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1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 8 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Salgaocar SC 1-5 Churchill Brothers SC Goals: 1-0 Felix Chimaokwu (40'), 1-1,1-3,1-4,1-5 Odafe Onyeka Okolie (42',80',85',86'), 1-2 Rowilson Rodrigues (79'). SALGAOCAR: 1-Milagrio Medeira; 12-Remus Gomes, 8-Agnelo Colaco, 4-Vincent Brice Pires, 18-Samson Fernandes, 17-TV Biju Kumar (79' 23-William Colaco); 19-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 25-Rocus Lamare [C], 31-Fabio dos Passos; 7-Felix Chimaokwu, 10-Boniface Ngairah Ambani (59' 26-Milagres Gonsalves). Unused Substitutes: 2-Marcus Basumatari, 16-Nicolau Colaco, 6-Nicholas L Rodrigues, 29-Joe Rodrigues, 30-Francis Fernandes CHURCHILL: 1-Vinay Singh; 8-Thokchom Naoba Singh, 6-N Govind Singh, 4-Rowilson Rodrigues, 17-Robert Lalthalma; 12-Reisangmei Vasum (74' 38-Jaison Valles), 21-Ogba Kalu Nnanna, 13-Mashangva Genius Zenith, 11-Khemtang Paite (90' 15-D Raju); 10-Odafe Onyeka Okolie [C], 9-Mboyo Iyomi. Unused Substitutes: 29-Arindam Bhattcharya, 2-Villroy D'Cruz, 3-Warundeep Singh, 7-Martin Louis Joseph Daniel, 18-Saran Thangjam Singh "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Odafe Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Bros). YELLOW CARDS: Agnelo Colaco (36', Salgaocar); Mashangva Genius Zenith (71'), Odafe Onyeka Okolie (79', both Churchill). REFEREE: S Suresh (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Shaji Kurien (Kerala), Dinesh Nair (Gujarat). FOURTH OFFICIAL: P Bhaskar (Tamil Nadu). MATCH COMMISSIONER: Michael Andrews (Kerala). Match Report: ...

Delhi Senior Division - Super League Group B: Garhwal Heroes 0-1 Ahbab FC - Goals: 0-1 Jitender Rawat (31').

December 30

RESULTS & NEWS

::: IndianFootball.Com interview: Tania Panesar (Leeds United AFC Ladies) :::
IndianFootball.Com Editor-in-Chief & Creative Director Chris Punnakkattu Daniel had the chance to speak to Leeds United’s Tania Panesar. Panesar is a prime example of Indian-origin female footballers making their way to the top-ranks of European football.
Tania has kindly agreed to give us an insight-view of her background, footballing career with LUFC Ladies, the Indian national team and lots of other interesting things…
Click here to read the complete >>Tania Panesar (Leeds United AFC Ladies) interview

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 8 | Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta | 16.00 IST: Mohun Bagan AC 1-0 East Bengal Club Goals: 1-0 Baichung Bhutia (61'). MOHUN BAGAN: 31-Shilton Pal; 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal (67' 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick), 14-Peter Odafe, 3-Nanjangud Shivananju Manju, 26-Nallappan Mohanraj; 16-James Lukram Singh, 13-Douglas da Silva, 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh (55' 9-Pachau Lalam Puia), 18-Dharamjit Singh (83' 2-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury); 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C]. Unused Substitutes: 1-Sangram Mukherjee, 12-Peter Siddiqui, 17-Rahul Kumar, 11-Ishfaq Ahmed EAST BENGAL: 24-Subrata Pal; 27-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 3-Majekodumni Bolaji, 12-Anupam Sarkar, 29-Soumik Dey; 19-Syed Rahim Nabi [C], 7-Jayanta Sen (85' 14-Chandan Das), 26-Mehraj din Wadoo (71' 6-Dipankar Roy), 23-Mehtab Hussain; 25-Ashim Biswas (75' 34-Snehashis Chakraborty), 30-Edmilson Marques Pardal. Unused Substitutes: 21-Abhra Mondal, 17-Surya Bikash Chakraborty, 32-Madhab Das, 10-Dipendu Biswas "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Douglas da Silva (Mohun Bagan). YELLOW CARDS: Baichung Bhutia (10'), Douglas da Silva (13') Habibur Rehman Mondal (20') Pachau Lalam Puia (87', all Mohun Bagan); Mehtab Hussain (6'), Edmilson Marques Pardal (9') Mehraj din Wadoo (23', all East Bengal). REFEREE: Komaleeswaran Shankar (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: PK Bose (Madhya Pradesh), MK Roy (Assam). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Dipak Dey (Assam). Match Report: Mohun Bagan AC just about overcame archrivals East Bengal Club through a Baichung Bhutia goal in one of the worst derbies in recent memories in the Round 8 of the inaugural I-League. Mohun Bagan moved into fifth spot with now 11 points from eight matches, while East Bengal came closer to the drop zone with only seven points from eight matches.

Delhi Senior Division - Super League Group A: Tarun Sangha 3-1 City Club - Goals: 1-0 Charles (17'), 2-0 Innocent (25',pen), 2-1 SK Shahnawas (60'), 3-1 Srikanto Das (71').
2nd Manipur State League: Eastern Sporting Union 0-3 NISA, Thangmeiband
2nd Manipur State League: Southern Sporting Union 1-0 YWC, Thambalkhong
2nd Manipur State League: NEROCA 3-0 Phoudel Youth Club, Thoubal
2nd Manipur State League: Kakching FC 1-1 Manipur Police SC
2nd Manipur State League: United Sports Association 0-2 AMOFA, Moirang

::: 1st Futsal tournament in Kohima :::
by Xavier Rutsa: The 1st Futsal tournament (five A-Side football ) organized by GATD, Kohima, will be held at the local ground, Kohima from January 28-31, 2008.
The GATD, Kohima appealed to football clubs, associations, unions, etc to come and take part in this mega event, which is going to be held for the first time and called upon the football lovers to come and be part of the sporting extravaganza.
The organisers have asked the football fans of Kohima to come and experience this mega event, which is going to be held for the first time. Necessary information and datas will be publicized shortly and made available at the earliest while any pre-information can be availed from Mr. David Rutsa -9862265424 or Mr. Krodi -9856186001.

::: 18th NYC Rolling Trophy - Bombay Boys, Kuwait Goans advance :::
by Gasper Crasto: Strong contenders Kuwait Goan Association, Bombay Boys, Curtoracares United and CRC Chinchinim advanced into the next round of the 18th edition of Navelim Youth Centre (NYC) Rolling Trophy Football Tournament being played at Salmiya Grounds.
Kuwait Goan Association (KGA) were in full control as they overcame a stiff challenge by Santos Football Club 2-1. Zico D' Souza, Teotonio Fernandes, Caridade and Christo Colaco excelled for KGA throughout the match. The experience of Santos' Darwin D' Cruz, Agnello Carvalho and goalkeeper Rosario Colaco could do little in the first half of play as KGA pumped in two quick goals through striker Andre Dias and Adelio Fernandes. Datta Narvenkar pulled one back for the losers.
But despite dominating much of the contest, KGA was forced to rely on stopper back Teotonio Fernandes and goalkeeper Concessao Rodrigues for sensational saves late into the match as Santos threatened an unlikely comeback.
On Ground A, Bombay Boys Sports Club scrambled past enthusiastic youngsters Paradiso Sports Club 4-3 via the tie-breaker. Paradiso dominated the entire match but failed to penetrate into the Bombay defense.
In the first quarter of play Bombay Boys attacked from the wings but Paradiso defence showed lot of nerve to let anything past them. Paradiso nearly scored in the 20th minute, but Jude D'Costa's header off Aston Fernandes' cross went wide. A minute later, Roland Fernandes had another chance but his shot was saved by Bombay goakeeper Adrian Goes who shone in the match above all the Bombay Boys players.
Paradiso came close to scoring in the second half but were denied again by the Bombay Boys keeper who dived sharply to his left to block a close-range shot from Roland.
Bombay Boys were all on target in the tie-breaker scoring through Anthony D'Costa, Seby Fernandes, Sanjiv Naik and Lazin Fernandes. Paradiso scored through Assumption Rodricks, Manesh and Manoj while Steven Correia and Christi Menezes failed in their attempts.
The other match played between Veterans and CRC Chinchinim also went into tie-break with the latter winning 4-2.
Veterans produced several attacking moves within a space of minutes in the first quarter. Their ever impressive strikers Robin Fernandes and Casmiro D'Souza provided a string of crosses from both flanks. Goalkeeper Anthony Fernandes came to Chinchinim's rescue when he blocked a header from Veterans' Noel Pinto following a cross by Cipriano Gonsalves.
Chinchinim threatened only intermittently but in the late second half a powerful shot from Joseph Melcon looked goal-bound until Veterans' goalkeeper Kamal Basha managed to tip off the ball over the bar.
In the tie-breaker, Chinchinim scored through Valent Fernandes, Felix Pereira, Ronald Sequeira and Godwin Fernandes. Only Colin Figueira and Michael Godinho of Veterans could hit past Chinchinim goalkeeper Anthony who is famous in Kuwait as a tie-breaker specialist for the last several seasons. Anthony blocked the kick of Veteran stalwart Teddy Pinto while Sandy Tavares shot out.
In another match Curtorcares United continued their grand run into the NYC Rolling Trophy thrashing one of the oldest and respected clubs in Kuwait - United Goans Centre 7-0. Curtorcares scored at will through Anthony Furtado, Jose Cardozo, Zico Fernandes (2 goals), Alex Fernandes and substitute R.V. Murthy (2 goals).
The next round promises a spectacle for spectators as two Kerala teams - Kerala Challengers and Fahaheel Bros take on each other; while host and 6 time champions Navelim Youth Centre take on the finalists of NYC Trophy for the last 3 consecutive years - AVC Overseas Association.
GROUND A: Kerala Challengers vs Fahaheel Bros (7:00 am) // DHL vs Santos United (8.30 am)
GROUND B: Navelim Youth Centre vs AVC Overseas Association (7:00 am) // Bombay Boys vs Don Bosco (8.30 am)

December 29

RESULTS & NEWS

::: IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007 - Last days of voting... :::
India's prestigious annual football awards, the "IndianFootball.Com Awards", is reaching the final days of its voting for the 2007 edition. The last day of voting will be December 31, 2007! The "IFC Awards" are the only of its kind, where fans, journalists, players and officials reward the best of the best. In the past editions the Awardees have only been mentioned on IndianFootball.Com and we are looking forward to finally organise an Awards Gala for the 2007 edition!
IndianFootball.Com is on the lookout for sponsors, who would like to associate themselves with IndianFootball.Com and the awards evening. Anyone interested to get associated with India's prestigious annual football awards is welcome to get in touch with us!
IT's YOUR LAST CHANCE! CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE INDIANFOOTBALL.COM AWARDS 2007: >>>IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 8 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 16.00 IST: Sporting Clube de Goa 1-0 Air-India Goals: 1-0 Elijah Obagbemiro (40'). SPORTING CLUBE: 30-Luis Xavier Barreto; 24-N Samananda Singh, 6-Philip Gomes [C], 5-Carlos Fernandes (49' 27-Lairenjam Bisheshwor Singh); 7-Harmanjot Singh Khabra, 18-Denzil Franco (88' 3-Mathew Gonsalves), 14-Wilton Gomes, 26-Micky Fernandes; 20-Elijah Obagbemiro, 21-Olushola Ogundare, 11-Lawrence Adjei (45' 23-Bibiano Fernandes). Unused Substitutes: 31-Gerald D'Mello, 9-Freddy Mascarenhas, 12-Lavino Fernandes, 22-Joseph Pereira AIR-INDIA: 21-Raju Ekka; 2-Haobijam Napoleon Singh, 5-Vijith Shetty, 3-Nirmal Chetri, 6-L Uttam Singh, 17-Goutam Debnath (32' 9-Jiten Rai); 15-Sanju Pradhan (68' 7-Njoh Jean), 26-Amrit Pal Singh, 20-Paresh Shivalkar [C]; 27-Bashiree Mohammed Abbas (81' 10-T Narender Meetei), 8-Kumar Samson Singh. Unused Substitutes: 1-Arnab Das Sharma, 11-Hringsolal Thomte, 18-Hamza Zaheer Abbas, 28-Madhusudan Majumdar "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Elijah Obagbemiro (Sporting Clube). YELLOW CARDS: Denzil Franco (25'), Elijah Obagbemiro (74'), Harmanjot Singh Khabra (83', all Sporting); Sanju Pradhan (35'), L Uttam Singh (38'), Jiten Rai (57', all Air-India). YELLOW-RED CARD: L Uttam Singh (79', Air-India). RED CARD: Kumar Samson Singh (54', Air-India). REFEREE: Dinesh Nair (Gujrat). ASSISTANT REFEREES: S Suresh (Tamil Nadu), R Rowan (Services). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Pratap Singh (Services). Match Report: ...

