Note-1: The draw for the AFC Youth Championship 2006 was held today in Calcutta's 'Hotel Hindustan International'. India has been drawn into Group A along with Korea Republic, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan.
The matches of the AFC Youth Championship 2006 will be played in Calcutta (Group A and B) and Bangalore (Group C and D) from October 29 to November 12. If there are any problems with the venue in Bangalore, then the Group C and D matches will be shifted to Hyderabad. The Bangalore venue will be inspected by the AFC in May.
Draw Result:
Group A: Korea Republic, India, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan
Group B: China PR, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), United Arab Emirates, Australia
Group C: Japan, IR Iran, Tajikistan, DPR Korea
Group D: Iraq, Malaysia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia

Note-2: Komleswaran Sankar's name has been removed from the AFC panel of assistant referees scheduled to go to Frankfurt for the final fitness test for the World Cup. The assistant referee from Tamil Nadu, who was supposed to leave on Sunday, has been advised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) not to proceed to Germany.
Sankar: "Nothing has been informed to me officially so far. I only got to know about it when I applied for a visa at the German embassy. I contacted the AFC officials, and they asked me to cancel my Frankfurt visit. I believe a Korean assistant referee has replaced me in the panel."

14. April
10th National League - Calcutta: Mohun Bagan AC 2-1 Air-India - Goals: 1-0 Mehtab Hussain (10'), 1-1 Haobijam Napoleon Singh (71',pen), 2-1 Eduardo Chacon Coelho Lacerda (75').
Mohun Bagan AC returned to winning ways in the 10th National League after their derby defeat with a 2-1 victory against Air-India at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Mohun Bagan moved into third spot with now 20 points from 13 matches, while Air-India remain eighth just above the relegation spots with 13 points from 12 matches.
MOHUN BAGAN: 12-Subrata Pal, 15-Dulal Biswas, 16-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 26-Mehraj Din Wadoo, 28-Eduardo Chacon Coelho Lacerda, 23-Mehtab Hussain, 29-Chinmoy Sarkar (55' 14-Basudeb Mondal), 25-Jerry Zirsanga, 6-Manjit Singh (54' 10-Dipendu Biswas), 19-Coffe Edem Agbessi, 9-Awudu Ibrahim (90+ 27-Akum Ao).
AIR-INDIA: 22-Sunder Raj Rajan, 2-Haobijam Napoleon Singh, 28-Abiodun Kolawole Martins, 19-Santosh Koli, 11-Hringsolal Thomte, 20-Paresh Shivalkar, 24-Sumit Thapa (22' 6-Uttam Leishangthem Singh), 5-Vijith Shetty, 18-Hamza Zaheer Abbas (77' 7-Anthony Fernandes), 26-Soccor Velho (56' 23-Suprith Jathanna), 30-Bashiree Mohammed Abbas.
MAN of the MATCH: Mehtab Hussain (Mohun Bagan).
REFEREE: Chamchuk Lama (Sikkim).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

13. April
Kerala Football League - Group A: Central Excise, Kochi 2-2 Titanium XI - Goals: 1-0 Sajeer AM (11'), 2-0 Hanson (29'), 2-1 Usman (41'), 2-2 K Rajesh (58').

12. April
10th National League - Goa: Dempo SC 3-1 Mohammedan Sporting Club - Goals: 1-0 Sameer Naik (6'), 1-1 Dhanraj Ravanan (47', own Goal), 2-1 Ishfaq Ahmed (54'), 3-1 Roberto Mendes Silva (63').
Defending champions Dempo SC beat promoted Mohammedan Sporting Club 3-1 in a 10th National League match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Dempo moved to 19 points from 12 matches to keep their slim title chances alive, while Mohammedan Sporting under new coach Subhas Bhowmick suffered their seventh defeat of the season to remain on 14 points from 13 matches.
DEMPO: 1-Abhijit Mondal, 28-Dhanraj Ravanan (56' 19-Johnny D'Cruz), 4-Stanley Colaco, 2-Majekodumni Bolaji, 16-Sameer Naik, 7-Nasimento Silvera, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 15-Clifford Miranda, 9-Ranty Martins Soleye (72' 17-Joaquim Abranches), 22-Ishfaq Ahmed (86' Sebastiao Endro).
MOHAMMEDAN SPORTING: 1-Gopal Das, 6-Bijay Baspore, 3-Madhab Das, 24-David Mkandawire, 25-Mir Farooq Hyder (74' 26-Madhusudan Majumdar), 20-Suman Datta, 2-Palash Karmakar, 7-Bijen Singh (62' 18-Mohammed Mukhtar), 14-Okonji Onyelo Patrick, 15-Jiten Rai (80' 8-Satyajit Bose), 10-Yao Gley Rodrigue.
MAN of the MATCH: Ishfaq Ahmed (Dempo SC).
YELLOW CARDS: Clifford Miranda (25', Dempo); Madhab Das (26'), Jiten Rai (46'), Mir Farooq Hyder (53', all Mohammedan Sporting) .
REFEREE: Rizwan Ul Haque (Delhi).
Detailed information and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NFL Special.

