The Subroto Cup football tournament has attracted six foreign teams which has taken the overall tally of the teams participating in the 54th edition of the oldest inter-school championship in Asia to 81 -- nine more than 2012's record.
The tournament, organised by Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society under the aegis of the Indian Air Force since 1960, will be played at the B.R. Ambedkar Stadium here from Sep 27 to Oct 19 in three categories -- U-14 boys, U-17 boys and U-17 girls -- with at least two finals under the flood lights for the first time ever.
This year the number of teams in the girls tournament is 19, three more than last year. In the U-14 boys category, there are 30 teams compared to 23 in 2012 while in the U-17 boys category, there are 32 teams competing.
In the 2012 edition, the trophy was lifted by Dynamo Kiev Football Club while the centre of attraction this year would be Ukrainian side Troeshchina. The team of underprivileged children should start favourite after winning the UNICEF Football Cup in Spain earlier this year. The other five foreign teams would be from Oman, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
"Subroto Cup has been witnessing growing participation from not just teams but also the corporate world. We have received support from 18 sponsors this year and Adidas has entrusted their faith in us consecutively for the second year along with generous support from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports," Air Marshal H.B. Rajaram AVSM VSM Air Officer in Charge Administration said.
Adidas will be selecting 10 players from this year's tournament and sending them to various clubs in Europe for training and exposure purposes.
The inauguration ceremony is Sep 27 and the three finals are scheduled Oct 11(Boys U-14), Oct 17 (Girls U-17), and Oct 19 (Boys U-17).