ITANAGAR, 4 Nov: The third edition of the Veteran Football Cup & Winter Carnival will be kicked off on Saturday at the general ground here in Lower Subansiri district.
The event had been scheduled to be held late last month, but heavy rains played spoilsport, forcing the organisers, the Hangover Group, to postpone it.
Ten teams will be participating in the tournament, which has an age cut-off limit of 35 years and above.
Education Minister Taba Tedir is expected to inaugurate the event.
The first match will be played between AYCTMU and PHED teams.
The tournament’s winning team will stand to win Rs 2 lakhs, while the runner-up will receive Rs one lakh, along with trophies.
The ‘fair play team’ will be awarded Rs 30,000, while three outstanding individual players will be given Rs 15,000 each.
Baath Vicky, one of the founding members of the Hangover Group, said that they are motivated by a desire to encourage a healthy lifestyle among people who are on the wrong side of 30 years.
He said that the group was formed when two others – Taba Dol and Toko Soni -were mourning the defeat of a team they were supporting in an international match in 2013. The details of the circumstances that led to its formation are unclear. However, what has become clear is that it has expanded into event management and charity work.
With 35 active members currently, the group, based out of Yazali, played an active role during the initial Covid-19 lockdown periods when food and other essential items became difficult to procure.
The group’s motto, ‘You’re never too old to score a goal’, will be put to test over the next 11 days, culminating in the final on 16 November.
