Former India footballer and I-League outfit Real Kashmir FC head coach Ishfaq Ahmed has stressed on the importance of conducting competitive tournaments in the Kashmir Valley on the backdrop of the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) conducting a host of tournaments across the U-15, U-19, and U-21 age groups in the union territory.
The University of Kashmir U-21 boys defeated their counterparts from the Govt. Degree College, Baramulla, by 11-10 in penalties after the summit clash at the TRC Ground in Srinagar went right down the wire to wrap up the inaugural football tournament of the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) chapter in Kashmir on November 30.
There was no separating the two teams at the end of regulation time, with a goal from each end taking the match to spot kicks. Each of the first 10 players from both sides who stepped up to take the penalties converted their kicks, but the University of Kashmir boys edged past and secured the win by holding on to their nerves for just a little bit longer than the runners-up.
“It is fantastic news for the youth teams. They have been training day in, day out, but the lack of competition was a big issue here. Now, Reliance Foundation Youth Sports has taken this fantastic initiative, and it’s a positive sign for Kashmiri football. You will see that players will be able to judge themselves because of these competitions with match experience. This will help our younger generation to develop both mentally and physically for the matches,” former Coach of Kerala Blasters FC and current Head Coach of Real Kashmir FC, Ishfaq Ahmed applauded the RFYS for contributing to the growth of football in Kashmir.
“It’s always great to win the tournament and get all the applause from the spectators, participants, because you are putting in hard work, so it’s an amazing feeling for everyone. As far as the , Reliance Foundation Youth Sports initiative is concerned, this is for the first time that they are here in Jammu & Kashmir and taking these kinds of initiatives,” Sajid Yousuf Dar, football coach in the University of Kashmir, said. “We were lacking them here and I thank Reliance Foundation Youth Sports for coming forward and collaborating in the education sector with the University of Kashmir. This is what we need and we need to put efforts together to take the football of Jammu & Kashmir to the next level,” Dar, former head coach of Indian senior women’s national team, further remarked.
RFYS conducted the U-21 category in collaboration with University of Kashmir, will now be conducting similar tournaments in the U-15 and U-19 categories for boys’ and girls’ respectively.
