CHIMPU, Dec 21: The 6th district level U-17 Subroto Mukherjee Cup football tournament was kicked off on Thursday at the playground of the government secondary school here by Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) Vice President, Kipa Takum.
The inaugural match was played between GHSS Itanagar and GHSS Naharlagun, in which the latter won by 6-5.
Giving a tough fight to its opponent in the second match, GHSS Arunodaya defeated Ganga GHSS by 2-1. Joram Taolom scored two goals for GHSS Arunodaya.
On Friday, GHSS Arunodaya and GHSS Naharlagun will be fighting it out for the district level trophy.
Organised by the Capital Complex Deputy Director of School Education, the tournament will be held from 21 to 22 December.
The tournament is being organised for the higher secondary schools around the Capital Complex.
Earlier, all the five editions were organised under the Papum Pare DDSE.
Takum, who is also the IMC Ward 25 councillor, encouraged the players to be disciplined and maintain a balance between academics and sports.
“The state government and the APFA are adamant to boost football facility in the state and with time, it has been witnessed that the standard of the game has improved a lot. However, to provide proper training to the players and to represent at the national level, we need Class-B licensed coaches, which is very expensive. As of now, there are only two Class-C coaches in the Capital Complex,” he said.
The APFA has also opened a temporary centre for the players to practice at, but lacks residential facilities, he said, and expressed hope that the state government would initiate action for the same.
Meanwhile, Doimukh GHSS defeated Balijan GHSS in the final match of the tournament, played at the NEEPCO complex ground here on Thursday.
Doimukh GHSS won the match by 3-0 goals through a penalty shootout.
With this win, Doimukh GHSS has qualified to represent Papum Pare district in the zonal-level championship, slated to be held in West Kameng district in January.
The match was organized by the Papum Pare DDSE.
