With World Cup on, Kerala earmarks Rs 50 lakh for football

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 23 (UNI) Keeping up the football World Cup spirit, the Kerala government, in its revised state budget for 2006-07, has earmarked Rs 50 lakh for popularising and promoting football in the state.

Noting that Kerala was lagging behind in the game, State Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac in his Budget presentation said the government was allocating Rs 25 lakh to the State Football Association to hold national football league matches in the state.

He also announced a cash award of Rs 25 lakh to the team that came first in the first division league football in the state.

Apart from this, Rs three Lakh has been set apart for local bodies to build sports infrastructure.

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