The debut edition of the Zinc Football Youth Tournament, in its endeavour to unearth the best young footballing talent of Rajasthan, travelled to Jodhpur with much fanfare at the scenic Umed Rajkiya Stadium on February 1. A total of 17 teams participated in the blue city in the presence of Chief Guest Mr Premchand Sankhla, Joint Director Education, Jodhpur; Mr Balluram Kichad, DEO, Jodhpur; Mr Govind Singh, District Sports Officer; Naveen, President, District Football Association; Jay Narayan Gehlot, Secretary, District Football Association, Jodhpur.
Army Public School, Jodhpur and DFA, Pali won the titles in the boys and girls category respectively to qualify for the State Championship to be held later at the fabled Zawar Stadium, where the winners of every zone will lock horns to determine the ultimate champion of Rajasthan.
In Jodhpur, the winners battled through their respective categories with Army Public School, Jodhpur beating Kim Bekars FC 3-1 in the finals. In the final, Army Public School’s Yogesh scored two goals while Vineet scored one in the final. Ibrahim was the lone scorer from Kim Bekars FC.
Dilip Singh Shekhawat, Secretary, Rajasthan Football Association, said, “Zinc Football Youth Tournament is a major landmark for Rajasthan Football. We are glad to be associated with Hindustan Zinc for carrying out this massive initiative on such a never-attempted-before scale. After a grand kick-off in Udaipur & Rajsamand, we are extremely glad to see teams from all corners of Jodhpur participating today. The tournament is getting bigger and better.”
