 Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 28: Led by Sayad Bin Abdul Kadir, Jharkhand lifted the title trophy of Coca-Cola Cup (sub junior under-15) Football Tournament outplaying Boris De Melo captained Goa 8-3 in the final played at the Benaulim Football Ground, Goa.
Gaurav Mukhi from Jharkhand was named player of the match for scoring six goals. The winning Jharkhand and runners-up, Goa teams were felicitated jointly by secretary AIFF, Kushal Das; Director, technical AIFF, Robert Baan; director academies and coach education, AIFF, Scott O'Donnell and vice president, marketing and commercial, Coca-Cola India, Debabrata Mukherjee.
The Coca-Cola Cup is a grassroots level initiative which would identify and groom young football talent in the country by offering them a chance to be a part of the national under-16 football team.
Speaking to the gathering, secretary, AIFF, Kushal Das said, "I congratulate Jharkhand who have proven their prowess on the field today. I wish them all the best for the future as they get ready to reach higher echelons of success in the sport and represent the national team someday."
According to Debabrata Mukherjee, "On behalf of Coca-Cola India, I would like to congratulate Jharkhand for their well-deserved win today. In all it was a fantastic display of what India's future holds and we will continue to support AIFF in its quest to unearth the talent from across India. I am positive that not only the players in the national finals, but all the 40,000 players, who have participated in this edition of Coca-Cola Cup will benefit from the experience and exposure, especially from participating in football, which helps build an active healthy lifestyle at a young age."
Sayad Bin Abdul Kadir, captain of a visibly excited winning team said, "Winning the national finals of The Coca-Cola Cup for our state is a great moment for us all. On behalf of the entire team, I would like to extend deep gratitude to our coach, P Nath for guiding us to this win. It feels great to raise this trophy after the sweat and toil of the last few months. Thank you AIFF and Coca-Cola India for organizing this tournament which has provided a much needed platform for young footballers like us."
The Coca-Cola Cup is a grassroots level football tournament organized by AIFF. The tournament is open to all young footballers in the age group of 12-15 years. This year, the tournament drew participation from over 106 cities. |
