FIFA delegation calls on Sarbananda Sonowal
New Delhi: A FIFA delegation led by Secretary General Jerome Valcke today called on Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to discuss the under-17 football World Cup 2017 to be held in India in 2017. All India Football Federation (AIFF) chairman Praful Patel was also present during the meeting here on Monday. Jerome briefed the Minister about the keenness of FIFA to develop and popularise football at the grass-roots level in the country. He stressed the need for upgradation of infrastructure like stadia dedicated to football so that India which is full of talent and potential can provide best facilities to its young and upcoming football players. The Sports Minister, welcoming the suggestions given by the FIFA, said the Government will extend all possible support to make World Cup a success. (UNI)
NBA’s ‘Train the trainers’ programme unveiled
Delhi: The second edition of the ‘Train the Trainers’ programme got underway at the Carmel Convent School here on Monday. A joint initiative of Reliance Foundation and National Basketball Association (NBA) Jr NBA 2014, will include a ‘train the trainer programme’, in-school basketball sessions, elite training camps and a city final featuring shooting, 3×3 and 5×5 competitions in eight cities – Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kottayam, Kolkata and Mumbai. Announcing the launch of the programme, Senior director NBA Carlos Barroca said, “We don’t know what the future will be but we expect more than million students.””Our main focus is to inspire coaches to be one coach who has been recognised by students. It focuses on inspiring youth to play and live a healthy, active lifestyle,” he added. The program expects a total of 150 PE instructors or coaches from the 150 partner schools to receive ongoing training from the international coaches along with turnkey curriculum to teach the game to the youth. (UNI)
Narayanan loses but stays in hunt of Grandmaster norm
Pune: International Master S L Narayanan went down fighting against third seed Wei Yi of China but remained in the hunt for his Grandmaster norm after the end of the eighth round of World Junior Chess Championship here on Monday. The Indian challenge in the championships suffered a serious setback following Narayanan’s loss. The Indian was unbeaten till the seventh round and will now have to stage a comeback to pose a challenge. The norm chances however remained for Narayanan despite the loss and depending upon the opposition, a draw might still be enough in the next round to secure the Grandmaster norm. Wei Yi was at his best and played out a solid positional game as white to reach 6.5 points. The Chinese went for the topical Advance variation in the Caro Kann defense and after attaining the spatial advantage went about his task of exerting pressure on both flanks.(PTI)
ISL ‘Fair Play Award’ trophy unveiled
New Delhi: As the popularity of the ISL continues to grow by the day, the event’s ‘Fair Play Awards’ trophy was unveiled here on Tuesday. Standing at a height of two feet and designed in the shape of a gold-coloured whistle, the trophy is being presented by ISL partners Muthoot Group. The trophy will be given to the team, which earns the maximum Fair Play points at the end of the football league. Col. Gautam Kar, Director of AIFF, said, “We are glad that the Muthoot Group has made a commitment to support the first ever season of the Hero ISL as the official Referee and Fair Play Awards sponsor.” (PTI)