IFA announces district tournament to scout talents from state

Kolkata, Apr 2 (UNI) The Indian Football Association (IFA) today announced the launch of the Officer's Choice State League Football Tournament featuring top 19 districts to scout talents in the state.

The tournament involves the top clubs of the districts and is one of the major tournaments aimed at promoting football at the district level.

The championship begins on Friday and the initial phase will carry on for the next three weeks.

S.B.Ganguly, President IFA, said, ''Officer's Choice State League is a tournament which will help strengthen the already strong football base in the districts of West Bengal. We believe it to be an excellent method to create football interest at the district level. We would want this tournament to become an example for other states to follow and with the support of a brand like Officer's Choice we see that happening sooner than later. I welcome all the teams and urge them to compete in the true spirit of the game.'' '' We are confident of the development of football in India in general and West Bengal in particular and this exciting tournament will surely help accelerate our progress towards such end,'' Mr U K Ganguly, Secretary IFA, added.

The tournament will be played in two phases. In the first phase top teams from the 19 districts will be divided into 6 groups and teams in each group will play against one another in home and away format.

At the end of the first phase the top two teams, of each group will be selected to play in the second phase and the top four teams will play in the semi-finals and the winners of the semi-finals will play in the final to decide the champion team of the district.

The semi-finals and the final matches will be played in the district and the exact venue will be decided at a later date to ensure that they are played in neutral ground.

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