AFC U-19 Women's Championship - Group A - KLFA Stadium Cheras, Malaysia: INDIA U19 0-6 Japan
AFC Match Report: Japan sealed first place in Group A of the AFC Under-19 Women's Championship after a comfortable 6-0 victory over India at the MPPJ on Wednesday.
It was Japan's third straight win in the group after difficult victories over DPR Korea (3-0) and Korea Republic (2-1).
Mei Sato and Yuki Nagasato scored two goals each while Nodoka Hosaka and Aya Sameshima also scored.
Japanese oach Morinao Imaizumi praised India's never-say-die courage.
"We have a lot of respect for India, they kept fighting until the end," said Imaizumi. "We love football so it's important to show the respect to the game, opponents, referees and our own team.
"We've had some good experience from these three games and now it's time to prepare for the next match."
Indian coach Harjinder Singh was happy not to have conceded double figures as they did against DPR Korea (14-0) and Korea Republic (11-0).
"We showed an improvement and put up a strong fight," said Singh. "But Japan taught us a lesson in possession football.
"This was a good tournament for India since we have not played against strong teams like Japan, Korea Republic and DPR Korea for a long time."
Further infos and pictures available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NATIONAL TEAM section

Kerala Football League - Group B: State Bank of Travancore 5-1 Kochin Port Trust - Goals: 1-0,2-1 Mohammad Rafi (13',62'), 1-1 Suneer (52'), 3-1 Asif Zaheer (55'), 4-1 Martin John (60'), 5-1 Abdul Noushad (72').

Note-1: The Indian Football Association (West Bengal body) will have it's own tent on the Calcutta Maidan by the end of this month. The IFA Tent will be set-up behind that of the BNR Recreation Club's tent; and will house a gymnasium, a medical unit and 18 dressing rooms for smaller Calcutta clubs.

11. April
AFC Cup 2006 - Group A: Al-Muharraq, BAHRAIN 1-1 Mahindra United - Goals: 1-0 Leandson Da Silva (61'), 1-1 Sushanth Mathew (64').
AFC Match Report: Bahraini heavyweights Al Muharraq were held to a 1-1 draw by Indian side Mahindra United in an interesting Group A match of the AFC Cup on Tuesday.
The one point earned from the home game at the National Stadium was enough for Al Muharraq to cement their position at the top of the table with seven points from three games while Mahindra are four adrift. The match was evenly poised in the first period and both sides misses chances to go ahead.
Leandson Da Silva infused life into the match a minute after the hour mark with a clean strike inside the area off a Hassan Al Maghni pass. But super sub Sushanth Mathew pounced on a poor clearance three minutes later to level the score.
Al Muharraq play Mahindra in the return away leg on April 25.

Kerala Football League - Group A: Central Excise, Kochi 2-3 Kerala State Electricity Board - Goals: 1-0 Shabbir Ali (6'), 2-0 Rashim (16'), 2-1 Prince (60'), 2-2 Ramesh (71'), 2-3 Rajeev (80').

Note-1: German global sports brand Adidas is launching the Adidas +CHALLENGE in India starting this weekend and running until the end of May.
Adidas +CHALLENGE is the largest global football tournament at the grassroot (under-16) level. In India, adidas +CHALLENGE will be rolled out across seven cities nationally starting with Hyderabad and will invite young Indian football enthusiasts to celebrate the wonderful sport of football in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup.
The global grassroots program started with a tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January and is being followed by local initiatives in over 40 countries. In Asia, adidas +CHALLENGE will take place in 12 countries - Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and India.
The Indian-leg of the global event will travel seven cities across the country including Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa, Chandigarh and Calcutta. The event will culminate in a grand finale in Calcutta on May 28, 2006. As in each global tournament venue, participating teams under-16 years of age, will play against each other in order to represent India for the global adidas +CHALLENGE final in Berlin, Germany from July 1 to 4, during the World Cup finals.
The Adidas +CHALLENGE Tour:
April 15/16: Hyderabad - Secunderabad Police Ground
April 22/23: Bangalore - Police Grounds, Next to Chinnaswamy Stadium
April 29/30: Goa - Don Bosco School, Panjim
May 6/7: Mumbai - MSSA Ground, Azad Maidan
May 13/14: Chandigarh - Football Ground, Sector 17
May 20/21: New Delhi - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Lodhi Road
May 26/27: Calcutta - Rabindra Sarobar Stadium
May 28: National Finals in Calcutta - Rabindra Sarobar Stadium
If you would like to participate in the event, then visit the nearest Adidas Store.
And to know more about the event log on to http://adidas.com/in/pluschallenge .

Note-2: The Delhi Soccer Association will hold selection trials for the state U21 Men's team to take part in the U21 National Football Championship - North Zone qualifiers to be held at Gurgaon from April 30 to May 9. The selection trials will be held on April 13 at 08.30 IST at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi. Eligible are those born on or after January 1, 1985 and to prove their age they will have to bring their birth certificates along.

