<p>In a move to promote football at the school and college levels, Bengaluru FC, along with the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) and the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA), announced tournaments for schools, colleges and corporates on Thursday. <br /><br />Addressing the media at the Bangalore Football Stadium, the club’s Chief Operations Officer Mustafa Ghouse said the club had wanted to launch the tournaments for some time now.</p>.<p><br />“This is something that we’ve been working on for a while and we’re very keen on executing it. <br /><br />“We’ve always wanted to launch a series of tournaments for the football community in the city. To give children the opportunity to play in high-level tournaments is the main focus. <br />“We will be kicking things off with the BFC inter-school soccer shield that will take place from October 7 to 16 at the Football Stadium before we begin the corporate rumble and the inter-college face-off,” said Ghouse. <br /><br />As many as 23 schools from the city will participate across three age categories — under-10, under-12 and under-14 – in the tournament that will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis.<br /><br />The under-10 tournament will be a 7-a-side game of 30 minutes, while the under-12 competition will be a 9-a-side game of 40 minutes. The under-14 tournament, meanwhile, will be a 11-a-side game of 50 minutes.<br /><br />Talent spotting<br /><br />“Though we have seen a handful of tournaments for the U-17s and the U-19s, we hardly have anything for the kids who belong to the lower age-groups. That’s one of the primary reasons why we have concentrated on the lower age group,” said Mandar Tamhane, Chief Technical Officer of the club who will also act as the tournament director of the competitions.<br /><br />“The tournament will moreover act as the scouting ground for the BFC scouts looking for talented players who will be later taken in the BFC elite academy,” he added.<br /></p>
<p>In a move to promote football at the school and college levels, Bengaluru FC, along with the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) and the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA), announced tournaments for schools, colleges and corporates on Thursday. <br /><br />Addressing the media at the Bangalore Football Stadium, the club’s Chief Operations Officer Mustafa Ghouse said the club had wanted to launch the tournaments for some time now.</p>.<p><br />“This is something that we’ve been working on for a while and we’re very keen on executing it. <br /><br />“We’ve always wanted to launch a series of tournaments for the football community in the city. To give children the opportunity to play in high-level tournaments is the main focus. <br />“We will be kicking things off with the BFC inter-school soccer shield that will take place from October 7 to 16 at the Football Stadium before we begin the corporate rumble and the inter-college face-off,” said Ghouse. <br /><br />As many as 23 schools from the city will participate across three age categories — under-10, under-12 and under-14 – in the tournament that will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis.<br /><br />The under-10 tournament will be a 7-a-side game of 30 minutes, while the under-12 competition will be a 9-a-side game of 40 minutes. The under-14 tournament, meanwhile, will be a 11-a-side game of 50 minutes.<br /><br />Talent spotting<br /><br />“Though we have seen a handful of tournaments for the U-17s and the U-19s, we hardly have anything for the kids who belong to the lower age-groups. That’s one of the primary reasons why we have concentrated on the lower age group,” said Mandar Tamhane, Chief Technical Officer of the club who will also act as the tournament director of the competitions.<br /><br />“The tournament will moreover act as the scouting ground for the BFC scouts looking for talented players who will be later taken in the BFC elite academy,” he added.<br /></p>