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 8 | Municipal Corporation Stadium, Calicut | 16.00 IST: Viva Kerala 0-2 JCT, Phagwara Goals: 0-1 Sunil Chetri (25'), 0-2 Baljit Singh Sahni (69'). VIVA KERALA: 25-MV Nelson; 2-Ebin Rose, 3-Khelemba Singh [C], 6-Othallo Tabia, 5-Akshay Das; 16-Shahbas Shaleel, 7-Bimanyu Bimal Birua, 9-Awudu Adama (73' 18-Chanambam Jatin Singh), 22-KV Lalu; 10-Badmus Baba Thunde, 17-Abbey Wisdom. Unused Substitutes: 1-TG Purushothaman, 21-Santa Saikhom Singh, 14-P Shineraj, 23-Sunil Kumar Thakur, 26-Mohammad Helmy, 19-Sabbarayan Satish Kumar JCT: 1-Karanjit Singh; 2-Jaspal Singh, 3-Anwar Ali, 24-Gurwinder Singh, 12-Daljit Singh; 6-Baljit Singh Sahni, 20-Marcos Pereira, 27-Baldeep Singh Jr, 8-Jaswinder Singh (82' 17-Praveen Kumar); 10-Eduardo da Silva Escobar (65' 7-Abdul Latif Seriki), 11-Sunil Chetri [C]. Unused Substitutes: 21-Mukhwinderjit Singh, 23-Harish Sharma, 28-Shivraj Singh, 13-Baldeep Singh Sr, 15-Potsangbam Renedy Singh "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Sunil Chetri (JCT). YELLOW CARDS: Khelemba Singh (86', Viva Kerala); Jaspal Singh (85', JCT). REFEREE: Francisco Fernandes (Goa). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Benjamin D’Silva (Goa), G Thambiraj (Tamil Nadu). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Raghunath Gosavi (Goa). Match Report: Phagwara's JCT ended the year on a high note by defeating Viva Kerala 2–0 in a seventh round match of the inaugural I-League in Calicut. The win helped JCT to join Dempo SC on 18 points but the Goan outfit remains in top courtesy of a one goal better goal difference. While the club from God’s own country remains in fifth position after tasting two successive defeats in the I-League. Sunil Chetri, the Indian Footballer of the Year netted in the opening goal in the 25th minute with a beautiful header while young Baljit Singh Sahni doubled the advantage in the 69th minute of the match when Sunil Chetri, who was suspicious of an offside position, gave a high ball to Sahni who blasted the ball into the net to seal the win for the team from Punjab. Viva Kerala will face a uphill task when they meet the defending NFL champions Dempo SC away while JCT will face the struggling Salgoacar SC in Margao next.

Delhi Senior Division - Super League Group A: Hindustan FC 2-0 Shahdara Club - Goals: 1-0 Nathan (17'), 2-0 Mahinder Singh (65').

December 28

RESULTS & NEWS

::: IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007 - Last days of voting... :::
India's prestigious annual football awards, the "IndianFootball.Com Awards", is reaching the final days of its voting for the 2007 edition. The last day of voting will be December 31, 2007! The "IFC Awards" are the only of its kind, where fans, journalists, players and officials reward the best of the best. In the past editions the Awardees have only been mentioned on IndianFootball.Com and we are looking forward to finally organise an Awards Gala for the 2007 edition!
IndianFootball.Com is on the lookout for sponsors, who would like to associate themselves with IndianFootball.Com and the awards evening. Anyone interested to get associated with India's prestigious annual football awards is welcome to get in touch with us!
IT's YOUR LAST CHANCE! CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE INDIANFOOTBALL.COM AWARDS 2007: >>>IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 8 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Dempo SC 1-1 Mahindra United Goals: 0-1 Krishnan Nair Ajayan (16'), 1-1 Nicolau Borges (19'). DEMPO: 21-VP Satish Kumar; 18-Valeriano Rebello, 28-Mahesh Gawli, 23-Dominic Noronha, 16-Samir Naik; 14-Anthony Pereira (76' 6-Peter Carvalho), 8-Climax Lawrence, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 22-Nicolau Borges; 9-Ranty Martins Soleye [C], 30-Chidi Edeh (81' 17-Joaquim Abranches). Unused Substitutes: 1-Abhijit Mondal, 4-Cressan Antao, 7-Nascimento Silveira, 24-Melwyn Rodrigues, 29-Clifton Gonsalves MAHINDRA: 24-Sandip Nandy; 7-Sushanth Mathew, 5-Harpreet Singh, 14-Dharmaraj Ravanan, 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan; 23-Steven Dias, 17-Sukhwinder Singh (66' 12-Manjit Singh), 2-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (73' 6-Manas Das), 29-Pierre Djidjia Douhou; 11-M Mohammed Rafi (6' 8-Andrews Pomeyie Mensah), 10-Yakubu Yusif. Unused Substitutes: 1-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 9-Surajit Bose, 28-Sushil Kumar Singh, 30-Tarif Ahmed "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Sandip Nandy (Mahindra Utd). YELLOW CARDS: Nicolau Borges (89', Dempo); Yakubu Yusif (30'), Andrews Pomeyie Mensah (47', both Mahindra Utd). REFEREE: P Bhaskar (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Shaji Kurian (Kerala), Pratap Singh (Services). FOURTH OFFICIAL: R Rowan (Services). MATCH COMMISSIONER: Michael Andrews (Kerala). Match Report: ...

Mumbai Super Division: Air-India U19 - Companeros - Goals: -.
Mumbai Super Division: Rizvi Mumbai Muslims - Mumbai Port Trust - Goals: -.

December 27

RESULTS & NEWS

::: IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007 - Last days of voting... :::
India's prestigious annual football awards, the "IndianFootball.Com Awards", is reaching the final days of its voting for the 2007 edition. The last day of voting will be December 31, 2007!
The participation, interest and feedback so far has been more than outstanding and has reached new heights compared to the last few editions of the "IFC Awards"!
The first-ever "IndianFootball.Com Awards" poll was held in 2002, when fans around the world voted for the top performers of the 2001/02 season. The voting started with five categories in 2002, while two more different categories have been added in the 5th edition in 2006. The seven categories are INDIAN PLAYER of the Year, FOREIGN PLAYER of the Year, ROOKIE (NEWCOMER) of the Year, PIO (Player of Indian Origin) of the Year, COACH of the Year, TEAM of the Year, GLOBAL PLAYER of the Year.
The "IndianFootball.Com Awards" are the only of its kind, where fans, journalists, players and officials reward the best of the best.
Until now, the Awardees have only been mentioned on IndianFootball.Com and we tried hard to organise an Awards Gala for the 2006 edition to present trophies to the winners. Sadly things didn't work like planned and IndianFootball.Com was forced to honour the Awardees online once again.
We are looking forward to finally organise an Awards Gala for the 2007 edition! We would like to make the "IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007" gala evening a glamorous, unforgetable event for the Indian football community - the fans and their stars.

IndianFootball.Com is on the lookout for sponsors, who would like to associate themselves with IndianFootball.Com and the awards evening. Anyone interested to get associated with India's prestigious annual football awards is welcome to get in touch with us!

IT's YOUR LAST CHANCE! CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE INDIANFOOTBALL.COM AWARDS 2007: >>>IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007

December 26

RESULTS & NEWS

::: 18th NYC Rolling Trophy - Curtorcares United, Kuwait Goans move ahead :::
Curtorcares United stunned star studded United Friends Club 4-0 on a cold and windy Friday morning while formidable GOA Maroons lost out in the first round to Kuwait Goan Association 2-0 in the 18th Edition of NYC Rolling Trophy tournament being played at Salmiya Grounds, Salmiya in Kuwait City.
The NYC Rolling Trophy played under the auspices of Kuwait Indian Football Federation is in the 18th year. The matches are officiated by Indian Football Referees Association.
It proved stars don't rule the game in Kuwait Indian football as UFC's 'star footballers' such as Sarto Baptista, Phillip Ferrao, Jose Rod, Agnelo Fernandes (Mam) and evergreen goalkeeper Olavo Monteiro succumbed to a toothless defeat at the hands of Curtorcares whom they had defeated 3-1 last year in the same tournament. Young Zico Fernandes was the live-wire for Curtorcares upfront. He broke into the UFC defence repeatedly and scored 2 quick goals while Lawrence Furtado and substitute Padekaran accounted for the other two. Roshan D'Souza was the rock in Curtorcares' defence and also helped create chances as UFC dominated major part of the game after the first goal.
It is not many times that the four-time champions GOA Maroons have bow out of any tournament in Kuwait in the first round. In temperatures as low as 12° C, Maroons started with a quick passing game and put Kuwait Goan Association under pressure right from the start. But despite Maroons' control of possession KGA's Vico D'Souza, Christo Colaco and Russel Rodrigues looked dangerous with their solo runs. Andre Dias gave the much needed lead for KGA and added another one to the score to clinch the match. Maroons' Jerry D'Souza who came in place of Deryk Fernandes showed lot of eagerness to equalize. However, KGA were able to use the runs of bubbling Zelito Cardozo and Jimmy Goveia to relieve pressure on their defence. Referee Richard Dixon gave marching orders to KGA's Remedio Fernandes for a second consecutive offence.
One of the strongest teams in the tournament, KGA will now meet Santos FC in the next round. The forthcoming game will gather high interest in the team.
In another match, spirited Veterans SC put it past Malayalee Arts and Sports to advance to the next phase. Both teams appeared equal throughout the match although Veterans were steadier in front of the goal and deservedly won the game. Striker Robin Fernandes and Jeffrey Rodrigues scored for the winners. Malayalee Arts and Sports played their hearts to get back into the game with outstanding play by Mujeeb, Abdul Rehman, Niyas and Firoz. The youngsters excelled throughout the match.
A goal each from the boots of Custodio Ataide, Ratan Dogra and Steven Rodrigues made the scoreboard look decent for Don Bosco Oratory as they showed the door to debutants Goan Entertainment Club with 3 goals to nil. Early pressure failed to produce shots on target at either ends. Goan Entertainment used all the tactics in the book to defend their citadel. Don Bosco shot into the lead through a combined move by Victor D'Costa, Sainath and Roshan Dias. Enthusiasm seems to be the hallmark of the young Don Bosco players as they stake their claim to win another match.

December 25

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you from IndianFootball.Com!!!

Delhi Senior Division - Group B: Hindustan FC 0-1 Ahbab FC - Goals: 1-0 Anuj Peter (58').

December 24

RESULTS & NEWS

Mumbai Elite Division - Super Six: Mumbai FC 3-1 Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers - Goals: 1-0 Sampath Kumar Kuttimani (24'), 2-0,3-0 Ahmed Felix Aboagye (45'+3', 73' pen), 3-1 Dhananjay Yesare (90'+3').
MUMBAI FC: 13-Kalyan Chaubey, 16-L Romenjit Singh, 34-Anas Edathodika, 3-James Cobblah Dissiramah, 35-Sanjay Parte, 12-Alex Ambrose, 39-Sampath Kumar Kuttimani (73' 8-Noel Anthony Wilson), 24-Subhas Chakraborty (62' 21-Aseem Kutty), 25-Papiah Jagadish Kumar, 9-Abhishek Yadav (65' 26-Nishant Mehra), 10-Ahmed Felix Aboagye.
Unused Substitutes: 22-Amit Singha Roy, 18-John Dass, 36-Wahid Mohammed Sali, 28-Jerome Sebastian
RCF: 30-Sarfaraz Ansari ,5-Ashirwad Hegde, 8-Baleshwar Sharma, 19-Monish Bhamre, 2-Deepak Thorat, 25-Manoj Adhikari, 18-Souvaid Ansari, 3-Bhagwan Padhi (80' 13-Gajanan Rajulwad), 7-Nigel D'Souza (59' 11-Shayresh Bawkar), 10-Allan Dias (30' 21-Dhananjay Yesare), 14-Khailash Patil.
Unused Substitutes: 1-Suhas Patil, 20-Sajju Govindan, 6-Avinash Dabodiya, 16-Prashant Kamble
MAN OF THE MATCH: Ahmed Felix Aboagye (Mumbai FC).
YELLOW CARD: Nishant Mehra (77', Mumbai FC).
REFEREE: Rockey Fernandes.
ASSISTENT REFEREES: Amzad Khan, Naglesh Shetty.
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Pankaj Kumar.

Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Garhwal Heroes 2-0 Shastri Club - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Gamlung Kamei (13',50').
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: New Delhi Heroes 0-0 City Club - Goals: none.
2nd Manipur State League: RACC, Churachandpur - United Sports Association - Goals: -.