10. April
IndianFootball.Com, the Premier Indian Football Website, celebrates its 8th anniversary today!
India's oldest football website was launched on April 10, 1998 and today completes eight years in service for you, our site's visitors and users.

AFC U-19 Women's Championship - Group A - KLFA Stadium Cheras, Malaysia: INDIA U19 0-14 North Korea U19
AFC Match Report: North Korea revived their hopes of qualifying from Group A with a 14-0 thrashing of India in the AFC Under-19 Women's Championship at Kuala Lumpur Cheras Stadium on Monday.
After their 3-0 defeat to Japan on Sunday, North Korea needed a convincing win against the minnows, especially after group favourites Korea Republic had put 11 goals past the Indians. With captain Hong Myong-gum in outstanding form, North Korea went 9-0 up at half-time before slowing the pace after the break.
Korean coach Choe Kwang-sok said his side did not go out to surpass Korea Republic's goal tally and was full of praise for India's hard-working players.
"It was not about goals," said Choe. "We just wanted fair play and do our best. In that sense, the Indian players did very well."
"They had a lot of spirit and even when they conceded a lot of goals, they still played as hard as they could right until the end."
Skipper Hong led the way with five goals, four of them coming in the first half. Midfielder Kim Kyong-hwa hit a hat-trick while Kim Song-hui and Kil Son-hui scored two goals each. There were also goals for Ra Un-sim and Pak Kum-sun.
Indian coach Harjinder Singh managed to put on a brave face despite seeing his side give up double figures in goals for the second straight match. He said North Korea exploited India's weaknesses well.
"We were no match for them," said Singh. "They were all over the field. They were superior in possession and in shooting and they were very intelligent. They knew that the Indian players were small and therefore weak in the air. A lot of their play was about sending high balls in from the wings and out-jumping our players."
India's final match is against Japan on Wednesday while North Korea face neighbours South Korea.
Further infos and pictures available at the >>IndianFootball.Com NATIONAL TEAM section

Note-1: NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal's "Mittal Steel" last week announced that they are to support the Polish FA as lead sponsor in their bid to host the UEFA European 2012 Football Championship. Mittal Steel's exclusive sports sponsorship consultants TWI (an IMG Media Company) and World In Motion, brokered the deal. It marks Mittal Steel's first major entry into the world of football.
The European Championships, held every four years, is one of the biggest events on the global football calendar and this is the first time that the Polish FA, in a joint bid with FA of the Ukraine, is bidding to host an event of this prestige and magnitude. The bid will compete against those from the FAs of Italy and a joint bid from Croatia and Hungary, with the winning bid being announced in December this year.
Commenting, Mr. Aditya Mittal, President and CFO, Mittal Steel said: "We are one of the largest foreign investors in Poland and believe that the investment we have made will have significant economic benefit for the country. However, we want our involvement to be more than this and view our position as lead sponsor as a sign of our commitment to the people of Poland. Football is the number one sport in the country and if the bid is successful it would give Poland a unique opportunity to host a global sporting event of unprecedented magnitude. This would have both economic benefits in terms of the infrastructure developments that would need to take place and also be a fantastic event for the people of Poland to enjoy."
Mittal Steel Company is the world's largest and most global steel company. The company has operations in 16 countries, on four continents. Mittal Steel encompasses all aspects of modern steelmaking, to produce a comprehensive portfolio of both flat and long steel products to meet a wide range of customer needs. It serves all the major steel consuming sectors, including automotive, appliance, machinery and construction. For 2005, Mittal Steel had revenues of US$ 28.1 billion and steel shipments of 49.2 million tons.
One would hope that Mittal Steel, who are setting-up a Greenfield Project in Jharkhand, would also look at Indian football promotion in the future.

Note-2: Calcutta giants Mohammedan Sporting Club have appointed Subhas Bhowmick as the clubs new coach in place off Mohammed Habib, who has been releaved of his job due to health problems. For the former East Bengal it marks a comeback into football after his bribe scandal.
Mohammedan Sporting Club secretary Sultan Ahmed said that Bhowmick was appointed coach of the club with immediate effect after the current coach Mohammed Habib was relieved of his job on health grounds.
"His first assignment is to guide the club in the National Football League versus Dempo in Goa on April 12," Ahmed added.

Note-3: Mumbai giants Mahindra United will conduct a selection trial to pick players for it's U19 team from April 12 to 19, 2006. The idea is to spot and develop talented football players who will form the nucleus of the future Mahindra United Team .The selection trial will be open to all the players from Mumbai and its suburbs, and eligible are only boys who are born on or after January 1, 1988.
The selection trials will be held at the Mahindra Ground - Kandivli.
The first tournament participation will be the U19 National Football League to be held in month of May 2006.
To avoid overcrowding and give a fair chance to the players to prove themselves, players from all over Mumbai have been divided In various Zone will be called in particular dates for selection.
Western Zone
Zone No. -- Location ------------------------ Trials Date - Timing