24 teams to take part in junior girls national football tourney

Chandigarh, July 5 (UNI) Twenty-four teams from across the country will vie for top honours in the third Girls Under-17 Junior National Football Championship to be held here from July 10 to 27.

Addressing a press conference here today, Chandigarh Football Association (CFA) president Ravinder Talwar said the teams had been divided into eight clusters. The winners of each cluster will qualify for the quarter-final stage.

The quarter-finalists would be split into two groups and will play on league basis. Winners and runners-up from each group will then move into semi-finals stage which is scheduled for July 24 and 25. After a rest day on July 26, the final will be played on July 27.

Cluster and quarter-final league matches would be played at the Punjab Engineering College Complex while the semi-finals and the final would be held at the Sector 17 Football Stadium. The cluster matches will be held between July 10 and July 15, while quarter-final fixtures will run through July 17 to 22.

Defending champions Manipur have been clubbed with Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh in Cluster A, while last edition's runners-up Orissa have been clubbed with Bihar and Uttranchal in Cluster B. Punjab, Assam and Gujarat are in Cluster H.

Hosts Chandigarh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are in Cluster G.

Four matches will be played daily in the cluster stage -- .

two matches in the morning and two in the evening.

On the opening day, Manipur will play Jammu and Kashmir in Cluster A, while Orissa take on Bihar in the morning.

In the evening, Tamil Nadu play Jharkhand (Cluster C) and Haryana face Chattisgarh (Cluster D).

Cluster A : Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh.

Cluster B: Orissa, Bihar, Uttranchal.

Cluster C: Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Goa.

Cluster D: Haryana, Chattisgarh, Pondicherry Cluster E: West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh Cluster F: Tripura, Maharashtra, Delhi.

Cluster G: Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Chandigarh.

Cluster H: Punjab, Assam, Gujarat UNI XC PDS PC1533