Shillong, May 11: The U-18 Youth League playoffs suffered an untoward incident off the pitch yesterday when a robbery took place during the afternoon match in one of the dressing rooms at the JN Stadium, with personal property of the SAG Football Academy players and officials stolen.
Phones, jackets and shoes were among the items stolen, at an approximate value of Rs 1 lakh.
A first information report (FIR) has been filed with Lawmali police by the Meghalaya Football Association, who are hosting the playoffs, in this regard.
The match was held between SAG and Minerva Punjab. The FIR states that the theft occurred at around 3:30PM, which would have put it just after halftime. The game ended 1-1.
The JN Sports Complex has private security guards but the large premises are still vulnerable to determined thieves, it appears.
The U-18 Youth League, organised by the All India Football Federation, had one of its qualifying rounds in Shillong earlier that passed off without incident. The final round of the competition will also be held here beginning next week.