Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
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Having witnessed dozens of enticing encounters among hundreds of teams over the last many days and after winning the hearts of millions of football lovers and players, the 3rd season of STAIRS School Football League (SSFL) – which was kicked off by Vijay Goel, Minister of State, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, on October 19 at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi – came to an end on Thursday, December 1.
Rajiv Yadav, Sports Secretary, Government of India, presided as the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony, while many other dignitaries graced the occasion with their presence.
SSFL-3 saw more than 30,000 school-level footballers from 2,000 schools of Delhi and Gujarat participating in the tournament. During the event 4,000 matches (500 in Delhi and 3,500 in Gujarat) were played, making it one of the biggest as well as the longest-ever football league at the school level. A total of 256 teams, comprising 128 teams of under-14 boys and 128 teams of under-17 boys, participated in the tournament. Apart from the boys’ team, the tournament also witnessed avid participation from 32 girls’ teams in U-14 and U-17 categories.
The closing event was followed by a prize distribution ceremony, during which trophies, medals and certificates were given to the winning team and players for showing exemplary performance. Rajiv Yadav, Sports Secretary, congratulated the winning team for their gritty win and thanked all the participants for their enthusiasm and passion for the game of football. He also assured all future support to the STAIRS School Football League, world’s biggest football scouting and training programme at the school level, and other initiatives of STAIRS in order to encourage and develop sports at the grassroots level.
| Winner | Runners–Up | Final Score |
| Under-14 girls | ||
| Ahlcon Public School | Modern School, Vasant Vihar | 2-0 |
| Under-17 girls | ||
| RSKV, East Vinod Nagar | Ahlcon Public School | 1-0 |
| Under-14 boys | ||
| GBSSS No 1, Moti Bagh | STAIRS East | 4-0 |
| Under-17 boys | ||
| Nalanda Public School | CRPF Rohini | 4-1 |
Congratulating the winning team and talking about STAIRS, R.K. Jain, Group President, (Corp. F & A) Uflex Limited, said, “We are glad to see the growing love and passion of today’s children towards sports like football, and think that if nurtured well, they can well be the super sportspersons of tomorrow. So far as our association with STAIRS is concerned, it has come a long way for institutionalizing sports in the best interest of underprivileged children and youth. I am happy to see how this platform has evolved over the years, paving the way for inclusive development. One noteworthy thing to mention is that not only boys, but even girls are now showing their keen interest in football. SSFL-3 itself saw participation from 32 girls’ teams, which is quite encouraging. We hope that the confidence of children playing under the Uflex-SSFL banner will only grow over time.”
Addressing the august gathering at the closing event, Siddhartha Upadhyay, Founder and Secretary General, STAIRS, said, “Gone are the days when Indians were crazy only for cricket. Now football seems set to regain its lost glory and make a big comeback in times to come. The massive craze for soccer among the nation’s youth today as well as hosting of events like SSFL-3 are a precursor to this. I am happy to announce that SSFL has already established itself as the largest football talent scouting and training programme in India, and has also become one of the most significant ‘talent spotting’ platforms for clubs and bodies seeking to acquire talent right at early adolescence. During a short span of two years of its existence, about 35,000 children have already been enrolled with SSFL, while the aim is to cross 1,00,000 footballers on a permanent basis for scouting, training and development. I see a great future for football in India.”
SSFL-3 began with league matches at eight different venues across four zones in Delhi while the semifinal and final games were played at the central venue. The event was solely meant for the children under-14 years and under-17 years of age and exactly followed the FIFA World Cup format. All the participating school teams also had to go through the qualifier rounds. For the 3rd season, SSFL got assistance from Sakaar Association for all its matches in Delhi and from Gujarat State Football Association for all Gujarat-based matches.