December 23

RESULTS & NEWS

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 7 | Cooperage Ground, Mumbai | 15.30 IST: Mahindra United 2-1 East Bengal Club Goals: 1-0 Debabrata Roy (31' own Goal), 1-1 Edmilson Marques Pardal (50'), 2-1 Mohammed Rafi (72'). MAHINDRA UTD: 24-Sandip Nandy; 7-Sushanth Mathew, 2-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep, 14-Dharmaraj Ravanan, 26-Bello Rasaq; 23-Steven Dias, 29-Pierre Djidjia Douhou (90+5' 9-Surajit Bose), 17-Sukhwinder Singh (63' 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan), 19-Izumi Arata (77' 12-Manjit Singh); 11-M Mohammed Rafi, 10-Yakubu Yusif. Unused Substitutes: 1-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 5-Harpreet Singh, 28-Sushil Kumar Singh, 30-Tarif Ahmed EAST BENGAL: 24-Subrata Pal; 5-Debabrata Roy, 2-Muttath Suresh [C] (82' 32-Madhab Das), 3-Majekodumni Bolaji, 29-Soumik Dey; 19-Syed Rahim Nabi, 7-Jayanta Sen (78' 34-Snehashis Chakraborty), 26-Mehraj din Wadoo, 9-Alvito D'Cunha; 15-McDonald Mukansi (76' 10-Dipendu Biswas), 30-Edmilson Marques Pardal. Unused Substitutes: 21-Abhra Mondal, 17-Surya Bikash Chakraborty, 14-Chandan Das, 22-Vimal Pariyar "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Sushanth Mathew (Mahindra United). YELLOW CARDS: Sandip Nandy (35', Mahindra Utd), Alvito D'Cunha (45+2', East Bengal). RED CARD: Bello Rasaq (88', Mahindra Utd). REFEREE: S Suresh (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Mohammed Kamil (Delhi), Mohammed Basheer (Kerala). FOURTH OFFICIAL: A Arjunan (Services). Match Report: The I-League Round 7 match between Mahindra United and East Bengal Club was a fiery encounter in which the home team came out eventual winners. Derrick Pereira made a couple of changes to his team and brought in M Mohammed Rafi and Izumi Arata for Andrews Pomeyie Mensah and Krishnan Nair Ajayan. Pereira's faith in his team did not fail as Rafi scored the winner and Arata played an excellent match as well. Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep had the first real chance of the match when his volley from outside the box was parried away by goalkeeper Subrata Pal. The match progressed and East Bengal had two to three half chances within the next twenty minutes with Syed Rahim Nabi and McDonald Mukansi having attempts on the Mahindra goal. It was Mahindra who took the lead in the 31st minute, when Steven Dias put in a ball into the box and East Bengal defender Debabrata Roy tried to chest it to his own goalkeeper. But the ball made its way past the stunned Subrata Pal and into the net. On the other side Mahindra goalkeeper Sandip Nandy was very lucky not be awarded a red card, when he came out and handled the ball outside the box after missing it. Then in the 42nd minute Yakubu Yusif curled-in a cross cum shot from the near corner flag which caused Subrata Pal some problems, but the goalkeeper eventually tipped it over the bar. The second half started off with East Bengal coming out of the blocks with vigour and finding the equalizer from a 25-30 yard freekick. Brazilian striker Edmilson curled the freekick brilliantly to the far post which it hit and went in to leave Sandip Nandy stunned. The match started getting fierce with tackles flying around and Sushanth Mathew bearing the grunt of the East Bengal players anger and rage. In the 70th minute the Mumbai-side started-off a brilliant move when Arata, Douhou and Yakubu played a fast interchange of passes to put Arata through only to see East Bengal captain Muttath Suresh making a brilliant challenge and clearing the ball for a corner. From the second corner in quick succession came Mahindra's second goal when a scramble around the goal mouth area saw Yakubu's header cleared off the line. The ball made its way to M Mohammed Rafi, who smashed the ball as hard as he could and saw it hit the net and the joy of the home fans was audible. Subrata Bhatarcharjee made a couple of changes to get something out from this match and his team almost did in the 86th minute when Manjit Singh's clearance landed in Sandip Nandy's hands. The goalkeeper deemed it as a backpass giving East Bengal a great opportunity to score from nearly 10 yards out. But before the freekick was taken a brawl took place between the two teams and Edmilson went down to the ground after a squabble between the players. As a result Mahindra player Bello Rasaq was sent off. Edmilson blasted the freekick across the goal hoping someone would get a touch on and send it in. But although an East Bengal player did get his leg to it, Majekodumni Bolaji was only able to sky the ball over the bar.

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 7 | Nehru Stadium, Margao 15.30 IST: Churchill Brothers SC 5-0 Viva Kerala Goals: 1-0,4-0 Mboyo Iyomi (10',75'), 2-0 Robert Lalthalma (62'), 3-0,5-0 Odafe Onyeka Okolie (66',90+4'). CHURCHILL BROS: 1-Vinay Singh; 8-Thokchom Naoba Singh, 6-N Govind Singh, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 17-Robert Lalthalma; 12-Reisangmei Vasum (83' 38-Jaison Valles), 21-Ogba Kalu Nnanna, 13-Mashangva Genius Zenith, 11-Khemtang Paite (90+2' 15-D Raju); 10-Odafe Onyeka Okolie [C], 9-Mboyo Iyomi. Unused Substitutes: 29-Arindam Bhattcharya, 2-Villroy D'Cruz, 4-Rowilson Rodrigues, 7-Martin Louis Joseph Daniel, 18-Saran Thangjam Singh VIVA KERALA: 25-MV Nelson; 2-Ebin Rose, 3-Khelemba Singh, 4-Tutu George, 5-Akshay Das; 19-Sabbarayan Satish Kumar (63' 16-Shahbas Shaleel), 6-Othallo Tabia, 7-Bimanyu Bimal Birua, 22-KV Lalu (67' 18-Chanambam Jatin Singh), 10-Badmus Baba Thunde, 9-Awudu Adama (85' 21-Santa Saikhom Singh). Unused Substitutes: 1-TG Purushothaman, 12-P Sajesh, 14-P Shineraj, 23-Sunil Kumar Thakur "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Mboyo Iyomi (Churchill Bros). YELLOW CARDS: Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh (45', Churchill Bros); Tutu George (34'), Khelemba Singh (43', both Viva Kerala). REFEREE: T Pradeep Kumar (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Dinesh Nair (Gujarat), Ahmed Ameez (Maldives). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Mushtaq Siddique (Madhya Pradesh). Match Report: ...

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 7 | Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana | 14.00 IST: JCT, Phagwara 4-2 Sporting Clube de Goa Goals: 1-0,4-1 Eduardo da Silva Escobar (3',46'), 2-0 Baljit Singh Sahni (8'), 3-0 Baldeep Singh Sr (19'), 3-1 Denzil Franco (22'), 4-2 Lawrence Adjei (68'). JCT: 1-Karanjit Singh; 13-Baldeep Singh Sr, 3-Anwar Ali, 4-Julius Irabor Akpele [C] (19' 28-Shivraj Singh), 12-Daljit Singh; 6-Baljeet Singh Sahni (59' 8-Jaswinder Singh), 2-Jaspal Singh, 24-Gurwinder Singh, 27-Baldeep Singh Jr; 10-Eduardo da Silva Escobar (73' 7-Abdul Latif Seriki), 11-Sunil Chetri. Unused Substitutes: 32-Prasanta Dora, 5-Narinder Singh, 23-Harish Sharma, 17-Parveen Kumar SPORTING CLUBE: 30-Luis Xavier Barreto; 3-Mathew Gonsalves, 24-N Samananda Singh, 8-N Rajesh Meetei (73' 19-Cavin Lobo); 7-Harmanjot Singh Khabra [C], 18-Denzil Franco, 34-Mohammed Ghafari (55' 22-Joseph Pereira), 26-Micky Fernandes, 27-Lairenjam Bisheshwor Singh (88' 9-Freddy Mascarenhas); 21-Olushola Ogundare, 11-Lawrence Adjei. Unused Substitutes: 31-Gerald D'Mello, 5-Carlos Fernandes, 23-Bibiano Fernandes, 12-Lavino Fernandes "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Eduardo da Silva Escobar (JCT). YELLOW CARD: Sunil Chetri (JCT). REFEREE: Rizwan ul-Haq (Delhi). ASSISTANT REFEREES: AB Saha (Delhi), Nazir Ahmed (Jammu&Kashmir). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Naveen Jaideep Sundi (Jharkhand). Match Report: ...

12th Assam Club Championships - Final: Oil India Limited 4-1 Assam State Electricity Board - Goals: 1-0,3-1 Birjab Mushahary (6',54'), 2-0 Durga Boro (9'), 2-1 Suresh Das (39'), 4-1 Mintu Boro (84').
Oil India Limited have won the Assam Club Championships for the third time!

Bangalore Super Division: SAI, Bangalore 1-1 Department of Youth Services&Sports - Goals: 1-0 Vishal Kumar (25'), 1-1 Shaji Kumar (70').
Bangalore Super Division: Karnataka State Police 1-2 BEML (EM) - Goals: 0-1 Govinda (?'), 1-1 Pradeep Kumar (35'), 1-2 Khalender (?').
Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Indian National FC 4-3 Shahdara Club
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: Indian Air Force, New Delhi 1-1 Youngmen SC
2nd Manipur State League: AMOFA, Moirang 1-0 Manipur Police SC - Goal: 1-0 S Stephen (28').
2nd Manipur State League: NISA, Thangmeiband 0-2 NEROCA - Goals: 0-1 Ksh Malemnganba Singh (15'), 0-2 Amarjit Singh (70').
2nd Manipur State League: Southern Sporting Union 5-1 Eastern Sporting Union
2nd Manipur State League: YWC, Thambalkhong 0-1 Tiddim Road Athletic Union - Goal: 0-1 Kh Bopichand Singh (80').
2nd Manipur State League: Kakching FC 2-2 Phoudel Youth Club, Thoubal - Goals: 1-0,2-1 Joseph Thanghilal (14,71'), 1-1 K Beningthar Monsang (17'), 2-2 David Ngaihte (83').

::: AIFF AGM: Sunil Chetri named "Indian Footballer of the Year 2007" :::
The AIFF held their Annual General Meeting at Football House, Dwarka on the outskirts of New Delhi today. Numerous issues were discussed and sorted, but one of the main issues on the agenda remains unsolved - the issue of I-League players not playing in local leagues.

The AIFF's AGM unanimously endorsed the note circulated to the State FA's pertaining to the National Team Plan and Local League involvement of players and I-League involvement of players. However, to work it out in a proper manner for all other details, a core group has been formed, who will submit their report before January 31, 2008 to the AIFF President for an arrangement that will ultimately fulfill the cause of the National Team's preparation and to protect the Domestic Leagues in a competitive order.
The Group will be chaired by AIFF vice-president and technical committee chairman CR Viswanathan and will have AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta, AIFF General Secretary Alberto Colaco, GFA Secretary Savio Massias, IFA Secretary Utpal Ganguli and representatives of I-League and second division teams. While KM Azhar Hussain (WIFA, Maharashtra secretary), KP Sunny (Kerala FA secretary), Inder Singh (Punjab FA secretary) and Krishna Narayan (Karnataka FA secretary) will be the special invitees in the Core Group.

The "Indian Footballer of the Year 2007" was announced with JCT striker Sunil Chetri winning the award!
Chetri won the award ahead of defender Mahesh Gawli and midfielder Climax Lawrence, both fellow internationals who ply trade football for Dempo SC.
Chetri received the award for his outstanding performances in the 11th NFL for his club and in the "ONGC" Nehru Cup for the national team.

The AFC has provisionally granted India the right to hold the 2008 and 2010 editions of the AFC Challenge Cup, The tournament first held last year as a 16 team event in Bangladesh would be a eight team tournament from the next edition onwards with North Korea, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and India automatically in the tournament as the top four nations, while 16 other nations would play qualifiers to decide the four other spots.
Originally the tournament was planned to be played in Taiwan in early-March 2008, but they backed out while the AFC tried to get Thailand to host the event, but they declined. Now India has come into the fray and would like to host it in August 2008 either in Delhi or Hyderabad. An AFC inspection team will visit India in January 2008 before a final decision is taken on dates and venue.
Also India were lucky to avoid to play qualifiers for the 2011 AFC Cup as a number of countries backed out and only Lebanon will face Maldives in a Round 1 qualifier. The AIFF president Das Munshi later wrongly said at a press conference, "The seeding is not merely a recognition but a vote of confidence in the country's football fraternity."

With the AFC Challenge Cup postponed from March to likely August 2008, the AIFF can finish the inaugural I-League in one go. The final two rounds originally planned for late-March 2008 would now be held after Round 16 in February 2008 with the league over by February 22/23. The end of the I-League would be followed by the Super Cup.

The AIFF has finally decided to allot Jammu&Kashmir to organise and host the 62nd Santosh Trophy (Senior National Football Championship) in May 2008.
This comes after an inspection team visited the valley in the week to make a final assessment.

The AIFF also approved FIFA and AFC projects in the country. Sikkim and Karnataka would get basic infrastructure as part of the FIFA Goak project while Delhi would finally launch its City Elite league in 2008 under the AFC' Vision India programme.

The AIFF is also set to launch two football academies in the country. One is being planned for Gurgaon, on the outskirts of Delhi, with the help from the Haryana government and funding from ONGC; while another Academy is set to come-up in Goa with an undisclosed corporate house as partner. The MoU would be signed on January 4, 2008.

