Football Delhi to Launch “37 Plus League” on Delhi Football Day
New Delhi, July 5: Football Delhi in its Executive Committee on 4th July 2021 decided to launch “37 Plus League” involving retired players from 3rd August 2021 (Delhi Football Day).
Delhi Football Day is celebrated by Football Delhi every year since 2018, the birthday of Sunil Chhetri.
As Indian National Team Captain, Sunil Chhetri is turning 37 on 3rd August 2021, we named the league “37 Plus League” in his honour. This league will be played on Saturdays and Sundays, lasting 8-10 weeks with 8-10 teams.
Football Delhi President, Shaji Prabhakaran stated, “37 Plus League is yet another initiative of Football Delhi to actively promote football in Delhi and with the start of this league retired players in Delhi will have a platform to come together and express their love, passion, experience, and continue to be active with the game. Further, it is our honour and privilege to celebrate the Football Delhi Day on 3rd August, the birthday of captain fantastic Sunil Chhetri and celebrating his achievements we are launching this initiative will greatly motivate 37 plus age group to remain physically active through football as Sunil is an inspiring leader on and off the pitch, still performing like a 25-year-old for Indian National Team and BFC.”
He added, “As pandemic is still around, we wanted to resume our football activities without much delay, taking minimum risk, we found this age group with low risk because of vaccination. Further, former players have a great desire to see a football rise in the capital city and through this platform these retired players can share their ideas and get actively involved in the growth of the game. We want more and more former players to be involved with our activities in Delhi.”
Executive Committee also decided to start the qualifying competition for interested Senior Division League clubs from 20th July to nominate two teams from Delhi in the 2nd Division I-League Competition to be held in Bengaluru.
Further, exco approved the organisation of the second season of Futsal League in Delhi from first week of September 2021 and the winning team will be nominated to play in the National Futsal Championship organised by AIFF in October 2021.
Football Delhi launches “Gift A Ball” Campaign to Encourage and Empower Girls from Underprivilege Families to Play Football
New Delhi, March 8: To celebrate International Women’s Day with a great purpose and impact football development in the Capital City, Football Delhi today launched “Gift A Ball” campaign at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex in New Delhi.
The campaign was kick started by Mr. Kiren Rijiju Hon’ble Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the presence of Mr. Praful Patel, President All India Football Federation, Mr. Sandip Pradhan, DG Sports Authority of India, Members of the Association, and a large gathering of women players.
The objective of the campaign is to promote football among girls, especially among underprivileged background. This initiative will also attempt to encourage football loving population in India to gift balls and turn this as a movement where gifting footballs to girls becomes a trend.
On this occasion Mr. Kiren Rijiju appreciated the efforts of the Football Delhi in promoting football among underprivilege girls. He stated that, I’m extremely happy to see Footballs in the hands of all Girl players. He also said that everyone should have a pen as well as Football in their hands. He assured that there will be a separate League for womens in Delhi. He urged everyone to support this campaign and motivate more girls to play football.
Mr. Baichung Bhutia stated that it’s a great opportunity to launch #GiftABall Campaign on International Women’s day. Over the years, we have seen many positive changes in Delhi and it is one of them. I wish all the players to do well in future. He also mentioned that this initiative will encourage more girl players to play Football.
Mr. Shaji Prabhakaran, President Football Delhi said, “Developing women’s football in Delhi is one of the top priorities for the Association. We wanted to celebrate International Women’s Day with a message which would encourage more girls to play football and with this campaign, we wanted to reinforce our commitment towards women’s football. Football is a sport with unlimited possibilities and when more girls from low-income families will be encouraged to play football in India than world of opportunities will open for the girls. We are targeting to gift 5000-10000 footballs and we urge everyone to be part of this campaign and support us to make more girls play football”.
Football Delhi has also initiated a crowdfunding campaign from today to fund the ‘Gift A Ball’ initiative. Funds generated from the crowdfunding will be entirely used to gift footballs to underprivileged girls. For crowdfunding campaign Football Delhi is using Fuel A Dream platform as it is one of the most transparent platforms for crowdfunding campaigns.
During the launch event dignitaries and members of the Football Delhi gifted footballs to each of the 200+ girls present from underprivileged families.
