By Our Reporter
Shillong, Jul 19: All over the state teenagers are putting their all into training for the biggest new tournament to give them an opportunity to shine and take their football talent one step further – the Meghalaya Youth League 2024.
The inaugural edition of the statewide U-14 and U-16 boys’ event, organised by the Meghalaya Football Association with the support of the Government of Meghalaya, will kick off tomorrow at eight different venues across the state.
Uniquely for the MFA, this tournament, a long-held dream for the association, will not be held between clubs but between affiliated district associations, 20 of which are to take part in the maiden edition.The idea behind this is to use this tournament as a platform to select the youth teams that go on to represent Meghalaya at the national level.
It will also present the young footballers with a stepping stone to club-level senior football and give Meghalaya one of the strongest football structures in the country.
The tournament was officially launched with the grand reveal of the trophy by the Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma at a function in Shillong last Friday.
Today the action truly begins, with four zones seeing teams compete on a home-and-away basis before the best qualify for the knockouts.