The AIFF is also looking to improve the standard of women's football in India. The AIFF has plans to introduce a Metro Cup for women's teams from the four metropolis - Calcutta, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Later the tournament could be extended to Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow and other cities.
Also from next year onwards the Under-21 Women's Nationals for the Rani Jhansi Cup would be introduced. The tournament would be held first with zonals and then national finals.

Meanwhile on the occasion of the AIFF's 70th anniversary the federation has decided to induct five distingushed individuals as honorary life time members. These include former internationals Sailen Manna, PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, and Syed Nayeemuddin plus Santosh Mohan Dev, a former FIFA referee and Union Minister.

December 22

RESULTS & NEWS

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 7 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Salgaocar SC 4-5 Mohun Bagan AC Goals: 0-1 Baichung Bhutia (3'), 1-1 Boniface Ngairah Ambani (13'), 2-1,3-4,4-4 Felix Chimaokwu (22' pen,53',63'), 2-2,2-3 Jose Ramirez Barreto (32',35'), 2-4 Jonathan Bobo (45'), 4-5 James Lukram Singh (69'). SALGAOCAR: 1-Milagrio Medeira; 12-Remus Gomes (84' 16-Nicolau Colaco), 8-Agnelo Colaco, 22-Heri Habimana, 4-Vincent Brice Pires; 19-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 25-Rocus Lamare [C], 14-Jerose Oliveria (45+1' 6-Nicholas L Rodrigues), 23-William Colaco; 7-Felix Chimaokwu, 10-Boniface Ngairah Ambani (85' 26-Milagres Gonsalves). Unused Substitutes: 2-Marcus Basumatari, 18-Samson Fernandes, 29-Joe Rodrigues, 30-Francis Fernandes MOHUN BAGAN: 1-Sangram Mukherjee; 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal, 14-Peter Odafe, 3-Nanjangud Shivananju Manju, 7-Rauf Sher Khan; 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick (30' 9-Pachau Lalam Puia), 29-Jonathan Bobo (80' 12-Peter Siddiqui), 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh (65' 16-James Lukram Singh), 18-Dharamjit Singh; 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C]. Unused Substitutes: 31-Shilton Paul, 11-Ishfaq Ahmed, 8-Ayan Chowdhury "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Felix Chimaokwu (Salgaocar). YELLOW CARDS: Felix Chimaokwu (48', Salgaocar); Rauf Sher Khan (21'), Lal Kamal Bhowmick (29', both Mohun Bagan). REFEREE: Dinesh Nair (Gujarat). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Mushtaq Siddiqu (Madhya Pradesh), ???. FOURTH OFFICIAL: ... Match Report: The most entertaining match of the inaugural I-League so far took place today at the Nehru Stadium in Margao with nine goals being scored between Salgaocar SC and Mohun Bagan AC in a 4-5 loss for the home side. The match started off straight away with a goal as India skipper Baichung Bhutia tapped in a rebound of a Jose Ramirez Barreto shot. Salgaocar came back fighting with Nigerian Felix Chimaokwu running down the right flank hello of the Bagan defence and tormenting Bagan's left back Rauf Sher Khan throughout the match and putting low balls in. The Goans were rewarded when Chimaokwu send-in a long ball to Kenyan Boniface Ngairah Ambani. Ambani took control of the ball ahead of Bagan goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee, who came out and missed the ball leaving the striker an open goal to score. In the 20th minute Rauf Sher Khan brought down Felix Chimaokwu in the box and the later duly converted the penalty. Mohun Bagan coach Carlos Roberto Pereira reacted immediately to the equaliser and took off an off-coulour Lal Kamal Bhowmick who looked ineffective and lethargic. Pachau Lalum Puia came on for Bhowmick and immediately made an impact on the game, showing some lively pace. Lalam Puia's pace and impressive runs resulted in two good crosses, which were converted twice by his team-mate Jose Ramirez Barreto in the 32nd and 35th minutes. The first goal came with Lalum Puia free on the left side of the box and smacking the ball low across towards to the target and Barreto tapping it in. The second one for Barreto was a brilliant move and maybe the best of the whole match. The Brazilian sent Lalam Puia free on the left and a brilliant return cross gave Barreto a chance to head it in from the penalty spot area to give his side the lead with Salgaocar keeper Milagrio Medeira only able to look on. Just before half-time Jonathan Bobo converted a Dharamjit Singh corner to give Mohun Bagan a two goal lead at the lemon break. The second half picked up from the first and Salgaocar came back again with Felix Chimaokwu scoring his second in the 53rd minute from a brilliantly taken freekick which curled over Sangram Mukherjee's outstreched hands into the goal. Chimaokwu's hatrick was complete when his captain Rocus Lamare put in a brilliant cross and the Nigerian striker converted a half volley to level the game in the 65th minute. But it wasn't finished yet and a superb James Lukram Singh free-kick from 25 yards into the top left corner eventually turned out to be the winners for the Calcutta giants. A tactical review of the match would see the spectator criticizing the defending of both sides, but from the fans point of view the match was highly entertaining and more matches like these should attract the Indian fans back to the stadiums. A coaches nightmare, but a fans delight...

Bangalore Super Division: Postal Department 2-0 LRDE - Goals: 1-0 Gubindran, 2-0 Arun Pandey.
Bangalore 'A' Division: Rail Wheel Factory 3-0 Dharmaraja Union - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Satish Kumar (2',5'), 3-0 Naveen Babu (75').
Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Garhwal Heroes 3-1 Simla Youngs - Goals: 1-0 Immanuel Anie (16'), 2-0,3-1 Abhishek (26',72'), 2-1 John Kingsley (53').
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: City Club 1-2 Hindustan FC - Goals: 0-1 Nathan (15'), 1-1 Joy Pandit (22'), 1-2 Obed (51').

December 21

RESULTS & NEWS

12th Assam Club Championships - Semifinal: Oil India Limited 1-1,4-1 FCI, Guwahati [penalties] - Goals: 1-0 Mintu Boro (9'), 1-1 Aroanjit Brahma (67').

December 20

RESULTS & NEWS

::: Lakshmi Mittal buys 20% shareholding in English Championship side Queens Park Rangers :::
London-based English Championship side Queens Park Rangers FC announced today that the Mittal Family has taken a 20 percent stake in QPR holding.
It comes as a surprise move that the Mittal Family invests in the bottom of the Championship table club. But they are now one of the significant shareholders at QPR besides Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Sarina Capital. Formula 1 boss Ecclestone is a personal friend of the Mittal's and might have been an influence in the decision to invest in the west London club.
Insiders have known for some time that Mittal wanted invest in an English club. Earlier there had been rumours that Mittal would invest in English Premier League clubs Birmingham City, while there was insider talk in football circles that Mittal could invest in Arsenal London.
Speaking on behalf of Queens Park Rangers FC, the Board of Directors, said: "This investment in QPR by the Mittal Family is a great stepping-stone towards the future development of the Club and supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future."
"The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us achieve this target."
Lakshmi Mittal will be represented on the club's board by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia. On behalf of the Mittal Family, Amit Bhatia said: "The Family is excited about becoming involved with Queens Park Rangers Football Club."
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the Club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League."
Mittal was ranked the fifth-richest man in the world this year by Forbes magazine, which estimated his worth at US$32 billion in August 2007.
It is good to see that finally an investor of Indian origin has bought into an English club. One will have to see if there are any effects on India and its football.

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 7 | Cooperage Ground, Mumbai | 15.30 IST: Air-India 1-4 Dempo SC Goals: 0-1,1-2 Chidi Edeh (35',62'), 1-1 Njoh Jean (44'), 1-3,1-4 Ranty Martins Soleye (69',78'). AIR-INDIA: 21-Raju Ekka; 5-Vijith Shetty, 22-Suley Musah, 3-Nirmal Chetri, 4-Dhanachandra Singh (77' 18-Hamza Zaheer Abbas), 6-L Uttam Singh; 15-Sanju Pradhan (81' 26-Amrit Pal Singh), 11-Hringsolal Thomte, 20-Paresh Shivalkar [C]; 27-Bashiree Mohammed Abbas, 7-Njoh Jean (73' 10-T Narender Meetei). Unused Substitutes: 1-Arnab Das Sharma, 13-Hirohito Elangbam, 17-Gautam Debnath, 28-Madhusudan Majumdar DEMPO: 21-VP Satish Kumar; 18-Valeriano Rebello, 28-Mahesh Gawli, 3-John Charles Dias, 16-Samir Naik; 14-Anthony Pereira, 8-Climax Lawrence, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva (90' 7-Nascimento Silveira), 22-Nicolau Borges; 9-Ranty Martins Soleye [C], 30-Chidi Edeh (80' 17-Joaquim Abranches). Unused Substitutes: 1-Abhijit Mondal, 4-Cressan Antao, 23-Dominic Noronha, 24-Melwyn Rodrigues, 6-Peter Carvalho "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Ranty Martins Soleye (Dempo). YELLOW CARDS: Suley Musah (29', Air-India). REFEREE: A Arjunan (Services). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Mohammed Kamil (Delhi), Mohammed Basheer. FOURTH OFFICIAL: S Suresh (Tamil Nadu). Match Report: The opening match of Round 7 of the inaugural I-League was held between Air-India and Dempo SC, the defending NFL champions at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai,and Dempo by the end of the match asserted themselves as one of the favourites again for the league title with a 4-1 demolition of Air-India. The match started off with Dempo keeping early possesion through Brazilian Roberto Mendes Silva who made a few surging runs into the Air-India defence only to be thwarted by his own shooting, as the match progressed both teams looked threathening as first Air-India's Njoh Jean was sent through on goal only to miss the opportunity to shoot at the Dempo goalkeeper Satish Kumar due to brilliant defending from John Charles Dias who eventually cleared the ball for a corner. Then came the first goal of the match from Dempo in the 35th minute with a cross in from the left from Nicolau Borges was missed by everyone except Valeriano Rebello who saved the ball and passed it back to Anthony Pereira who put in a low cross for Chidi Edeh to score an easy tap in. Air-India responded almost immediately after a few minutes with Vijith Shetty sending a ball on to Bashiree Abbas who headed it on for his strike partner Njoh Jean who latched on to the pass and moved into the penalty box and cutting past his markers twice to finish home with his left foot. The second half though was all Dempo SC as they ran away with the game. The second half began with many chances falling for Dempo and only five Air-India players on the line were able to save Nicolau Borges's shot from a corner, but the goal eventually came with Chidi Edeh turning and shooting from 20 yards to see his shot deflected and into the goal past the helpless Raju Ekka. Dempo continued to look dangerous and after a great passing move by the Dempo midfield quartet Climax sent in a low cross for Ranty Martins on the far post who duly obliged and tapped the ball home for his first of the match in the 69th minute. Dempo captain Ranty Martins Soleye had another opportunity before he got his second with a superb solo run beating teenage Nirmal Chetri for pace and finishing brilliantly to give Dempo a commanding 4-1 lead in the 78th minute. Dempo had the match under wraps but still went on to hit the cross bar twice, once from Ranty and the second from Indian international Climax Lawrence. This was Dempo's second match from Goa and anyone who doubted their ability to play outside Goa has surely been reminded not to do so again.

12th Assam Club Championships - Semifinal: Assam Rifles 6-7 Assam State Electricity Board [penalties] - Goals: none.
Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Indian National FC 1-1 Tarun Sangha
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: Ahbab FC 0-1 Indian Air Force (New Delhi) - Goal: 0-1 A Edwin (49').

::: DD Sports I-League special on December 24 :::
Doordarshan Sports will be showing an I-League special on Monday, December 24 at 19.30 IST. The programme will see commentators Ghaus Mohammed and Novy Kapadia.

December 19

RESULTS & NEWS

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 6 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Salgaocar SC 0-0 Mahindra United Goals: none. SALGAOCAR: 1-Milagrio Medeira; 12-Remus Gomes, 8-Agnelo Colaco, 22-Heri Habimana, 17-TV Biju Kumar; 4-Vincent Brice Pires, 25-Rocus Lamare [C], 14-Jerose Oliveria, 6-Nicholas L Rodrigues (75' 29-Joe Rrodrigues); 7-Felix Chimaokwu, 10-Boniface Ngairah Ambani (65' 15-Agnelo Barreto). Unused Substitutes: 2-Marcus Basumatari, 3-Peter Costa, 23-William Colaco, 30-Francis Fernandes, 27-Beevan D'Mello MAHINDRA: 24-Sandip Nandy; 7-Sushanth Mathew, 5-Harpreet Singh, 14-Dharmaraj Ravanan, 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan; 23-Steven Dias, 17-Sukhwinder Singh, 26-Bello Rasaq, 29-Pierre Djidjia Douhou (86' 12-Manjit Singh); 8-Surajit Bose (54' 19-Izumi Arata), 8-Andrews Pomeyie Mensah (73' 30-Tarif Ahmed). Unused Substitutes: 1-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 2-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep, 11-M Mohammed Rafi, 28-Sushil Kumar Singh "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Harpreet Singh (Mahindra Utd). YELLOW CARDS: Boniface Ngairah Ambani (60'), TV Biju Kumar (90+1', both Salgaocar). REFEREE: Pradeep Kumar (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Ali Saleem (Maldives), Mushtaq Siddique (Madhya Pradesh). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Dinesh Nair (Gujarat). Match Report: Salgaocar SC played out a goalless draw against Mahindra United in their inaugural I-League match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Starting with an unchanged line-up Mahindra United's coach Derrick Pereira kept confidence in his side which gave him his first win of the season against Sporting Clube but his team didn't kickstart until the second half began. The first half was a dull affair in which neither side created nothing nor any midfield was able to put together a good string of passes for some time. The first chance of the match fell to Mahindra winger Steven Dias who was put through down the right and was in a capable shooting position but instead decided to try and lay it off for his fellow team mate Andrews Pomeyie Mensah but the pass was intercepted by the birthday boy Angelo Colaco to give Mahindra a corner, which followed a succession of waves of attack by Mahindra in which they had a couple of chances falling to KN Ajayan and Pomeyie. Bello Rasaq had a header saved by Salgaocar goalkeeper Milagrio Medeira and that was the last attack which Mahindra virtually had. The urgency switched from Mahindra to Salgaocar who started creating attacks of their own and forced themselves back into reckoning to try and pick-up an important win and almost stole it late on when Angelo Colaco struck the bar with his free header from the box and another corner evaded Felix who was just a bit to slow to react to a half chance that fell his way .The match ended 0-0 but both sides would be wondering how close they were to picking up all three points.

