Independence Cup gets bigger this year

More woman power as many female teams register for the tournament

College boys practising for the Independence Cup scheduled to start at NehruMaidan on July 30. Photo: H.S. Manjunath

For those suffering from World Cup withdrawal, football season is back in the district with the announcement of the Independence Cup Football Tournament — 2014. With 212 teams — including a sizeable number of women’s teams — having already registered, the annual tournament is set to see the biggest, fiercest competition since its inception 18 years ago.

Registration

“There is still time to register, and we expect around 225 teams in all for this cup. This is an increase from 192 teams that participated last year,” said D.M. Aslam, honorary chairman of the Dakshina Kannada District Football Association, which is organising the tournament, told presspersons here on Friday.

He believed the immense enthusiasm generated in this year’s Football World Cup at Brazil added to the interest.

The registered teams include eight higher primary school girls’ teams, 16 high school girls’ teams and eight for Pre-University and college teams — which makes it the highest number of women’s teams participating in the tournament, said the association.

Through the 17 days of the competition, starting on July 30, the games will be played in seven categories — higher primary school (boys and girls), high school (boys and girls), P.U.C. boys, college boys, P.U.C and college girls.

Difficult logistics

Though elated by the response, the football association is now confronted with difficulties in organising the tournament. “The only ground where a tournament of this size can be played is Nehru Maidan. And the facilities there are not enough for players or spectators,” said Mr. Aslam. He estimated that more than 223 games will be conducted in the tournament, which will require Nehru Maidan to be split into three, where each part will host a 30-minute game.

“Players from Dakshina Kannada have done very well in the State-level competition held at Shimoga recently. However, if we want to set our sights for the Junior World Cup that will be held in India in 2017 or the 2022 Qatar World Cup, then the football infrastructure must be developed in the district,” said Mr. Aslam.

While Mayor Mahabala Marla is scheduled to throw open the games on July 30, the valedictory of the tournament on August 15, will see up to 10,000 students attending, said the association.