In a time when football is seeing an exponential growth in its fan base in India, it’s a perfect time for hosting football tournaments. With an increased internet activity across the country, every aspiring player feels that much closer to a Ronaldo or a Messi and wants to try his hand (or should I say foot) in this game. Corporates across the country are increasingly adopting the 5-a-side and 6-a-side formats of the game and you can see overbooked football turfs in cities like Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and other otherwise-not-known-for-football places. Its easy to play and learn with the smaller pitches and less demanding on physical endurance.
The Andheri Football League shares this vision and the organizers feel such tournaments will give an impetus to Indian Football. This 10-team tournament will commence in September 2015 and carry on till December 2015 with games being played from 7.30 pm to 10:30 pm at PASS Astroturf in Andheri East. Following the League format which is currently the most popular, this tournament will culminate in an IPL (and now ISL too) style playoff to decide the Champions. A whopping 2 lakh prize for the winners is even more exciting a prospect.
The league is officially associated with the Mumbai District Football Association, so the level of this tournament will definitely be right there at the top. The TAFL Team consist of Coach trained and worked in England, a Final year Chartered Account Student, a Structural Engineer and a Computer Network Developer. Each of the individuals from this team has been involved in organizing several tournaments. The organizers feel that a major Capital, Good Organizers, Good Ground, Sponsors, Team Owners, Coaches & Players have to come together to have a successful tournament. Speaking to thefootballmind, they say that “Indian Football is at a budding stage right now and there are a lot of avenues for players, coaches and staff opening up. Grass root is being taken up seriously by the Reliance organized Indian Super League its Franchise our very own Mumbai City Football Club. Indian Football at this stage certainly promises great future for Mumbai & India." Thefootballmind is actively working with TAFL to ensure the success of this initiative.
Its likely that this format of the game will develop more popularity due to such tournaments. Of course without the support of the fans, the game cannot reach its potential in India. So go out there, play, support and show your love for the game!
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