Lahore, 26 Jan: Islamabad Football Association (IFA) decided to form IFA U14 team through Football Academes festival instead of Trails for taking part in the coming 12th National U14 Football Championship 2010. The inaugural match saw Falcon Academy edging out Comprehensive Academy 1-0 at G-7/2 Football Ground, Islamabad. The Chief Guest of the opening ceremony was Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA)’s Vice President Nasir Abbas Naqvi who praised IFA modernize way of selecting talented footballers for coming National show for school level boys.
IFA will be among the 16-team for national event along with top four teams of PFF Youth U14 Cup, three U-14 teams of those organizations/clubs who had booked berth for Pakistan Premiership 2010 and semi-finalist of PFF League 2009. Host completes the frame with Northern Areas, FATA, Azad Jammu & Kashmir with one team each from four provinces Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP and Balochistan.
“Since Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s President
Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat is concentrating hard on Grass Root football and Youth Development, IFA had decided to build team through Academies instead of calling Trials,” said IFA Acting President Sharafat Hussain Bukhari who added that no one can deny the fact that Academies are the back bone of football and best way to produce budding talent and we have called Academies for this purpose at G-7/2 Ground, Islamabad.
“The players born on or after 1 January 1996 will be eligible in the Academies U14 Football Festival and the teams in the list are Federal, Evergreen, Falcon, PTCL, Akber, Comprehensive, Sitara, Head Start and Academies of Islamabad-based AFC AID-27 Coaches,” added PFF Youth Development Officer Irfan Khan Niazi during inaugural day. Rana Tanveer Ahmed, PTCL’s former ADS Muneer Khalid were also present on this occasion.
The 12th National U14 Football Championship 2010 will also help PFF in making strong Pakistan U14 team which will take on host Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Maldives, Afghanistan in the AFC U14 Festival of Football at Iran from 10-23 May 2010.