To promote the campaign in social media Football Delhi will be using the following hashtags: #GiftABall #GiftAFootball #GirlChild
Football Delhi to kick off competition calendar from 15th March, exactly after a gap of 12 months
8th Feb, New Delhi.
Football Delhi in its Executive Committee meeting on 7th February decided to start the competitions from 15th March with Senior Division League in order to meet the deadline for nominating clubs from Delhi to National 2nd Division League.
Association suspended all its activities on 15th March 2020 due to pandemic and thus exactly after a year local competitions will be resumed in Delhi following covid-19 protocols.
Women’s league will kick off from 25th March, followed by Corporate Futsal League in April.
New season 2021-22 will kick start in June 2021 with a Delhi Cup, a knock-out competition, open to all affiliated clubs of the Association followed by C-Division League.
Executive Committee also decided to hold selection trials for Sub-Junior Girls (Under-15) Delhi State Team from 20th February in order to start the preparation for National Sub-Junior Championship as girls from this competition will be scouted to be part of India U17 Women’s team which would play in FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup 2022, India.
Shaji Prabhakaran, President Football Delhi stated that it is important to resume football activities following all covid19 protocols and safety measures. It would be a celebration time when we resume our activities on the pitch as players, more than anyone else will be the happiest lot to be back on the pitch with excitement, energy, fun and performance.
He further stated that we have to look ahead with great anticipation, activities for all age group, starting May 2021 and wished never to encounter a similar unprecedented phase in football and life which kept all stakeholders away from their passion and favourite sport for this long. He urged everyone to come together and make a new beginning by encouraging children to play football everywhere and create new opportunities for the growth of football in the Capital City.
Football Delhi (Delhi Soccer Association) has appointed Crayons Academy for Skills Excellence (CASE) as their partners for college sports admission advisors and mentors for young and aspiring football players from the Delhi/NCR. Football Delhi President Mr. Shaji Prabhakaran stated that “playing college sports is a unique way of combining education with high-level of competitive sports. This gives a player international exposure without any compromise on education. The partnership with CASE is aimed towards Football Delhi’s commitment to provide holistic development to young footballers in Delhi/NCR”.
To kick start this association, CASE & Football Delhi have announced an Under-16 Award Scholarships for young footballers. Further, during each calendar year, only two meritorious footballers – a junior Boy and Girl, will be identified based on their soccer and academic achievements for a scholarship. The eligibility criteria will require the players to have played in the sub-junior and junior open National Level by representing their respective states and a minimum academic eligibility will be required as well.
The two selected students/football players who get selected for the scholarship will not be charged a professional fee from CASE & Football Delhi. Apart from this, CASE & Football Delhi will work towards securing maximum possible scholarship through College Sports Admissions in colleges of USA, CANADA, or U.K. For further details Football Delhi can be contacted at info@footballdelhi.com and CASE can be contacted at info@crayonskills.com
Football Delhi(
governing body of football in Delhi) seeks to find & support soccer talent
in the Delhi-NCR region by Hosting India’s First Virtual Football Talent Hunt.
Prizes worth 2.5 Lakhs & scholarships worth 28 lakhs will be awarded to
winners to support their football journey.
[New Delhi, Delhi]: Football Delhi (Delhi
Soccer Association – governing body of football in Delhi) today
announced Football Delhi Young Stars Hunt, India’s first virtual football
skill contest, that would enable participants (ages 6 to 17, boys and girls) to
showcase their football talent and stand a chance to win 2.5 lakh cash prizes.
Amenity Odisha FC Soccer School has also offered scholarships worth 28 lacs for
winner candidates to help them undertake professional football training along
with continuing their formal education.
The contest would enable students to upload
their skill videos from the comfort of their home to the contest portal where
they will be featured and can be voted on. It would help discover hidden talent
from the by lanes to posh localities of Delhi – NCR region and help them get
the recognition and opportunities.
“Corona has been detrimental for sports
this year but we cannot let the pandemic deprive our children of the
opportunities that they deserve. This talent hunt would serve as a unique
platform for our children”
said Shaji Prabhakaran, former FIFA South
Central Asia Development Officer and currently the president of the Delhi
Football Association.
