The All India Football Federation has tied up with Coca Cola India to support the ongoing U-16 33rd National Sub-Junior Championships also known as the Mir Iqbal hussain Trophy (MIHT). The U-16 tournament is being held across 75 cities with the participation of over 40,000 young footballers from 1500 schools.
The objective of the grassroots level championship is to unearth the most promising footballers for the U-16 Indian football team for 2011. As mentioned by Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, the initiative takes forward Coca-Cola India’s commitment to not only create a sporting culture but also promoting healthy lifestyle through sports.
Alberto Colaco, General Secretary, AIFF, said they were proud to take the tournament to the next level following last year’s success. He said it was also important not only to motivate young and promising footballers but also encourage youngsters to adopt football as their chosen sport.
The tournament will be organized over three levels:
District & State Level: District Football Associations will organize a competition or skill trial among talented football players in the age group 12-15 years. These district teams will then compete within their state, where the State Football Association will select a team to represent the state at the Regional level. FIVE regional rounds would be held.
Zonal Level: 31 state teams will compete with each other across four zones– North East, South West, East and North. From these zones the top 2 will qualify for the national stage of the competition.
National Level: Ten zonal teams will take part in the national level which will be played at New Delhi in December 2010. In the end, 2 teams will play the National Finals with one team that will emerge as the winner of ‘Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy’ 2010.
AIFF talent scouts will be present for the national rounds to identify and short-list 40 promising young footballers who will be coached and developed to form the National Under-16 Sub-Junior Team.