Tag: Anantapur Sports Academy

AFC Grassroots Football Day 2016: India Highlights

On May 15th, 2016, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) celebrated a very successful Grassroots Football Day. A number of member associations joined in the festivities, and India was not to be left out. Over the course of the day, numerous football festivals were held across the country, and impacted well over 10,000 young children. From New Delhi to Anantapur, and Manipur to Punjab, over 100 districts celebrated the joys of grassroots football.

Grassroots Football Day Registrations

Signing Up for AFC Grassroots Football Day
Source: ASA

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Tiki-Taka in Anantapur: Football Summer Camp 2016

With recent exposure to the I-League youth competition and visits from international players like Jofre Mateu, football has been on the rise in Anantapur. After a very progressive season, Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) kicked off their annual summer football camp on May 1st. Held in collaboration with Spanish football club C. F. Santvicenti, the camp created an air of excitement amongst the kids and coaches, like it does every year. M P Ricard returned to this year’s ASA football summer camp for the third consecutive year to enjoy yet another immersive and educative experience with the children in Anantapur .

ASA Camp Team

The Team Before Kick-Off
Source: ASA

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FC Goa’s Jofre Conducts Football Camp in Anantapur

It has been a highly promising football season for the Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA), capped by the performance of the U15 and U18 teams. These teams have shown great promise, playing for a professional I-League team, Fateh Hyderabad AFC. They eventually brought back goodwill to the Rural Development Trust’s (RDT) investment, and have promoted its objective of inculcating a sporting and footballing culture among the youth in the Anantapur District.

Seeing the spark that these youngsters have rekindled in football in Anantapur, the ASA has decided to reach out to more children. This time however, they believe that they need to nurture younger talent to reach their objective. They are looking to broaden the ASA football programme by bringing children in the U11, U13 and U15 categories on board at the residential academy. For this they roped in professional assistance in the form of Spaniard Jofre Mateu Gonzalez, a highly popular household name, and one of the most successful foreign players in the Indian Super League. Jofre Mateu won the inaugural 2014 ISL season with Atletico de Kolkata and was a part of FC Goa, the runners-up in the 2015 season.

Jofre Mateu Gonzalez

Jofre Mateu Gonzalez
Source: FC Goa Facebook Page

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Anantapur U18 Girls League Is A Huge Success

In December 2015, Rural Development Trust’s (RDT) Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) kicked off the first ever Anantapur Football League (AFL) for girls. Although the Girls AFL came to an end in the first week of February 2016, the initiative has given girls and young women in Anantapur a definitive and bright future in football in India.

In the group stages, each team had to play six games, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the knock-out round to be played at ASA’s Anantapur Sports Village (ASV). The knock-out stage was scheduled in such a way, that the matches ended well before the athletes needed to prepare for their end-of-year exams. This meant that the players, their parents, coaches, and team managers could focus enough attention on the sport, without having to constantly worry about exam woes.

AFL Girls Final

Action from the 1st AFL Girls Final between Atmakur & Kalyandurg
Source: ASA

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ASA Footballers Unbeaten in Maiden U15 Youth League Appearance

The 2015-16 season has been a great time for football at the Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA). The boys have been performing well, ever since the ASA joined hands with Fateh Hyderabad Associated Football Club (FHAFC) to support them in their I-League debut.

It all started when Fateh Hyderabad signed ASA’s senior-most player, S. Bhaskar Reddy to play for their I-League Division 2 team. This was followed by the signing of all the senior U18 ASA boys and U15 ASA boys to play in the IU18 I-League and U15 Youth Leagues for Fateh Hyderabad, respectively.

ASA Team Warms Up

Warming Up Before a Game
Source: ASA

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Anantapur Gives Women a Voice Through Football

Contributed by Maxon Sequeira

Rural Development Trust’s (RDT) Anantapur Sports Village (ASV) could still hear blissful echoes of the 2015 Andhra Pradesh Junior Women’s Hockey State Championship from the preceding weekend. Women’s sport in Anantapur got another boost as the Anantapur Football League (AFL) 2015 officials decided to start the first ever Anantapur Football League for Girls towards the end of the first leg of the 2015 AFL.

The AFL 2015 officials organized a meeting with all the Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) mandals to finalize guidelines and rules for the Girls AFL that shall kick off its inaugural season towards the end of this year. The ASA, through this meeting also assessed each mandal’s contribution towards the AFL, in terms of participants and officials. This would also ascertain the way ahead for the Girls AFL.

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