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 6 | Municipal Corporation Stadium, Calicut | 16.00 IST: Viva Kerala 0-0 Sporting Clube de Goa Goals: none. VIVA KERALA: 25-MV Nelson; 2-Ebin Rose, 3-Khelemba Singh, 4-Tutu George, 5-Akshay Das; 19-Sabbarayan Satish Kumar (60' 16-Shahbas Shaleel), 23-Sunil Kumar Thakur (60' 6-Othallo Tabia), 7-Bimanyu Bimal Birua, 22-KV Lalu, 10-Badmus Baba Thunde, 9-Awudu Adama (84' 18-Chanambam Jatin Singh). Unused Substitutes: 1-TG Purushothaman, 12-P Sajesh, 14-P Shineraj, 21-Santa Saikhom Singh SPORTING CLUBE: 30-Luis Xavier Barreto; 4-Chinta Chandrashekar, 24-N Samananda Singh, 5-Carlos Fernandes, 7-Harmanjot Singh Khabra, 34-Mohammad Ghafari, 26-Micky Fernandes, 27-Lairenjam Bisheshwor Singh, 18-Denzil Franco, 12-Lavino Fernandes (53' 19-Cavin Lobo), 20-Elijah Obagbemiro (90+1' 22-Joseph Pereira). Unused Substitutes: 33-Gerald D'Mello, 3-Mathew Gonsalves, 15-Freeman Peixoto, 8-N Rajesh Meetei, 9-Freddy Mascarenhas "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Tutu George (Viva Kerala). YELLOW CARDS: Awudu Adama (11', Viva Kerala), Elijah Obagbemiro (55', Sporting Clube). REFEREE: PK Bose (Madhya Pradesh). ASSISTANT REFEREES: P Bhaskar (Tamil Nadu), Andrew Sekhar (Karnataka). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Vijaya Kumar (Karnataka). Match Report: Sporting Clube de Goa held Viva Kerala to a goalless draw in the sixth round of the inaugural I-League at the Municipal Corporation Stadium, Calicut. Viva will be ruing the missed chances in the game while Sporting Clube will be delighted to pick up a draw against the home side. The draw means the team from the south still remains in fourth place with now nine points while Sporting Clube remain bottom of the league on three points. The first chance was also the best chance for Salgoacar SC in the entire game when Khelemba Singh failed to mark the Nigerian Elijah Obagbemiro who in a one on one with MK Nelson failed to beat the keeper, which was saved by the former Mohammadan Sporting keeper then the rebound fell to the debutant Mohammad Ghafari but his shot went over the bar. Viva's first chance came when Badmus Baba Thunde received a cross from Bimanyu Bimal Birua and from the left side he blasted in a shot which deflected of Micky Fernandes and went out. The home team continued to attack and Sporting Clube were on the defensive with 10 players in their own half. Bimanyu Bimal Birua got his chance in the 34th minute when his 30 yard shot was well saved by keeper Milagrio Medeira and just before half time Satish Kumar saw his shot just going wide of the post. The second half started with Sporting Clube continuing to play a defensive game, while Viva was surging in for the opener and they came close when substitute Shahbaz Shaleel was brought down and referee awarded a free-kick for Viva, which the Ghanian striker Awudu Adama took, but his spectacular shot kissed the crossbar and went out to much of the dismay of the 10,000 spectators at the ground. The men in blue dominated the last ten minutes as Shaleel moved from the left wing to the right and the 17 year old played an attacking role but the strikers failed to capitalise the chances and thus the game ended in a draw. The Viva Kerala players looked disappointed after only drawing. A win would have taken them into third place and it would have put some pressure on the top two. The boys from God's own Country have their work cut out when they meet yet another Goan outfit but this it will be away, while Sporting Clube de Goa will face a big test when they meet an inform JCT.

12th Assam Club Championships - Quarterfinal: Assam Police Blues 2-4 FCI, Guwahati
12th Assam Club Championships - Quarterfinal: Oil India Limited 2-0 Salbagan SC, Gossaigaon - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Mintu Boro (3',64').
Bangalore Super Division: SAI, Bangalore - Department of Youth Services&Sports = matches postponed due to rains
Bangalore 'A' Division: Rail Wheel Factory - Dharmaraja Union = matches postponed due to rains
Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Bangadarshan FC 1-1 Shastri Club - Goals: 1-0 Rahul Thapliyal (48'), 1-1 Hari (65').
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: New Delhi Heroes 2-0 Mughals SC - Goals: 1-0 Gyan Moin Thapa (63'), 2-0 Harvinder Singh (80').

::: Top level planning meetings for India held :::
AFC report: AIFF president, Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, visited AFC House yesterday for strategic planning meetings with AFC officials, accompanied by AIFF General Secretary, Alberto Colaco.
AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam underlined the huge importance of the Indian continent as a key focus for AFC and crucial to the development of football in Asia.
Discussions focused on Vision Asia and the Vision India project, and how other stakeholders from outside Asia involved in Indian football development can contribute towards the future success of football in the world's second most populous country. AIFF announced that dedicated human resource shall be appointed to Vision India to drive the project forward.
India has also bid to host the AFC Challenge Cup competitions in 2008 and 2010. Potential venues were considered, pending confirmation by AFC after the official inspection visit which will take place in January 2008.
The professionalisation of Indian club football was also discussed as part of the AFC Professional Leagues project. India are taking proactive steps towards the improvement of club football in India, with the redevelopment of the National League already underway, leading up to a final re-launch in March 2009.

December 18

RESULTS & NEWS

Mumbai Elite Division - Super Six: ONGC, Mumbai 0-3 Mumbai FC - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Michael Osei (31',90'), 0-2 Alex Ambrose (88').
Mumbai FC got their first win of out of three games in the Mumbai Elite Division - Super Six playoffs against ONGC. Michael Osei looked lively throughout the match and grabbed a brace while also creating a goal for his team mate Alex Ambrose.
ONGC: 30-Bilifang Narzary, 2-Dharmesh Patel (46' 3-Clifford Kilmo), 4-Krishna Shirdokar, 16-Gaur Naskar, 22-Amandeep Singh, 29-Naresh Rao, 14-Kaushik Bose, 10-Rakshak Naik (32' 19-MC Danesh), 18-Lalmuan Puia, 9-CN Henry (81' 26-Sanjeeva Rongpi), 34-S Nooruddin.
Unused Substitutes: 24-P Ghosh, 17-C Pino, 15-Antu Murmo, 28-R Hasdha
MUMBAI FC: 13-Kalyan Chaubey, 14-Anthony Fernandes, 2-Balpreet Singh, 3-James Cobblah Dissiramah, 35-Sanjay Parte, 26-Nishant Mehra (44' 21-Aseem Kutty), 39-Sampath Kumar Kuttimani, 8-Noel Anthony Wilson (73' 25-Papiah Jagadish Kumar), 24-Subhas Chakraborty (77'16-L Romenjit Singh), 12-Alex Ambrose, 11-Michael Osei.
Unused Substitutes: 22-Amit Singha Roy, 18-John Benedict, 30-Darren Caldeira, 28-Jerome Sebastian
YELLOW CARD: S Nooruddin (34'), Amandeep Singh (67', both ONGC).
REFEREE: Ramesh Subramaniam.

12th Assam Club Championships - Quarterfinal: Assam Rifles 5-0 Moran Town Club
12th Assam Club Championships - Quarterfinal: 9th Assam Police Battalion 0-2 Assam State Electricity Board
Bangalore Super Division: BEML (EM) 1-1 BEL SC - Goals: 1-0 Sanath Kumar (33'), 1-1 Freddy (41').
Bangalore 'A' Division: Government Press 2-1 Sri Gajanana - Goals: 1-0 Dhanasheelan (3'), 2-0 Anthony (21'), 2-1 Goutham (58').
Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Indian National FC 2-0 Garhwal Heroes - Goals: 1-0 Anthony (39',51').
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: City Club 0-2 Indian Air Force (New Delhi) - Goals: 0-1 A Edwin (41'), 0-2 TTS Stephen (47').

8th Bodoland Martyr's Gold Cup, Kokrajhar - Final: Mohammedan Sporting Club 1-0 Chirag United SC - Goal: 1-0 Muritala Subair Ali (27').

::: EPL's Arsenal FC now to work with Indian youths :::
Following close on the heals of their English Premier League rivals Manchester United's Soccer School visiting Goa in October 2007, London-based Arsenal FC are set to send in their youth coaches to India for a coaching programme in partnership with Tata Tea.
Tea manufacturer, Tata Tea, has taken the initiative and the programme will be known as the Tata Tea Arsenal Soccer Stars Programme, which will involve children in the age group of 10 to 15 years. And 15 children will be finally selected for attend an Arsenal training camp in Britain as well as entry to the much awaited Arsenal International Soccer Festival in London in August 2008.
As a part of the programme, school tournaments will be held in nine cities - Calcutta, Delhi, Bangalore, Calicut, Goa, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar and Shillong - from January 11 to May 4. The final round will be held in Calcutta May 9-10, where 16 teams from nine cities will take part.
From the tournament, 30 boys will be selected for a two-week and given two weeks' coaching by Arsenal coaches in Calcutta. This will be followed by a final selection of 15 boys, who will be trained in Britain.
Announcing this, Tata Tea executive director Sangeeta Talwar said, "We have selected soccer, which has a lot of interest among teenagers and what better way to bring this awakening but to associate ourselves with a world premier soccer club - Arsenal."
Adrian Ford, Arsenal FC's commercial director, said, "At Arsenal, our aim is always to identify and encourage young talent for the betterment of the game. We are glad that Tata Tea has taken the initiative. Soccer Stars is a fantastic platform for budding young footballers and we hope this will contribute in propagating this wonderful sport further in India."

::: Kerala town loves football, but stands stay empty :::
IANS report: This Kerala city is mad about football, but it does not show on the stands any more. The crowds have thinned.
"Earlier, there used to be long queues at the ticket counter. People used to come as early as 4 a.m. to book a seat. I just walked in and purchased my ticket," says 67-year-old K. Balachandran, who was at the Corporation Stadium to watch an I-League (Indian premier league) tie between Viva Kerala and Salgaocar Goa Saturday.
"The quality of the game has declined. People watch European football on television every day. It is reason enough for one to become disillusioned with the kind of football played here," says Balachandran.
Balachandran is right as the first I-League game here brought only 7,000 to the stadium, which can seat 50,000 spectators.
However, secretary of Kozhikode District FA AM Najeeb is optimistic. "In this match, we mopped up Rs.110,000 through sale of tickets at the gate. But the important thing is that Viva Kerala won the game. This is a victory people wanted. Now we expect a steady increase in spectators," he said.
"We will host eight more I-League games, to be held at intervals, through March next year. We expect a good crowd if Viva performs well," Najeeb exuded confidence.
The slide in the craze for the local game also may have something to do with the absence of regular events. "Earlier, Sait Nagjee national tournament was a regular feature. The last Nagjee tournament was held nearly 10 years ago," Najeeb said.
"Ten years ago, KDFA used to organise tournaments regularly. It is not so any more because organising a tournament of that scope requires Rs.30 million. It's a risky affair. Now, we only host tournaments sanctioned by the Kerala FA and the AIFF," Najeeb said.
"For the I-League matches, KDFA spends only on refreshments and local transport of players. All other things are being taken care of by the sponsor, the ONGC," he said.
Lack of infrastructure is another problem. The floodlights at the Corporation Stadium have been in disrepair for long. "If the lights are installed, the matches can be scheduled for late evenings. This will bring in good crowd. We can even bring foreign teams," Najeeb said.

