Ludhiana, September 1
With the arrival of two teams - Mohammedan Sporting Club and Vasco Sporting Club of Goa here this evening, the ball has been set rolling for the 29th Federation Football Cup Tournament slated to be held at the Guru Nanak Stadium from September 4 to 15. Sixteen top soccer outfits of the country will be vying for top honours during this 12-day mega event.
Though football is not as popular as the game of cricket in this part of the country as was evident during the National Football League matches, which the city has been hosting for the past couple of years, the tournament is likely to generate enough interest to give a shot in the arm to the sport in Punjab. The organisers of this football extravaganza are hoping to attract a large number of spectators as the matches are scheduled to be played late in the evening under floodlights.
The Punjab Football Association (PFA) and the sports department, Punjab, have been working together in association with the local municipal corporation to get the Guru Nanak Stadium, venue of this tournament, ready.
The broken chairs in the major parts of the stands have been replaced, the stairs are cleaned, the pump for drinking water has been made operational, dressing rooms for the players as well as the officials have been renovated, besides sprucing up the lavatories.
The floodlights, which were out of order (partially) for the last some months, have also been replaced. A team of experts from Phillips India, Delhi, inspected the venue to check the lighting arrangements and found every thing up to the mark.
Three makeshift air conditioned booths have been erected in the stands opposite to the VIP enclosure to house the electronic media. All the matches will be telecast live by Zee Sports.
Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Arjuna awardee Inder Singh, former international player, Indian captain and honorary general secretary of the PFA, said the Nehru Cup played in New Delhi a few days back had generated interest in the game and he hoped to cash in on the wave next week during the Federation Cup.
“We have been receiving full cooperation from the staff of the local office of the sports department and the municipal corporation in making arrangements for the mega event,” the former captain said.
Elaborating further about the arrangements being made for this event, Inder Singh said around 1,000 pamphlets had been pasted at strategic points in the district and nearby places, besides putting up banners and hoardings in the city. Invitation letters had been sent to the heads of educational institutions so that the students could arrange their schedule in advance and watch top soccer stars in action, Inder Singh added.
In the inaugural match, hosts JCT will take on Vasco Sports Club at 4 pm, while in the second match the Mohd Sporting Club will clash with East Bengal at 7 pm. Holders, Mohun Bagan, will start their campaign with a match against ONGC on September 6.
