Sao Paolo to display samba soccer in India

Kolkata, Jan 17 (UNI) India can have the taste of Brazilian samba after two decdes, as IFA today announced the revival of Super Soccer inviting Brazilan powerhouse Sao Paulo to play against India's various first division clubs across the country.

The tournament is scheduled to begin in Siliguri from 27 January.

The team, however, will not feature all the players playing in the first division as there will be a combination of players from the first, second, and junior categories.

Incidentally, Sao Paulo also participated in the first ever Super Soccer festival in 1984 when they sent their junior team to India.

According to the IFA president, Mr Aditya Kashyap, this is a much stronger team than before. ''Their team is not taking this tournament lightly; their president, and the directors of the club are also accompanying them,'' he said.

''The Sao Paulo team to visit India is essentially a group of three tiers of Sao Paulo, involving two or three professional players, eight or nine from the amateur team and the rest from the junior pool of the club,'' Mr Kashyap said.

Claiming that this was the best team to participate in Super Soccer so far, Kashyap said while Kerala, Delhi and Jharkhand would host one match each, two matches would be held in Bengal.

Asked why Sao Paulo was bringing only a few professionals and not its top pro team, Kashyap said ''the worrisome part is you must have some formidable opposition also.'' Another aim of the Super Soccer was to raise funds for the development of the game, like building infrastructure and support team from the surplus generated in the revenue.

Sao Paulo are scheduled to play East Bengal at Siliguri on 27 January, Mohammedan Sporting at Jamshedpur on 31 January, Kerala IX at Kochi on 4 February and JCT, Phagwara, in Delhi on 11 February.

UNI