Nagaland joins first celebration of National Grassroots Football Day

Kohima: Nagaland joined the nation-wide celebration of the first National Grassroots Football Day on Friday at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima, which coincided with the culmination of a three-day Grassroot Football Tournament organised by the Kohima District Football Association (KDFA) under the aegis of the Nagaland Football Association (NFA).

Speaking at the event, NFA president K Neibou Sekhose informed that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) had set aside the day to commemorate the birth anniversary of renowned Indian footballer and coach Pradeep Kumar Banerjee better known as PR Banerjee. Sekhose said that Banerjee was widely acclaimed as one of the finest footballers of the country and also holds the title of India’s top scorer.

According to the AIFF, Grassroots Football lays the foundation of the sport with the primary aim to increase participation for children, youth, amateurs, veterans, those with physical disabilities, cerebral palsy, visually impaired and even the socially disadvantaged.

He said that grassroot football tournaments are part of the strategic roadmap, “Vision 2047” which targets to engage 35 million children between the ages of 4-12 by 2026 while taking that number to 100 million by 2047. The AIFF executive member informed that it has also launched the grassroot program logo for Blue Cubs, the flagship program that aims to establish a robust foundation for Indian Football.

Sekhose said that as Nagaland has 1,939 government schools out of which 44 were higher secondary schools while there are 730 private schools which contributes to about 4 lakh students of which 1.64 lakh are from government schools. To cover all the schools in the state phase-wise, he said that NFA would collaborate with the department of Youth Resources & Sports and education departments.

During AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey’s visit last year, the “Football for Schools” programme was also launched. Sekhose informed that NFA has plans to train one master trainer, 16 district trainers and one coach educator for all schools in the State to reach out to 2 lakh learners.

Meanwhile, as part of the first edition of the Grassroot Football Tournament, Kezekevi FC and Khelo India Centre Greenwood School Dimapur emerged as the winners of the Under-15 and Under-13 categories respectively.

The tournament brought in children from across the state to compete in the U-10, U-13 and U-15 categories. A total of 30 teams and over 200 players participated in the first-of-its-kind event.

The much exciting final match of the U-15 category between Kezekevi FC and Young Challengers FC Medziphema was decided through a tie breaker after a draw with two goals each.

In the under-13 category, Khelo India Centre Greenwood School Dimapur (6-2) defeated Sechü Zubza FC in the final match and secured the champion’s position.

In the U-10 category, Khelo India Centre, IGS Kohima ‘A’ emerged as the champion while Children’s Club was placed in the second position.

Dear Reader,
Every day, our team at EastMojo travels through rain, rough roads, and remote hills to bring you stories that matter – stories from your town, your people, your Northeast.
We do this because we believe in truthful, independent journalism. No big corporate backing, no government pressure – just honest reporting by local journalists who live and breathe the same air you do.
But to keep doing this work, we need you. Your small contribution helps us pay our reporters fairly, reach places others ignore, and keep asking the tough questions.
If you believe the Northeast deserves its own fearless voice, stand with us.
Support independent journalism. Be a Member.

Thank you,
Karma Paljor
Editor-in-Chief, eastmojo.com

BE A MEMBER