::: NYC Rolling Trophy kicks off in Kuwait on Friday :::
by Gasper Crasto: The 18th edition of Navelim Youth Centre (NYC) Rolling Trophy football tournament will get underway in Kuwait commencing from December 21.
Curtorcares United will meet United Friends Club in the opening match of the tournament. The match fixtures were drawn on Friday, December 14 at Salmiya Grounds in the presence of Kuwait Indian Football Federation President BM Viegas and NYC advisor Agnello AS Fernandes.
The tournament organized by Navelim Youth Centre (is played under the auspices of KIFF and officiated by Indian Football Referees Association. The games will be played Friday mornings at Salmiya Grounds near City Centre.
The NYC Rolling Trophy, perhaps one of the most uniquely sculpt trophies worldwide was instituted in the year 1993. The finals of this edition are slated to be held in the last week of January 2008. Last edition of the trophy was won by DHL beating AVC 2-0 in the finals. Host Navelim YC have won the trophy maximum 6 times while AVC Overseas Association holds a unique record of losing the last 3 finals.
Following teams affiliated to KIFF have accepted participation in the prestigious tournament: AVC SC, Bombay Boys, CRC Chinchinim, Curtorcares United, DHL SC, Don Bosco Oratory, Fahaheel SC, GOA Maroons, Goan Entertainment Club, Kerala Challengers, Kuwait Goan Association, Malayalee Arts & Sports, Navelim Youth Centre, Paradiso SC, Santos FC, Santos United, United Friends Club, United Goans, Veterans SC.

December 17

RESULTS & NEWS

::: INDIA move to 143rd in FIFA World Rankings :::
In the latest FIFA World Rankings released by the world football governing body today, INDIA moved-up two places to 143rd in the world, while in Asia INDIA also gained a position to be ranked 26th amongst 46 ranked nations. INDIA now have 158 points, four less then last month.

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 6 | Cooperage Ground, Mumbai | 15.30 IST: Air-India 1-0 East Bengal Club Goal: 1-0 Paresh Shivalkar (62'). AIR-INDIA: 21-Raju Ekka; 5-Vijith Shetty, 26-Amrit Pal Singh, 22-Suley Musah, 3-Nirmal Chetri, 6-L Uttam Singh; 15-Sanju Pradhan (83' 13-Hirohito Elangbam), 11-Hringsolal Thomte, 20-Paresh Shivalkar [C]; 27-Bashiree Mohammed Abbas, 8-Kumar Samson Singh (74' 18-Hamza Zaheer Abbas). Unused Substitutes: 1-Arnab Das Sharma, 17-Gautam Debnath, 28-Madhusudan Majumdar, 24-Ravinder Singh, 7-Njoh Jean EAST BENGAL: 24-Subrata Pal; 5-Debabrata Roy, 2-Muttath Suresh, 3-Majekodumni Bolaji, 29-Soumik Dey; 23-Mehtab Hussain, 19-Syed Rahim Nabi (66' 6-Dipankar Roy), 7-Jayanta Sen (75' 14-Chandan Das), 9-Alvito D'Cunha [C] (71' 10-Dipendu Biswas); 15-McDonald Mukansi, 30-Edmilson Marques Pardal. Unused Substitutes: 21-Abhra Mondal, 26-Mehraj din Wadoo, 32-Madhab Das, 22-Vimal Pariyar "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Paresh Shivalkar (Air-India). YELLOW CARD: Mehtab Hussain (23', East Bengal). REFEREE: Benjamin D'Silva (Goa). ASSISTANT REFEREES: -. FOURTH OFFICIAL: -. Match Report: The I-League's Round 6 match between Air-India and East Bengal Club at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai was quite an entertaining one as Bimal Ghosh and Air-India got their first win of the season taking them to sixth position in the inaugural I league. East Bengal were faster off the blocks and with Nabi and Mcdonald Mukansi putting together a few good moves and a half chance for Mukansi himself. The three man midfield of Air-India could not get their passes going and were being outplayed by their East Bengal counterparts until the half hour mark of the match when Vijith Shetty and Sanju Pradhan combined to put a good move on the right and put a cross in which troubled the East Bengal defence. After a certain passage of time Paresh Shivalkar cut in from the left flank to send a curling shot beyond Subrata Pal but only to see the crossbar stop him from getting a goal which he would eventually get. The second half started off with Samson Singh moving to the right and giving Bashiree a lone striker role which he executed brilliantly holding the ball up well and hassling the defence throughout the match, and the goal also came about in similar fashion when Bashiree held up a long ball from Sanju and passed it on to an overlapping Vijith who put in a cross which evaded everyone in the box excepting Shivlakar who hit the rising ball sweetly to put it past the Indian national goalkeeper to send the home fans in elation. Subrata Bhattacharjee saw his players looked jaded and tired, and decided to make changes trying to freshen things up but to no avail as Thomte in midfield thwarted all of their plays and the long balls were dealt well by Suley Musah and Amritpal Singh. Air-India looked more threathening as the match reached the climax as Samson had a volley blaze over the bar and a few Shivalkar runs down the left continued to trouble the side from Calcutta. The home side stuck by their guns and came through with a very important first win for themselves putting themselves level on points with East Bengal.

12th Assam Club Championships - Pre-Quarterfinal: FCI, Guwahati 2-1 Nepathya Club, Jorhat - Goals: 1-0,2-1 Aronjit Brahma (42',70'), 1-1 Manas Manjit Chetia (56').
12th Assam Club Championships - Pre-Quarterfinal: Salbagan SC, Gossaigaon 1-0 Coal India, Margherita - Goal: 1-0 Madra Basumatary (63')
Bangalore Super Division: Karnataka State Police 4-0 Department of Youth Services&Sports - Goals: 1-0 Arun Kumar (4'), 2-0 Santosh Kumar (26'), 3-0 Girish (48'), 4-0 Archan (67').
Bangalore 'A' Division: Nationals FC 0-5 Rail Wheel Factory - Goals: 0-1 Sugandhar (38'), 0-2,0-4 Umashankar (56',70'), 0-3 Prakash (68'), 0-5 Lokesh (80').
Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Bangadarshan FC 0-2 Simla Youngs - Goals: 0-1 Monu Choudhary (14'), 0-2 Jonathan Kingsley (65').
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: Mughals SC 0-3 Hindustan FC - Goals: 0-1 Anil Bara (2'), 0-2 Nathan (23'), 0-3 Gopal Thapa (46').
2nd Manipur State League: AMOFA, Moirang 1-1 RACC, Churachandpur - Goals: 1-0 Stephen Hmar (44'), 1-1 Lalrintluanga (76').

::: AFC Cup 2008: Dempo & East Bengal face tough west Asian competition :::
AFC report: India was the first country drawn and national champions Dempo SC were the first club out of the hat. The Goa-based side were the first team out of the hat and they were grouped with Oman outfit Sur, Al Ansar from Lebanon and 29-time Bahrain champions Al Muharraq, runners-up at the 2006 AFC Cup.
Dempo's compatriots East Bengal Club were pooled in Group B along with Al Ahli Sana'a, Lebanon's Safa and Jordan's Al Wihdat, who will be looking to be the third side from the Hashemite Kingdom to win the competition after Al Faisaly and Shabab Al Ordun.
AFC Cup 2008 draw:
WEST - Group A: Dempo SC (India), Sur (Oman), Al Muharraq (Bahrain), Al Ansar (Lebanon); Group B: Ahli Sana'a (Yemen), East Bengal Club (India), Safa (Lebanon), Al Wihdat (Jordan); Group C: Al Nahda (Oman), Shaab Hadramaut (Yemen), Shabab Al Ordun (Jordan), Al Najma (Bahrain)
EAST - Group D: South China (Hong Kong), Victory FC (Maldives), Kedah (Malaysia), Home United (Singapore); Group E: New Radiant (Maldives), Kitchee (Hong Kong), Singapore Armed Forces (Singapore), Perak FC (Malaysia).

::: GFA suggests AIFF form players' pool for national duty :::
PTI report: The Goa FA has asked the AIFF to handpick 35-50 players for national duty and bar them from playing in state leagues.
The GFA's suggestion was in response to a letter from AIFF president Priyaranjan Dasmushi which desired that all I-League players be barred from playing in local leagues and other tournaments barring the Federation Cup. The AIFF president also wanted local leagues to be run concurently with its premier I-League.
The GFA also wanted I-League and state leagues to be run concurrently from September to April, with the former played on Saturdays and Sundays, and the latter on weekdays.
GFA has proposed that I-League teams, which also play in the state league, should not be demoted.
It also wanted AIFF to keep registeration open for five I-League players who are playing in the state league.
The GFA's four-point counter to the AIFF chief was made after it convened an emergency meeting here last evening which was attended by all eight professional clubs, its spokesperson Antonio Botelho said.

December 16

RESULTS & NEWS

In the latest IndianFootball.Com Guest Column lecturer L Santosh Singh under the title "Greed of the Youth Soccer Players" he looks at the growing up of young players and their development.
Read the complete article here >>IndianFootball.Com Guest Column - Dr. L Santosh Singh .

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 6 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Churchill Brothers SC 2-2 Mohun Bagan AC Goals: 0-1 Dharamjit Singh (47), 1-1 Odafe Onyeka Okolie (67'), 1-2 Baichung Bhutia (70'), 2-2 Mboyo Iyomi (71'). CHURCHILL BROS: 1-Vinay Singh; 8-Thokchom Naoba Singh, 6-N Govind Singh, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 17-Robert Lalthalma; 12-Reisangmei Vasum (72' 15-D Raju), 21-Ogba Kalu Nnanna, 13-Mashangva Genius Zenith, 11-Khemtang Paite (71' 18-Saran Thangjam Singh); 10-Odafe Onyeka Okolie [C], 9-Mboyo Iyomi. Unused Substitutes: 29-Arindam Bhattcharya, 2-Villroy D'Cruz, 3-Warundeep Singh, 7-Martin Louis Joseph Daniel, 38-Jaison Valles MOHUN BAGAN: 1-Sangram Mukherjee; 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal (87' 8-Ayan Chowdhury), 14-Peter Odafe, 3-Nanjangud Shivananju Manju, 26-N Mohanraj; 16-James Lukram Singh, 29-Jonathan Bobo, 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh (67' 12-Peter Siddiqui), 18-Dharamjit Singh (57' 7-Rauf Sher Khan); 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C]. Unused Substitutes: 31-Shilton Paul, 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick, 9-Pachau Lalam Puia "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Mboyo Iyomi (Churchill Bros). YELLOW CARDS: Odafe Onyeka Okolie (29', Churchill Bros); N Mohanraj (35', Mohun Bagan). YELLOW-RED CARD: N Mohanraj (52', Mohun Bagan). REFEREE: Ahmed Amees (Maldives). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Ali Saleem (Maldives), Pratap Singh (Services). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Shaji Kurian (Kerala). Match Report: ...

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 6 | Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi | 14.00 IST: JCT, Phagwara 0-0 Dempo SC Goals: none. JCT: 1-Karanjit Singh; 13-Baldeep Singh Sr, 3-Anwar Ali, 4-Julius Irabor Akpele [C], 12-Daljit Singh; 6-Baljeet Singh Sahni, 2-Jaspal Singh, 20-Marcos Pereira, 27-Baldeep Singh Jr; 10-Eduardo da Silva Escobar, 17-Parveen Kumar (83' 25-Sakatar Singh). Unused Substitutes: 21-Mukhwinderjit Singh, 5-Narinder Singh, 23-Harish Sharma, 28-Shivraj Singh, 8-Jaswinder Singh DEMPO: 21-VP Satish Kumar; 18-Valeriano Rebello, 28-Mahesh Gawli, 3-John Charles Dias, 16-Samir Naik; 14-Anthony Pereira (60' 6-Peter Carvalho), 8-Climax Lawrence, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 22-Nicolau Borges; 9-Ranty Martins Soleye [C], 17-Joaquim Abranches. Unused Substitutes: 1-Abhijit Mondal, 4-Cressan Antao, 23-Dominic Noronha, 24-Melwyn Rodrigues, 7-Nascimento Silveira "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Marcos Pereira (JCT). YELLOW CARD: Mahesh Gawli (75', Dempo). REFEREE: Subrata Sarkar (West Bengal). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Nazir Ahmed (Jammu&Kashmir), SB Saha (Delhi). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Dhanapati Roy (West Bengal). Match Report: The top of the table I-League clash between Phagwara's JCT and Dempo SC from Goa at the Ambedkar Stadium here in Delhi ended in a drab goalless draw. Dempo stay top of the league with now 14 points from six matches, closely followed by JCT on 12 points from the same number of matches. The eagerly awaited match between the two undefeated sides turned out to be a disappointing one leaving the few hundred in the stands disgruntled. The match seldom rosed to any great heights with neither sides creating any open chances in the first half, the closest that came was a 27th minute header by Dempo captain Ranty Martins Soleye which flew over the crossbar. The match was confined mostly to midfield play. Brazilian Edu upfront for JCT looked listless throughout the match with JCT clearly missing the services of Sunil Chetri who was suspended. While the Dempo forwards were denied any space by an impressive JCT defence lead by skipper Julius Irabor Akpele. The best chance of the match and the first attempt on goal fell to Joaquim Abranches, who had comie in for suspended Chidi Edeh, in the 79th minute with his stinging right footer ended straight at the hands of JCT keeper Karanjit Singh. Dempo had a chance to steer clear of the rest of the pack with a victory but could manage only a draw in a lacklustre match, while JCT could have gone top of the I-League with a win today.

