Arunachal to take on Maharashtra in opener
Staff Reporter
NAHARLAGUN, Nov 17: Arunachal Pradesh will host the final round of the Sub Junior Boys’ National Football Championship, 2018, at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here in Papum Pare district from 2 December.
This was informed by the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) here on Saturday.
Ten states are participating in the championship, and they are divided into two groups of five, with the winners and runners-up of both the groups to qualify for the semifinals.
All the states were divided into five zones during the qualifying rounds, and host Arunachal and Mizoram qualified from the Northeast zone.
Arunachal Pradesh have been clubbed together with Tamil Nadu, Maharshtra, Odisha and Punjab in Group A, while Telengana, Goa, Mizoram, Jharkhand and Haryana have been drawn in Group B, informed APFA secretary Kipa Ajay.
The opening match will be played between the host state and Maharashtra. Two matches will be held in a day, and the second match will be played under floodlights.
Both the semifinals will be held on 13 December, and the final on 15 December.
The APFA has introduced e-ticketing for the convenience of the audience. The audience can book tickets in advance by logging onto www.henkako.com, which went live on Saturday. The tickets have been priced at Rs 100 per.
The APFA has strictly prohibited objectionable items, including water bottles, inside the stadium throughout the championship.
“No objectionable items, including water bottles, gutkha etc, will be allowed inside the stadium,” Ajay said. He informed that drinking water arrangement would be made by the organizer.
He thanked Chief Minister Pema Khandu for assuring all help from the state government’s side for the conduct of the event.
Competitions director John Neelam sought cooperation from all, including the APFA-affiliated bodies, for smooth conduct of the championship.
