Subroto Cup adds Bengaluru as host city

62nd Edition will see the sub-junior boys tournament being played in India’s Silicon Valley for the very first time

Khel Today Bureau 

New Delhi: The 62nd Edition of the prestigious Subroto Cup International Football Tournament, will be held from September 19-October 23, 2023. This year Bengaluru has been added as a host-city in addition to Delhi and Gurugram, taking the oldest national inter-school football tournament to the South of India for the very first time. An official announcement to this effect, was made at a press-event at the Akash Officer’s Mess here in the national capital, in the presence of Air Marshal R.K Anand VSM, Air Officer-in-Charge Administration & Vice Chairman, Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society (SMSES), who graced the occasion as Chief Guest.

The Subroto Cup, hosted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) under the aegis of the SMSES, was first held in 1960 and was named after Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, who conceived the idea in order to promote sport at the grassroot level.

The 62nd Subroto Cup will be telecast LIVE on the SportsCast India YouTube channel.

You can also catch the Highlights on the Prasar Bharti & AIFF YouTube channels.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Air Marshal R.K. Anand VSM, Air Officer-in-Charge Administration & Vice Chairman SMSES, said, “The 62nd Subroto Cup will indeed be historic given that it will be played in Bengaluru, in the South of India, for the very first time. It has been our longstanding desire to spread the reach of this iconic tournament to more corners of the country and the hosting of the main Sub Junior Boys tournament in Bengaluru this year, is a first step in that direction. I congratulate all the teams who have qualified for the tournament and wish them all the very best. May they play the game in the true spirit of sportsmanship.”

As mentioned, this will be the first time, the national tournament will be played outside the national capital region (NCR). While the U-17 Junior Boys and Girls tournaments will be held in Delhi/NCR, the U-14 Sub-Junior Boys competition will be hosted in Bengaluru.

Besides the hallowed Ambedkar Stadium, the Tejas Football Ground (Delhi), the Subroto Football Ground (Delhi) and the G.D. Goenka School (Gurugram) ground will be the venues in the Delhi/NCR region. In Bengaluru, the matches will be played at the ASC Centre, the Air Force School, Jalahalli and the Air Force School, Yehalanka.

A total of 109 teams will be participating across the three categories from 27 States and Union Territories (UTs) of the country. Teams from Bangladesh and Nepal will also bring in foreign participation. A total of over 180 football matches are scheduled to be played.

While the Pilgrim Higher Secondary School in Dimapur, Nagaland are the defending champions of the Junior Boys tournament, the 61st Junior Girls edition was won by St. Patrick’s School from Gumla, Jharkhand. The Sub Junior Boys tournament on the other hand, was won by Heirok Higher Secondary School from Imphal, Manipur, in the previous edition.

Break-up of States/UTs- U-17 Girls: 24 States/UTs, U-14 Boys: 26 States/UTs, U-17 Boys: 27 States/UTs)

SCHEDULE:

Junior Girls (U-17): 19th Sep – 26th Sep

Sub-Junior Boys (U-14):, 2nd Oct-10th Oct

Junior Boys (U-17):, 14th Oct -23rd Oct

CEREMONIES

Press Conference & Curtain Raiser – 12 Sep 2023

Opening Ceremony – 19 Sep 2023

Final Junior Girls (U-17) – 26 Sep 2023

Final Sub-Junior Boys (U-14) – 10 Oct 2023

Closing Ceremony & Final Junior Boys (U-17) – 23 Oct 2023.