NAGPUR District Football Association (NDFA) will be conducting WIFA’s final round of Senior Inter-District State Football Championship at DR BR Ambedkar Football Stadium, Suyog Nagar, North Nagpur from April 20. The Western India Football Association has entrusted NDFA to organise the final round of the 8-team competition. Accordingly, NDFA will play host to top eight teams of the district which will fight out in the league-cum-knock-out basis competition. Winners from the zonal meets of the inter-district competition and last year’s State championships four semi-finalists will form the eight teams for the meet.

 

“Last year’s semi-finalists are Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai and Kolhapur. We are planning to organise the competition on league-cum-knock-out basis so that teams get more matches to play. Two groups of four teams will be formed and top two teams from each group will make it to semis. The winners will play the summit clash while the losing teams will lock horns for the third place,” Stanley Gregory, NDFA Secretary, told ‘The Hitavada’. Matches will be held in morning and evening sessions. For the said tournament, NDFA will be organising a conditioning cum selection trials for Nagpur district team from April two at its stadium. “NDFA has picked probables during the JSW League Championships. These players will be then pruned and the final team of 18 members would be selected by April 10 or 12. With the temperature rising, NDFA has decided to conduct the conditioning camp and trials under the lights (only evening session),” stated Gregory. 

 

THE summer will be full of football action in the city as NDFA has planned out several tournaments to be played under lights. The association will be re-starting Shahid Bhagat Singh Football Competition in the month of May after the State Championship is over. “It (Bhagat Singh tournament) has been pending for quite some time now. We have planned to organise the Bhagat Singh tournament in the month of May,” said Gregory. Similarly, the inter-academy tournament will also be conducted for the age groups. “There are many academies registered with NDFA and who wish to get registered with the association. We will be conducting tournaments for these registered academies in the age groups of 13 and 15 in the coming months,” added Gregory. “The infrastructure is ready for futsal and there won’t be any tournament in later part of May and June so we are planning to conduct futsal under lights at our stadium,” stated Gregory.