60 teams for Bengaluru FC's BFC Inter-School Soccer Shield

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Bengaluru, January 16: Bengaluru FC, in association with Boost, will organise their annual Boost-BFC Inter-School Soccer Shield tournament at the Bangalore Football Stadium from January 23-February 1.

About 60 teams and 12 community sides will take part in the tournament, which will be held in a league-cum-knockout format in the Under-10, U-12 and U-14 categories. The matches start a day after the conclusion of the Santosh Trophy South Zone Qualifiers.

"Playing competitive games is essential for youngsters taking up football," Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri remarked on Tuesday (January 16). "No matter how much you train, you will never know how good you are unless you play matches. Look at Sergio Aguero of Manchester City for example. He has played a lot in the streets while growing up and that's why he's able to shield a lot of the English defenders in the Premier League."

Prashanth Kalinga, a success story of the tournament, was also present during the announcement of the partnership. Prashanth joined the BFC academy when he was 15 and worked his way up to make the reserve team. He's a regular for Bengaluru FC in the Bangalore District Football Association's Super Division League and also in the reserve squad for their Indian Super League and AFC Cup campaigns.

"I travelled to Spain along with the team and been with the academy for four years," Prashanth said. "They taught me everything and it's because of Bengaluru FC that I have reached this stage. I urge everyone interested in football to give their best during the BFC Inter-School Soccer Shield."

The club has promised to give a trial for the best talent arising out of the tournament. "We're organising this event for 10 days but I hope we extend it to more teams in the future. It's helpful in a way that the best talent from here also get to join the Bengaluru FC youth academy in Ballari. Kids have to make the best use of this opportunity," Chhetri added.

The partnership also extends to BFC's grassroot programmes. First, the club will organise an AIFF D licence programme for 24 coaches from Feb 10-14. Post that, it will conduct AFC C Licence programme for another set of 24 coaches.

"The AIFF D Licence initiative is fully sponsored by the club," Srinivas Murthy, head of operations at BFC, said. "For the C Licence, the club will take care of the operational costs. The participants will have to pay their application fee of about Rs 10,000 to the All India Football Federation (AIFF)."

That apart, the club will host a seminar for the participating children and parents on sport nutrition and sports psychology on January 20, the day of the draw. There will also be a referee education programme to cover all aspects of the game on the same day.

Key points:

The Boost-BFC Inter-School Soccer Shield will feature 60 school teams across the U-10, U-12 and U-14 age groups

Matches will be held in league-cum-knockout format at the Bangalore Football Stadium from January 23-February 1.

Each team will play a minimum of three matches and the finalists would have played seven matches.

The tournament will be a seven-a-side affair for the U-10s and U-12s. The U-14 kids will play 11v11 games.

Along with the tournament, BFC will also conduct a community football activity among 12 teams from the football hotbeds of the city. This will be held in the U-13 category and will also witness 7v7 matches.

While the tournament will be the anchor of the association, it also includes several development initiatives like the coach education program where coaches from participating teams are handed the opportunity to take part in the AIFF 'D' and AFC 'C' licence courses.

The costs for the D licence course will be sponsored by BFC. The operating costs of the C licence will be taken up by the club.

This apart, the association includes seminars educating the children and parents on various aspects of the sport like nutrition and psychology, along with a referee education programme in a bid to cover all aspects of the game.

The winning teams from each category will be awarded with the opportunity of a three-day training course with Bengaluru FC's licensed youth coaches.