Tag: U18 Football

Bengaluru FC Announces Launch of Residential Academy

As a part of their endeavour to promote elite football talents and train players from a young age, Bengaluru FC hosted a press conference earlier this week to announce their plans of setting up a residential academy at the JSW Township in Vijayanagar, Bellary. COO Mustafa Ghouse, CTO Mandar Tamhane and newly appointed Head of Youth Development, John Kila, spoke to the press from the club’s offices at Bangalore Football Stadium.

Bengaluru FC PressCon

JSW Bengaluru FC CTO Mandar Tamhane, Head of Youth Development John Kila, and COO Mustafa Ghouse
Source: Bengaluru FC Media

The club will scout for talent in Bengaluru, Kerala, Mizoram, Punjab and Chandigarh. Currently, they are only looking for youth in the Under-16 and Under-18 age categories. Those players who display exceptional talent during the first round of trials will be shortlisted, and will have to undergo a final selection, before the chosen candidates will relocate to the academy in Vijayanagar. At the academy, the selected youth will be provided with accommodation, education and nutrition at no cost with this fully-funded youth development programme overseen by Dutchman, John Kila.

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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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