India a step closer to 2019 Asian Cup
Defender Jerry Lalrinzuala scored a spectacular long range goal as India beat Nepal 1-0 in the final to win the South Asian Football Federation Under-16 Championship at the Dasharath stadium in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Midfield lynchpin Suresh Singh feels India would need to improve their final pass, but an improvement in department would not be enough against Colombia's all-round superiority.
The All India Football Federation believes that the FIFA U-17 World Cup, beginning October 6, can be a catalyst for the sport.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
The Indian football team has re-entered the top-100 of the FIFA world rankings and is now placed at 99th at the latest chart released on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The world's most-talented young players gave India a memorable show of high quality football on the field as the country showcased its organizational skills in a near-flawless and record-breaking FIFA Under-17 World Cup across six cities, which culminated with England clinching the title in Kolkata on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Mizoram blanked Railways 3-0 in a one-sided final of the 68th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy in Siliguri.
National football coach Stephen Constantine said his 'target' was to breach the 100 mark by the time his two-year contract expires.
Salgaocar consolidated their position atop the I-League table with a thrilling 3-2 victory over East Bengal in a Round 8 match in Kalyani on Friday.
From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
Satisfied with the infrastructure in place, a FIFA team, which is in Delhi to inspect stadia, said India has the potential to host a "tremendous Under-17 World Cup" in 2017. It, however, asked the AIFF to be proactive in its planning and execution.
Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia said on Tuesday that a merger of the newly floated Indian Super League (ISL) and the long-running I-League is neither going to happen nor is it advisable.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday.
Bogged down by inefficient administration and unable to attract financing, the once legendary football clubs of Kolkata are fading into irrelevance.
Abdiev Asliddin scored in each half as Uzbekistan beat India 3-0 in a crucial Group A encounter of the AFC U-29 Championship (Qualifiers) at the Al Arabi Stadium in Doha on Thursday. Abdiev scored at the end of first half and beginning of the second, and set up another goal to hand his side three important points.
'Chamling's legacy is toxic.' '7 out of 10 teenagers in Sikkim abuse drugs.' 'The youth are dying and the future looks bleak.'
The All India football Federation (AIFF) gave its go ahead to the IPL-style IMG-Reliance league with its executive committee agreeing to the holding of the tournament by its commercial partners IMG-Reliance early next year.
The meeting between officials of All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner IMG-Reliance to discuss the final plans relating to the ambitious IPL-style football tournament scheduled on Tuesday has been postponed to later this week.
The Indian juggernaut rolled on unabated as the star-studded boxing squad joined the shooters in what is turning out to be an outing of unprecedented dominance by the host country at the 12th South Asian Games, in Guwahati, on Saturday.
Not focussing on grassroot development over the years has led to the players learning the basics only late in their career, says national coach Stephen Constantine.
Khalid Jamil scripted one of India's most remarkable sporting success stories.
The Indian football team's disastrous performance at the international level continued as it went down 0-3 to Tajikistan in an international friendly in Khujand, Tajikistan, on Wednesday.
The Indian football team's disastrous performance at the international level continued as it went down 0-3 to Tajikistan in an international friendly in Khujand, Tajikistan, on Wednesday.
Minerva Punjab FC will take on Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC on April 2 in the inaugural Super Cup football tournament which begins in Bhubaneswar on March 31.
'Mission XI Million is the most ambitious football engagement programme to date in India.'
Asked about the popularity of the Indian Super League, and whether FIFA will recognize it, secretary-general Jerome Valcke was quick to point out that for the world body there is only one league and that's the I-League. Manu Shankar reports
An ambitious project to awaken a sleeping giant of Asian soccer looks like confirming Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's famous remark that India pricks up its ears only when comparisons with China are made. With China embarked on a multi-billion dollar mission to become a soccer superpower by 2050, India looks set to follow suit with its own plan to raise its status in the game to match its burgeoning economic power. Come October, India, most famously described as soccer's sleeping giant by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, will launch a programme to engage more than 11 million children in soccer-related activities.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
A goal each half gave India a 2-0 victory over Nepal, and made Sunil Chhetri the country's all-time leading goal-scorer, in Tuesday's friendly at the Kanchenjunga stadium in Siliguri.
The 'sleeping giant' woke up to a new dawn with the Indian Super League putting Indian football on the global map, but the national team continued to paint a grim picture, plummeting to its worst-ever rankings in an eventful year for the sport.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A definitive guide to the movers and shakers who sit at the helm of the Asian sports boom.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
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