“This
is a fantastic opportunity. During the pandemic this is a good way to unearth
football talent and take the sport forward in India. Well done Football Delhi”.
said Sunil Chhetri, captain of the Indian
Football Team
“Sports sector is struggling with
Covid-19 pandemic and it has affected us all. Due to this pandemic, Football
Delhi has decided to use the online platform to engage the Footballers through
online mode. The Virtual Skill Competition is one of the initiatives, we have
taken. With this initiative, we are giving a platform to all the Footballers
from Delhi NCR to showcase their skills virtually and to motivate these young
kicks, FD will give cash prizes to the winners of each age group and best 4
skilled players will also get the scholarships . Being a chairman of this
competition, I wish all the very best to all participants and coaches on the
panel”
said Mr. Rajiv
Gupta, Treasurer, Delhi Soccer Association and Chairman of the Virtual Football
Talent Hunt
The competition is open to all students,
from age 6 to 17, that either has a domicile in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida,
Ghaziabad, Faridabad or study in schools in these cities. In order to
participate, students can visit footballdelhitalenthunt.com.
Registration opens on 5th
December 2020. The competition will be held in two rounds:
Round 1: The students will upload their
videos of the prescribed skills onto the portal. The portal will feature these
videos where others can vote and share. Top performers, based on the number of
votes and feedback by experienced coaches, will be shortlisted for Round
2.
Round 2: The shortlisted students will have
to showcase advanced football skills and the judges will choose the winners who
will win cash prizes and scholarships.
Delhi Football Association will be
providing an e-certificate along with expert feedback to each student to
motivate them towards their football journey and improve their skills.
About Football Delhi (Delhi Soccer Association)
Football Delhi is the governing body of
football in Delhi. We are committed to working with the highest levels of
professionalism and integrity, to ensure that everybody in Delhi who desires to
engage with football is encouraged to and enabled to do so and give the sport
one’s best.
We partner with the clubs, facilities
owners, coaches, and all other elements across levels of the football
eco-system to create an environment that’s healthy and conducive to maximising
participation and achieving excellence in the sport.
We ensure that in Delhi, football is for
all. And that defines what we stand for.
The competition is open to all students, from age 6 to 17, that either has a domicile in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad or study in schools in these cities. In order to participate, students can visit footballdelhitalenthunt.com.
Registration opens on 5th
December 2020. The competition will be held in two rounds:
Round 1: The students will upload their
videos of the prescribed skills onto the portal. The portal will feature these
videos where others can vote and share. Top performers, based on the number of
votes and feedback by experienced coaches, will be shortlisted for Round
2.
Round 2: The shortlisted students will have
to showcase advanced football skills and the judges will choose the winners who
will win cash prizes and scholarships.
Delhi Football Association will be
providing an e-certificate along with expert feedback to each student to
motivate them towards their football journey and improve their skills.
About Football Delhi (Delhi Soccer Association)
Football Delhi is the governing body of
football in Delhi. We are committed to working with the highest levels of
professionalism and integrity, to ensure that everybody in Delhi who desires to
engage with football is encouraged to and enabled to do so and give the sport
one’s best.
We partner with the clubs, facilities
owners, coaches, and all other elements across levels of the football
eco-system to create an environment that’s healthy and conducive to maximising
participation and achieving excellence in the sport.
We ensure that in Delhi, football is for
all. And that defines what we stand for.
Leading world voices join Football Delhi to celebrate Sunil Chhetri’s birthday on August 3
New Delhi, 31 July 2020
Some of the leading voices of world football will be, for the first time, on the same page as Football Delhi plans to celebrate its Delhi Football Day and Sunil Chhetri’s 36th birthday, the digital way. August 3 will be a red letter day in the journey of Football Delhi as sports minister Mr Kiren Rijiju will lead a who’s who of world’s top football administrators in a series of panel discussions aimed at uplifting the game’s wellness with a specific aim of restoring Delhi’s pride as a football hotspot.
Asian Football Confederation General Secretary general Dato Windsor John will be among the speakers in the E-summit. Themed “Making Delhi a Vibrant Football City,” the president and general secretary of the All India Football Federation, Mr Praful Patel and Mr Kushal Das, respectively, will also speak on the occasion.
In these times of the COVID pandemic, the E-summit will be a perfect way of saying a big thank you to Sunil Chhetri for having carried the dreams of a billion Indians who have yearned for football glory over the years. Chhetri will also attend the summit and share his views.
