NTMFT-2022 kicked off
ZIRO, 23 Oct: “Let us all work together in promoting football – the most loved universal game – and make Lower Subansiri district the haven of football,” said Lower Subansiri DC Bamin Nime at the Padi Yube Outdoor Stadium here on Sunday.
After kicking off the 4th edition of the district level Nani Tagio Memorial Football Tournament (NTMFT)-2022, the DC said that the administration would “actively cooperate in the FIFA campaign of football for schools,” and called for producing “more of Gyamar Nyikums from the district to play with professional clubs and at national levels.”
He also sought cooperation from parents, the District Football Association, and the police in rooting out the drug menace from the district.
All India Football Association secretary Kipa Ajay informed that the FIFA has selected Lower Subansiri district also “in its campaign for football for schools, where 200 schools would be selected from the state with players in the age group of 6 to 13 years, whom FIFA would provide free football coaching through videoconferencing.”
Appealing to the players to adhere to the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association’s (APFA) ‘Drug-free Arunachal Pradesh – Let’s play football’ theme, Ajay informed that the U-16 Dera Natung State Level Football Tournament will be held in Lohit district soon.
Former MLA Nani Ribia said that the first NTMFT was played in 1988, “and subsequently three more tournaments were played, but it got disrupted in between due to poor financial position of the organisers and apprehensions of law and order problem in the late ’80s and the early ’90’s, in which football was at a nascent stage in the district.”
He appealed to the APFA to “convince the state government to make NTMFT an annual calendar-based football tournament at the district level.”
Former committee members of the earlier tournaments were felicitated, and cultural programmes were presented by Nyishi and Apatani cultural groups.
The final match of the tournament will be played on 2 December.
Besides the trophies, the winning team will pocket Rs 1 lakh in cash, while the runners-up will pocket Rs 70,000, and the ‘best fair play team’ Rs 30,000. The best individual players will be rewarded Rs 5,000 each. (DIPRO)
