Sports

Pune teams dominate South United FC Inter-City Championship




Teams from Pune claimed four out of five titles across different age groups in the inaugural SUFC Inter-City Championship, as kids from Bengaluru and Pune’s South United Football Academy competed against each other at the club’s state-of-the-art facility in Ulsoor. Players from the Pune hubs also proved their mettle by bagging most individual awards in the tournament, which saw the participation of over 250 young footballers from both cities, with the Pune Football Association demonstrating its importance to grassroots football initiatives.

Pune teams won four of the five titles across categories: U9, U11, U13 and U15, with the U17 title won by SUFC Pillars of Bengaluru.

Speaking about the SUFC initiative, Terry Phelan, Sports Director, South United Sports Foundation, said: “The thought process around this tournament was to bring all our teams to Bengaluru and provide them with the experience of such an inter-city tournament. I think the players, coaches and parents have enjoyed it here. This is our commitment.

“We are trying to develop the game at a grassroots level and help players progress in the game. Our growth over the past few years has been tremendous, and now we are building a residential academy in the heart of Bangalore. It has been absolutely amazing to see and be a part of.”

In addition to the competition, the tournament also provided enriching experiences for the young players, including a meet-and-greet session with South United Sports Foundation sporting director Terry Phelan and interaction with the club’s first-team players.

Participants also attended an Indian Super League (ISL) match between Bengaluru FC and Mohammedan SC at Sri Kanteerava Stadium on January 11, adding to the excitement of the weekend.

“I think the last two days were really memorable for both teams and staff. The most notable thing is that it was a fun and valuable learning experience,” Terry added.

This tournament also served as a scouting platform for SUFC’s new Residential Academy programme. The aim of the residential program is to provide world-class facilities and comprehensive training to bridge the gap between grassroots development and professional development and provide a clear path for players to progress.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Topics mentioned in this article

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker