Shillong, Sep 12: Reliance Foundation Young Champs will host the maiden Stay Your Age U-15 football tournament from 11th to 19th September at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai.
The tournament is part of a pioneering initiative taken by six teams – RFYC, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Dempo SC, FC Madras and the Mizoram Football Association – that, it is hoped, will tackle the age fraud conundrum in Indian football.
The participating teams have come together to bypass the standard age verification test known as TW3, which has been criticised by some but is still used extensively by the All India Football Federation.
Through a collaborative effort, the organisers have put in place a stringent process of document verification for players and access to player documents will be made available to all teams, ensuring the tournament is conducted in a smooth and ideal manner, a press release said yesterday.
Each team has been mandated to register 18 players and every footballer will have to clock a minimum 150 minutes of playing time during the competition. The teams will compete in a league system format across five matches each. Any draws will be followed by penalty shootouts and key provisions such as rapid restarts and the daylight offside rule will be implemented to ensure free-flowing and competitive matches.
In addition to providing exposure against top talents from teams across the country, the primary objective of the competition “is to strictly administer the age eligibility criterion to avoid age fraud instances and usher in a new era that sets an example and paves the way for Indian football to tackle this impediment,” the release added.
Players born on or after 1st January 2010 are permitted to participate in the competition.
Manolo Marquez, Indian national football team and FC Goa head coach was quoted as saying, “All the kids should play in their correct age group. The level of the kids right now is good. Obviously, there is room for improvement and we are working step-by-step in the correct direction. Development is the most important thing in this tournament. With no age fraud, the development can be maximised. Wishing the kids all the best. Enjoy yourself and give it your best.”