The mega list of 35-plus speakers include FIFA’s Ms Sara Booth, who heads the women’s football competition for the world body, Mr Hicham El Amrani, former general secretary of the Confederation of African football and top representatives from European football, including the Bundesliga.
The Summit aims to involve the ain stakeholders for football development. While Mr. Jagdish Mitra, the Chief Strategy Officer of Tech Mahindra, will speak on the impact of IT on football, Neerav Tomar and Tuhin Mishra, who run celebrity management groups in India, will talk on how sponsors are looking at the game.
This list is endless. There will be specialists talking on every aspect of the wonderful game – infrastructure, marketing and sales, processes, media and of course, women’s football. August 3 will be a long day but should be able to highlight all the good work happening around football.
Shaji Prabhakaran, President, Football Delhi said: “For us Delhi Football Day is one of the most important days in our football calendar in Delhi since 2018 and we thought to plan something unique by which we can take football in Delhi to a global audience and thus E-Summit was the best option with us during this covid-19 era. We are delighted that a host of personalities and prominent voices from the global sports industry will be joining us to make this day very special for football in Delhi. Sunil Chhetri is joining the summit himself means a great inspiration for us and Mr. Kiren Rijiju Hon’ble Sports Minister delivering a keynote address on the summit theme is very encouraging for football in the Capital City”.
It is our great pleasure to invite you to our E-Summit. The summit will be Live on Facebook and YouTube. We will share with you the link on Sunday afternoon
Enclosed is the complete programme schedule.
After a hiatus, women’s league in Delhi is activated with a record number of teams.
Football Delhi is kick starting the Women’s League on an International Women’s Day i. e.8th March at Nehru Stadium. Hans Women FC were the winners in the league which was last played in 2016 with 10 teams.
This time 14 teams are competing for the top spot. The league phase is scheduled to run from 8th March- 26th March after which teams will be playing a Super Six round to decide the winner. The league will run at multiple venues, namely Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, DDA Jasola and Janki Devi Memorial College .
Shaji Prabhakaran, President of Football Delhi stated “The League is restarting after a big break and it is great to see so many teams participating in the league. As part of our commitment towards developing Women’s Football league for woman players are fundamental. We hope to see exciting and entertaining matches in the upcoming weeks.”
The chairman of the Women’s League Committee Dr Anju Luthra stated, “It is an excellent opportunity for women players in Delhi to be part of this league and great to see participation of so many teams.”
Football Delhi launches Academy Accreditation and Licensing System
New Delhi, November 18: In a bid to improve football, professionalize the set-up and to reach out to every stakeholder in the Delhi and NCR region, Football Delhi becomes the first state-level football federation in India to implement the Academy Accreditation and Licensing System. This is an effort to ensure that every smallest football academy in the city, including schools and NGOs operating football training centres in NCR, is boosted and benefitted as Football Delhi looks to spread the sport further.
From November 23, the system will be operational and all the details will be available online on the official website. Objective and transparent criteria are being devised to grant licenses to academies and make them a valuable part of the football structure in Delhi.
A strict licensing system will be employed so that standards are met and a standardized and professional set-up is created with a bottom-up approach. While the academies will be eligible to fill in forms online and apply for accreditation, a physical visit and evaluation by Football Delhi will complete the process.
“With academy accreditation and licensing system, we are making an attempt to make academies an integral part of the football structure in Delhi. With all the details available on the website, academies will reach out to us and our reviewer will evaluate and monitor the academies. If they meet the standardized protocols, they will be granted immediate accreditation and license. However, if they fail to, they will be handheld to reach the desired criteria,” said Shaji Prabhakaran, President of Football Delhi.
“The goal is not to segregate but to integrate so that football can spread to every nook and corner and every academy is an equal stakeholder in the developmental process,” he added.
Once it starts, the system will also help parents to take an informed decision for shortlisting an academy for their children as there will be a certain set transparent standard which would be reflected in academy star ratings.
There will be three categories of licenses or star ratings (1 to 3 star ratings). Star 3 rating means these academies are the best in Delhi and they will have certain standard in the following areas: coaching staff, facility, medical and safety, child protection policy, calendar of activities, programme, gender equality, and also link with registered football clubs of Delhi.