Bangalore Super Division: MEG 0-0 BEML (EM) - Goals: none.
Bangalore 'A' Division: BHEL (EPD) 3-1 Tilak Memorial - Goals: 1-0,2-1 Tony (25',60'), 1-1 Bahadur (44'), 3-1 Dakshinamurthy (71').
2nd Manipur State League: Tiddim Road Athletic Union 1-0 Eastern Sporting Union - Goal: 1-0 Y Santosh Singh (29').
2nd Manipur State League: NEROCA 2-0 Southern Sporting Union - Goals: 1-0 L Nabachandra Singh, S Thomas
2nd Manipur State League: United Sports Association 1-1 YWC, Thambalkhong - Goals: 0-1 Kh Bopinchandra Singh (75'), 1-1 Th Inaotomba Singh (90+').
2nd Manipur State League: Phoudel Youth Club, Thoubal 1-6 Manipur Police SC - Goals: 0-1 Kh Romen Singh (7'), 0-2 N Deshkumar Singh (23'), 0-3 Somochandra Singh (28'), 1-3 Hangmateshmol Kom (40'), 1-4,1-6 I Nilakumar Singh (69',90+1'), 1-5 N Maimu (85').
2nd Manipur State League: Kakching FC 2-2 NISA, Thangmeiband - Goals: 0-1 Charan Rai (54'), 0-2 M Bidyasagar (71'), 1-2 M Bijen Singh (72'), 2-2 Joseph Thanghinlal (76').

::: Manchester United Premier Cup 2008 - Indian-leg North/East Zone qualifiers: East Bengal win NE Zone final :::
East Bengal Club defeated SBHS Football Academy of Punjab by 1-0 in the final of the Manchster United Premier Cup 2008 North-East Zone Qualifying Football Tournament (Under-15) at the Sector 17 Football Stadium in Chandigarh on Sunday. The match-winner was netted by Biswajit Datta in the third minute of play.
Earlier, East Bengal edged out Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan of Mizoram by a solitary goal scored also by Biswajit Datta who unleashed a powerful shot from edge of the box in the semi-final round. In the second semifinal, SBHS Football Academy prevailed over local side St Stephen's Football Academy, Sector 45 by a solitary goal. The all-important goal was scored by Prabhjot Singh with a free-kick in the third minute.
East Bengal, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan of Mizoram, SBHS Football Academy of Punjab and St Stephen's Football Academy qualified for the grand finals to be held in Goa from January 15 to 20 next year. Salgaocar SC, Sporting Clube de Goa; Cosmos Football Academy of Tamil Nadu and Mahindra United have already qualified from South-West Zone. The winners of the final will participate in the South East Asia Regional finals.

::: Dempo coach lashes out at AIFF's foreigners' policy :::
IANS report: Dempo coach Armando Colaco criticised the AIFF's decision to allow clubs four foreigners for the I-League. He called the decision as a 'backward step' in Indian football.
"Till few days back they (AIFF) were thinking of reducing the number of foreigners in the league. I am bit surprised with their decision of increasing the number (of foreigners) in the I-League," said Coalco, after his team was held to a goalless draw by JCT, Phagwara in the sixth round of the I-League here Sunday at the Ambedkar Stadium.
The AIFF has allowed clubs to recruit four foreigners for the inaugural I-League, one more than what it was in the erstwhile National Football League. But the clubs can only field only three foreigners in any match. The decision of having four foreigners goes against the federation's stated aim to reduce foreigners in Indian football in order to encourage local talent.
"I have not recruited a fourth foreigner and I think increasing the number of foreigners will not help the cause of Indian football. I feel it is a step backward in development. I think instead of the foreigners if we could have a local player, even on the bench, it will benefit local talent," said Colaco.
"If we want to develop Indian football then we have to build a sound youth development programme. And we have to promote the local talent and it will only be possible when we give them chance to play," he added.
The Dempo coach also said that he didn't find any logic in allowing recruitment of four foreigners but restricting to three the number of foreigners in a single match.
"Why will a team recruit an extra foreigner, if the player has to cool his heels on the bench. There is no logic in it as clubs spend huge amounts in recruiting foreign players. I think ideally they should have allowed registering all the four foreigners with the fourth players coming in as a replacement for the any other foreigner,' he said.

December 15

RESULTS & NEWS

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 5 | Municipal Corporation Stadium, Calicut | 16.00 IST: Viva Kerala 3-1 Salgaocar SC Goals: 1-0 Wisdom Abbey (40'), 1-1 Boniface Ngairah Ambani (48'), 2-1 Badmus Baba Thunde (54'), 3-1 Shahbas Shaleel (73'). VIVA KERALA: 25-MV Nelson; 2-Ebin Rose, 3-Khelemba Singh, 4-Tutu George, 5-Akshay Das, 14-P Shineraj, 23-Sunil Kumar Thakur, 7-Bimanyu Bimal Birua, 22-KV Lalu, 10-Badmus Baba Thunde, 17-Wisdom Abbey. Substitutes: 1-TG Purushothaman, 6-Othallo Tabia, 26-Mohammad Helmy, 15-P Shinoj, 16-Shahbas Shaleel, 18-Chanambam Jatin Singh, 21-Santa Saikhom Singh. SALGAOCAR: 2-Marcus Basumatari; 12-Remus Gomes, 16-Nicolau Colaco, 22-Heri Habimana, 17-TV Biju Kumar; 19-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 25-Rocus Lamare [C], 9-Francis Andrade, 14-Jerose Oliveria; 7-Felix Chimaokwu, 10-Boniface Ngairah Ambani. Substitutes: 1-Milagrio Medeira, 4-Vincent Brice Pires, 8-Agnelo Colaco, 6-Nicholas L Rodrigues, 30-Francis Fernandes, 27-Beevan D'Mello, 15-Agnelo Barreto. "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Wisdom Abbey (Viva Kerala). YELLOW CARDS: Nicolau Colaco (11', Salgaocar). REFEREE: P Bhaskar (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: V Vijayakumar (Karnataka), Andrew Sekhar (Karnataka). FOURTH OFFICIAL: PK Bose (Madhya Pradesh). MATCH COMMISSIONER: S Samuel (Tamil Nadu). Match Report: Viva Kerala continued their impressive run in the inaugural I-League by defeating the struggling Salgoacar SC by 3-1 at the Municipal Corporation Stadium, Calicut. It was Viva's first win against the Goan outfit from as many as four games they played and the win also placed them in fourth position of the league table while it added more misery to Salgoacar's current dismal performances as they remain in the relegation zone. Viva Kerala took the lead in the 40th minute through Ghanian striker Wisdom Abbey. His fellow striker Badmus Baba Thunde, who made a run to the Salgoacar box, found Bimanyu Bimal Birua and the former JCT midfielder's inch perfect cross from the right was superbly headed in by the Ghanian striker to the much delight of 25,000 people in the stadium. But Salgoacar equalised within three minutes of the restart when Felix Chimakowu's pass found Kenyan Boniface Ngairah Ambani who was unmarked and just tapped the ball into the open net. The goal put pressure on Viva but within minutes in the 54th minute went back into the lead through their Nigerian Baba Thunde. He took the ball from the midfield and dribbled past three Salgoacar players and placed a perfect shot which took a touch from one of the Salgoacar defenders but still went in. And then Viva took the game away from the visitors when substitute Shahbas Shaleel scored from a rebound in the 73rd minute of the game. Viva Kerala dominated the first half but failed to increase their tally and when they conceded early in the second half it was a spirited performance from the Men in Blue that helped them to make a winning start in their first home game. One must should not forget the atmosphere created by the crowd in the Corporation Stadium which was arguably the 12th man for the home team .While it was yet another disappointing display from the Goan club which is yet to register their first win in the I-League. Viva Kerala will now face Sporting Clube de Goa who is placed bottom of the I-League table while Salgoacar will take on the Red Devils from Mumbai, Mahindra United.

Bangalore Super Division: Karnataka State Police 1-0 BEL SC - Goal: 1-0 Vinodh Kumar.
Bangalore 'A' Division: BHEL (EPD) 3-2 Bangalore United FC - Goals: 1-0,3-2 Shoban (6',85'), 2-0 Dakshinamurthy (33'), 2-1,2-2 Ramesh (80',83').

::: Manchester United Premier Cup 2008 - Indian-leg North/East Zone qualifiers: Mohun Bagan, CFA exit; Stephen's FA and East Bengal qualify for semis :::
Former champions and last year's runners-up Mohun Bagan AC made their inglorious exit while the semifinalists were identitied in the Manchester United Premier Cup 2008 - Indian-leg North/East Zone qualifiers being played here at the Sector 17 Football Stadium and the Punjab Engineering College ground in Chandigarh.
After completion of the league phase, holders champions East Bengal Club (Group I winners) will cross swords with Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan of Mizoram (Group II winners) in the first semifinals while Group III leaders SBHS Football Academy of Punjab will challenge Group IV winners St Stephen's Football Academy of Chandigarh in the second semifinal.
With one win and two draws Mohun Bagan failed to qualify for the last four stage. In their last Group III league programme, Mohun Bagan played a one-all draw with Silchar Football Club and dropped vital points. Mohun Bagan forged ahead in the 27th minute through Tirthankar Sarkar whose powerful shot from the left flank brooked no denial from the Silchar FA defence. Just one minute before the end, Silchar Football Academy were awarded a spot kick as a defender made a deliberate foul inside the box. Pratim Deka converted the penalty in a smooth action.
Chandigarh had mixed fortunes. The state-run Chandigarh Football Academy bowed out while St Stephen's Football Academy, Sector 45 qualified for the semis.
Tied with three victories each, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan of Mizoram and Chandigarh Football Academy were involved in a do-or-die battle in their last crucial group II fixture. The Mizoram team prevailed over their rivals by a 2-1 margin to oust Chandigarh Football Academy and maintain their all-win record.
Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan earlier outclassed Uttar Pradesh Football Academy, Varanasi by 4-0. Lawnkima (4th), David Lal Bialzarb (14th), Lalnun Sela (20th) and Lalnunkma (26th) contributed one goal each for the winners.
East Bengal struggled against spirited Lajong SC, Meghalaya whom they beat by a lone goal scored by Ganesh Dey in the 13th minute. It was East Bengal's third successive win in the four-team group III league programme.
Stephen's Football Academy, Sector 45 and Mohammedan Sporting Club played a one-all draw. The draw was enough for St Stephen's Football Academy to advance to the semifinals with three wins and one draw from Group IV. Nayan Sarkar put Mohammedan Sporting ahead in the 15th minute. Harpreet Bedi restored parity for Stephen's Football Academy in the 35th minute.

December 14

RESULTS & NEWS

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 5 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Sporting Clube de Goa 0-3 Mahindra United Goals: 0-1 Pierre Djidjia Douhou (1'), 0-2 Steven Dias (51'), 0-3 Tarif Ahmed (90+1'). SPORTING CLUBE: 1-Felix D'Souza; 4-Chinta Chandrashekar, 6-Philip Gomes, 15-Freeman Peixoto, 8-N Rajesh Meetei (64' 27-Lairenjam Bisheshwor Singh); 7-Harmanjot Singh Khabra, 18-Denzil Franco, 23-Bibiano Fernandes (57' 19-Cavin Lobo), 22-Joseph Pereira (78' 9-Freddy Mascarenhas); 21-Olushola Ogundare, 20-Elijah Obagbemiro. Unused Substitutes: 30-Luis Xavier Barreto, 5-Carlos Fernandes, 24-N Samananda Singh, 12-Lavino Fernandes MAHINDRA UTD: 24-Sandip Nandy; 7-Sushanth Mathew, 5-Harpreet Singh, 14-Dharmaraj Ravanan, 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan; 23-Steven Dias, 17-Sukhwinder Singh, 26-Bello Rasaq, 29-Pierre Djidjia Douhou (80' 30-Tarif Ahmed); 8-Surajit Bose (66' 19-Izumi Arata), 8-Andrews Pomeyie Mensah (88' 12-Manjit Singh). Unused Substitutes: 1-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 6-Manas Das, 11-M Mohammed Rafi, 28-Sushil Kumar Singh "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Steven Dias (Mahindra Utd). YELLOW CARDS: none. REFEREE: Komaleeswaran Shankar (Tamil Nadu). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Ahmed Ameez (Maldives), G Thambiraj (Tamil Nadu). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Rizwan ul-Haq (Delhi). Match Report: ...

Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Shahdara Club 0-2 Tarun Sangha - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Srikanto Das (29',54').
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: Youngmen SC 1-0 Ahbab FC - Goal: 1-0 Uyiosa Kelvin Osadalor (28').

