U15 Nike Premier Cup India Final Round Kicks Off

The last match of the U15 Youth League Zonal Phase concluded almost two months ago and we’re happy to report that the Final Round of the U15 League, now known as the Nike Premier Cup India, kicked off this morning in Goa. The top 12 teams from the Zonal Phase have been put into three groups and will play 18 matches over the next week. The top team from each group will secure their place in the semi-finals along with the best second placed team across all groups.

While these are all teams that have done well in the Zonal Phase, the level of competition will be significantly higher with past results counting for nothing. Everyone starts off on a clean slate and, still in its inaugural season despite the many challenges, the U15 Youth League is now coming to a head! The time has come for the boys to show their mettle.

 

Group A
United SC, Aizawl FC, Sporting Clube de Goa and Bengaluru FC are in Group A. United SC and Bengaluru FC played the first match this morning at the Duler stadium. Despite finishing off the zonal phase with more than double the points and four-times the goal difference than that of Bengaluru FC, United were unable to score, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.  The next match is scheduled for this evening between Aizawl FC and Sporting Clube de Goa.

Here are the fixtures for the rest of the week:

Group B
Pune FC, SAI Guwahati, Salgaocar FC and Mohammedan SC will battle it out in Group B starting tomorrow. In the morning, undefeated Pune FC will play against Mohammedan SC at the Nagoa Ground. It will be intriguing to see how top scorers from the Zonal Rounds, Ishan Dey and Mozaffar Ali, fare for Pune FC against much tougher opponents in Group B.

Here are the fixtures for Group B:

Group C
Royal Wahingdoh FC, Ozone FA, Mumbai FC and Minerva AFC have been grouped together in Group C. The undefeated Minerva is up against Guwahati-Shillong leaders Royal Wahingdoh in the Group’s first match to be played tomorrow morning. Top scorers Manvir Singh and Shubhram Sarangi of Minerva will be up against Rheadolf Nelson Nongnend Daloi, and we’re looking forward to see how it all plays out. The Group’s second match is between Mumbai FC and Ozone FA. With top scorers Clivert Millar and Kamran Ansari on their side, Mumbai FC will look to stamp their authority on the game.

Here’s a quick look at the Group C fixtures for the week:

Good luck to all the teams! The Nike Premier Cup will be great opportunity for us to get a glimpse of the next generation of football talents in India. The semi-finals and finals of the League will be played on April 26^th and 29^th respectively. Exciting times!