Football Delhi’s
Golden League coming back with the database to provide identity to all Delhi
football players
Power Finance Corporation comes on
board as one of the co-sponsor for the League
New Delhi, September 19: Delhi’s homegrown unprecedented
league, the Golden League is coming back for its second season on September 29.
With a unique data system – FD Connect, this time the league is aspiring to be
more connected and accessible than its former edition. In a bid to take the
League a notch higher, Power Finance Corporation has come on board
as a co-sponsor to the League.
FD connect will unite the entire football community together under one
roof. With this, Football Delhi is providing an opportunity for every young
player across the city to be a recognized football player in the city. FD
connect will also provide its registered members with a membership card. This
database will give access to the details of any football event in Delhi easier
than ever before.
Meanwhile, the Golden League will be back with its second season which
will continue for three months. The unique league aimed at promoting football
in Delhi at the grassroots level, saw 176 teams playing a total of 751 matches
in its previous edition.
Power Finance Corporation, Chairman and Managing Director Shri Rajeev
Sharma said, “PFC is happy to support the Grassroots
Football Development initiative of Football Delhi. We can anticipate that
through Golden League participation in football will grow many folds and this
platform will help the key stakeholders in identifying many talented players. I
would like to wish Golden League very best.”
This time, it is expected to be bigger and better as 250 teams have
already registered for the league. A total of 1200 matches across 15 venues are
to be played in this edition. The league will have matches on 12 consecutive
Sundays with 100 – 150 matches on each day.
Football Delhi President, Shaji Prabhakaran said, “We are
very delighted to get the support of Power Finance Corporation for the
development of grassroot football through Golden League. This partnership will
help in multiple ways to energize football at the grassroots level in Delhi and
above all, football will touch every strata of society.”
With this unparalleled league, Football Delhi is trying to reach out to
young football players from all walks of life and provide them with a platform
to hone their skills.
This distinctive league will have teams in 3 different categories – U-7,
U-9 and U-11 and will have both boys and girls in the participating teams. In
order to encourage more young girls to play football, the league will provide
more points to the team with more number of girls.
Football Delhi appoints noted journalist and television anchor Samip Rajguru as its Chief Executive
Rajguru has been a Santosh Trophy player & has 23 years of media experience
New Delhi, September 2: With the aim of boosting the growth and development on every level, Football Delhi Executive Committee unanimously approved the appointment of former India TV Executive Sports Editor, Samip Rajguru as its General Secretary (Chief Executive) in its executive meeting that was held on 1st September 2019. Rajguru, a former player and with 23 years of experience in media, will assume charge from 1st October 2019.
Having played the Santosh Trophy from 1993 to 1995, where he represented Madhya Pradesh, Rajguru understands the game inside out. An excellent player from the school level, he had been a part of the U-19 Schools India Camp in 1990 before playing for Assam at the 1992 U-21 Nationals and going on to captain Jiwaji University later on.
Rajguru’s deep association with the game makes him just the right person needed to professionalize the entire structure of Football Delhi and focus on how to bring out the best of players right from a young age as well as spread the sport further.
Speaking on his appointment, Football Delhi President Shaji Prabhakaran said, “We are fortunate to get the services of Mr. Samip Rajguru and him joining the Association will significantly help in professionalising our structure and improve every aspect of the game.”
“His media experience of 23 years and his stint as a Santosh Trophy player will be to our advantage in promoting the game in the National Capital Region. My best wishes to Samip Rajguru and we are looking forward to working with him to develop the game in India’s capital city,” he added.
Ever since May 2019, when Edmund Jones, the first full-time General Secretary left the office due to his ill-health, the position had remained vacant. Football Delhi was on the lookout for someone to succeed Jones, who had served the Association with the highest integrity and dedication.
Rajguru’s in-depth knowledge of local as well as global football events made him the right choice for the post and he will also be the official spokesperson of the state federation. Rajguru, who had served Aajtak for 19 years as an Associate Editor and was subsequently the Executive Editor of India TV, was looking to contribute to the sport that had his lifelong passion, when the offer came.
On the new association, Samip Rajguru said, “I have played the game, I have covered the game as a journalist and now it is time to work for the game.
“I always believe that one must give it back to the sport that gave you so much and the best way I could start was from the capital of the nation. I thank Football Delhi and its President Mr. Shaji Prabhakaran for this opportunity. I look forward to the challenges and hope to win it for my team and Delhi.”