::: Manchester United Premier Cup 2008 - Indian-leg North/East Zone qualifiers: Chandigarh FA, SSA Mirozram & LSC Meghalaya win :::
Chandigarh Football Academy registered two triumphs in the Manchester United Premier Cup 2008 - Indian-leg North/East Zone qualifiers being played at the Sector 17 Football Stadium and Punjab Engineering College ground here today.
Some of the CFA players have just returned from Germany after a 15-day advanced coaching under German coaches. In their first encounter, they won but failed to impress as they prevailed over a fighting Chirag United SC of West Bengal by 1-0. Chuanmura snatched the all-important goal with a solo effort just one minute before the close.
However, the CFA boys gave an improved display as they outplayed Uttar Pradesh Football Academy of Varanasi by 3-0. Chuanmura put CFA ahead in the 6th minute and two minutes later Rajinder Kumar banged home the second goal for CFA. Gagandeep Singh rounded of the winners' tally with a goal two minutes befor the close.
Sarav Shiksha Abhiyan Football Academy of Mizoram and Lajong Sports Club of Meghalaya also won two matches each. SSA FA defeated JCT Football Academy by 2-0 and accounted for Chirag United SC by 3-1. Lalnun Puia starred in SSA Mizoram's win over Chirag United. The Mizomram striker scored two goals, first in the third minute and second in the 19th minute. Lawnkima netted the winnner's third goal in the 14th minute. Chirag United reduced their margin through Surojit Das in the 11th minute.
Lajong Sports Club of Meghalaya defeated Simla Youngs (Eugene, 25th) by 1-0 and Eastern Sporting Union 2-1 (L: Eugene 2nd, Rayan Phankan, 26th. ESU: H Enthoiba 26th).
Mohun Bagan AC and SPHS Academy of Punjab played a one-all draw in a well-contested encounter the Punjab team drew the first blood through Nirvail Singh who scored with a nice header in the fourth minute. Going all out in the closing stages, Mohun Bagan restored parity when Trithankar Sarkar converted a corner with a perfect header in the 38th minute.
Mohammaden Sporting Club secured full points at the cost of Sikkim Football Academy whom they beat by 3-1. Naian Sarkar (3rd), Azharuddin Mollah (14th) and Shahbas (39nd) scored for the winners. Prabharka Kolay reduced the margin for Sikkim Football Academy in the 32nd minute.
St Stephen's Football Academy of Chandigarh eked out a narrow 1-0 win over Delhi Development Authority. Manish Mundari scored the all-important goal with a powerful shot from top of the box in the 14th minute. It was Stephen's second successive victory.
In the fourth match in the morning session Silchar Football Academy blanked Hindustan Football Academy by 3-0. Prabal Pratim Deka opend Silchar FA account in the 12th minute. Languang Kamei (14th) and Moses Rangmei (34th) added one goal each to the winners' tally.
At the Punjab Engineering ground, JCT Football Academy had a mixed fourtune today.They lost to SSA Football Academy of Mizoram by 2-0 in their first match. Lalnun Puia (13th) and David Lal (38th) were the Mirozam team's scorers. Later, JCT prevailed over Uttar Pradesh Football Academy, Varanasi by 2-1 in a keenly contested affair. It was UP Football Academy who shot into the lead in the 9th minute through Divyanshu. The JCT boys dominated the second half and scored two goals. Harmandeep Singh neutralised the lead in the 27th minute while Prem Kumar snatched the match winner in the 36th minute.

December 13

RESULTS & NEWS

::: IndianFootball.Com interview: Jérôme Champagne (FIFA Director of International relations) :::
IndianFootball.Com Founder & Editor-in-Chief Arunava Chaudhuri had the chance to speak to Jérôme Champagne, FIFA Director of International relations, about Indian football and the world-governing bodies involvement in the development process the beautiful game in the Indian sub-continent.
Click here to read the complete >>Jérôme Champagne (FIFA Director of International relations) interview

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 5 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Churchill Brothers SC 3-2 East Bengal Club Goals: 0-1 Edmilson Marques Pardal (26'), 1-1,2-1,3-1 Odafe Onyeka Okolie (32',41' pen,44'), 3-2 Mehtab Hussain (87'). CHURCHILL BROS: 30-Lalit Thapa; 8-Thokchom Naoba Singh, 6-N Govind Singh, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 17-Robert Lalthalma; 12-Reisangmei Vasum (80' 15-D Raju), 21-Ogba Kalu Nnanna (68' 18-Saran Thangjam Singh), 13-Mashangva Genius Zenith, 11-Khemtang Paite; 10-Odafe Onyeka Okolie [C], 9-Mboyo Iyomi. Unused Substitutes: 29-Arindam Bhattcharya, 2-Villroy D'Cruz, 4-Rowilson Rodrigues, 7-Martin Louis Joseph Daniel, 38-Jaison Valles EAST BENGAL: 24-Subrata Pal; 19-Syed Rahim Nabi, 3-Majekodumni Bolaji, 26-Mehraj din Wadoo, 35-Aibor Khongjee; 23-Mehtab Hussain, 7-Jayanta Sen, 9-Alvito D'Cunha [C], 29-Soumik Dey (56' 40-Vanlal Rova); 15-McDonald Mukansi (30' 5-Debabrata Roy), 30-Edmilson Marques Pardal (46' 10-Dipendu Biswas). Unused Substitutes: 21-Abhra Mondal, 32-Madhab Das, 34-Snehashish Chakraborty, 22-Vimal Pariyar "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Odafe Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Bros). YELLOW CARDS: Lalit Thapa (30', Churchill Bros); Debabrata Roy (41', East Bengal). REFEREE: Ali Saleem (Maldives). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Komaleeswaran Shankar (Tamil Nadu), Shai Kurian (Kerala). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Pratap Singh (Services). Match Report: Churchill Brothers SC returned to winning ways with a 3-2 victory against East Bengal Club in their Round 5 match of the inaugural I-League at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Churchill Brothers moved up into third position past their Calcutta rivals. Churchill Brothers with three wins out of five matches are on nine points, while East Bengal remain on seven points from as many matches. The star of the day was once more Churchill Brothers captain Odafe Onyeka Okolie, who scored a hattrick in only 13 minutes, to take apart the red-and-gold defence. But besides Odafe one also has to question the strategy of East Bengal coach Subrata Bhattacharjee, who substituted striker McDonald Mukansi, a South African World Cupper, with a defensive Debabrata Roy; while taking of the I-League's top scorer Edmilson at halftime to take the sting out of their attack. The match started-off at a slow paced with both teams looking for the early opening. But things changed in the 26th minute when East Bengal captain Alvito D'Cunha found Edmilson free on the right, who beat his marker and placed the ball into the net past rookie keeper Lalit Thapa. But Churchill Brothers didn't need too long to get back into the match. After a corner for East Bengal Odafe broke free on the right sprinting past Aibor Khongjee and sending a powerful shot to the far side of the goal for the equaliser in the 31st minute. And then came a crucial moment of the match which tilted the match in Churchill Brothers favour. Churchill's young keeper Lalit Thapa brought down Edmilson in the area and referee Ali Saleem pointed to the spot. But Edmilson, who himself took the spot kick, chipped the ball over the crossbar. And Churchill pushed them heavily for this. In the 41th minute Debabrata Roy brought down Churchill's new African recruit Ogba Kalu Nnanna with the referee pointing for the second time on the day to the penalty spot. But Odafe didn't miss and placed the ball to the right of the outstreched hands of East Bengal keeper Subrata Pal. And Odafe completed his hattrick in the 44th minute when he scored off a pass from Khemtang Paite. There wasn't too much of action in the second session with East Bengal controlling most of the match, but with not really creating any worthwhile chances. Substitute Dipendu Biswas and Syed Rahim Nabi, who had been pushed forward from the rightback position, looked out of sorts. Churchill Brothers were content with their lead, but could have enhanced their lead with Odafe and Iyomi missing. And in the 87th minute East Bengal were able to reduce the deficit when Mehtab Hussain curled in a nice one from close to 30 metres out over the head of keeper Lalit Thapa. If one expected East Bengal to try and grab a late equaliser now one was bitterly disappointed as the red-and-gold seemed to be happy with the narrow defeat.

Delhi Senior Division - Group A: Bangadarshan FC 0-3 Indian National FC - Goals: 0-1,0-3 Anthony (32',72'), 0-2 Lalit Rawat (66').
Delhi Senior Division - Group B: Mughals SC 2-3 Indian Air Force (New Delhi) - Goals: 0-1 TS Stephen (42'), 0-2 WP Singh (62'), 1-2 Shekhar Khanna (63'), 2-2 Amit Rawat (76'), 2-3 Manish Negi (79').

::: JCT vs Dempo I-League clash shifted to Delhi :::
The I-League's Round 6 top of the table clash between Phagwara's JCT and Dempo SC of Goa will be played at the Dr. Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, December 16. So far the crowd response in Ludhiana for JCT's home matches have been poor, so it has been decided to enable Delhi as a neutral venue to host an I-League match.

::: Manchester United Premier Cup 2008 - Indian-leg North/East Zone qualifiers: St Stephen's and East Bengal Club start campaign with bang :::
Local St Stephen's School Football Academy-45 and East Bengal Club began their campaign with a bang by scoring comfortable victories over their respective rivals on the opening day of the Manchester United Premier Cup 2008 - Indian-leg North/East Zone qualifiers at the Sector 17 Football Stadium, Chandigarh today.
St Stephen's School Football Academy, Sector 45 and Youth Organisation Sports Club of Manipur were involved in a tough battle for ball possession. However, Stephen's Academy opened their account in the 32nd minute through speedy Johny Singh. Maintaining their pressure, Stephen's doubled the margin when Satpal Singh found the Youth Organisation SC defence napping in the 35th minute.
In another fixture East Bengal Club outplayed Eastern Sporting Union of Manipur in all departments of the game. Spearheaded by fleet-footed strike Rajib Ghouri, East Bengal Club registered an impressive 5-0 triumph.
Rajib Ghouri tormented the Manipur team defenders with his speed and dribbling ability. Rajib contributed a lion's share in his team's fluent triumph. He netted four goals, no hattrick. Displaying his scoring ability, Rajib struck in the 9th, 16th, 30th and 32nd minutes. In between Ajay Roy pumped in one goal in the 25th minute.
Arjuna awardee and hony secretary of the Punjab FA Inder Singh inaugurated the tournament in which 18 teams have staked their claims for berth for the final round. Also present on the occasion was Head of Sports Marketing Nike Jatin Pranjpe.
Four teams would qualify for the India Finals to be conducted in Goa from January 15 to 20, 2008. Salgaocar SC; Sporting Clube de Goa; Cosmos Football Academy, Tamil Nadu; and Mahindra United have already qualified from the South/West Zone. The winners of the national finals will play in the South-East Asian Regional finals.

December 12

RESULTS & NEWS

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 5 | Nehru Stadium, Margao | 15.30 IST: Dempo SC 2-0 Mohun Bagan AC Goals: 1-0,2-0 Nicolau Borges (14',73'). DEMPO: 21-VP Satish Kumar; 18-Valeriano Rebello, 28-Mahesh Gawli, 3-John Charles Dias, 25-Pio Rodrigues (71' 4-Cressan Antao); 14-Anthony Pereira, 8-Climax Lawrence, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 22-Nicolau Borges; 30-Chidi Edeh (88' 6-Peter Carvalho), 9-Ranty Martins Soleye [C]. Unused Substitutes: 1-Abhijit Mondal, 23-Dominic Noronha, 7-Nascimento Silveira, 17-Joaquim Abranches, 29-Clifton Gonsalves MOHUN BAGAN: 31-Shilton Paul; 2-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury (46' 11-Ishfaq Ahmed), 12-Peter Siddiqui, 3-Nanjangud Shivananju Manju, 26-N Mohanraj; 16-James Lukram Singh, 29-Jonathan Bobo, 13-Douglas da Silva (77' 9-Pachau Lalam Puia), 18-Dharamjit Singh (62' 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick); 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C]. Unused Substitutes: 1-Sangram Mukherjee, 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal, 7-Rauf Sher Khan, 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Nicolau Borges (Dempo). YELLOW CARDS: Chidi Edeh (40', Dempo); Peter Siddiqui (6'), Ishfaq Ahmed (54', both Mohun Bagan). REFEREE: Ahmed Amees (Maldives). ASSISTANT REFEREES: Rizwan ul-Haq (Delhi), G Thambiraj (Tamil Nadu). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Shaji Kurian (Kerala). Match Report: Defending NFL champions Dempo SC returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against Mohun Bagan AC in an inaugural I-League match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Dempo are now sole leaders with 13 points from five matches, while Mohun Bagan remain in the bottom half of the table with a disappointing four points from five matches.

I-League Special click here

1st "ONGC" I-League | Round 5 | Cooperage Ground, Mumbai | 15.30 IST: Air-India 0-0 JCT, Phagwara Goals: none. AIR-INDIA: ... JCT: ... "ONGC" MAN OF THE MATCH: Nirmal Chetri (Air-India). YELLOW CARDS: Nirmal Chetri (63', Air-India); Gurwinder Singh (23'), Sunil Chetri (88', both JCT). REFEREE