Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 10: Former Indian Footballer and Technical Member, All India Football Federation (AIFF), Arun Malhotra along with Mahesh Gawli, Assistant Coach Team India had attended opening ceremony of the 50th Jackie Memorial Invitational Football tournament at St. George’s College, Mussoorie.
There are 36 teams including (18 Clubs and 18 Schools from Dehradun and Mussoorie) participating in the tournament which was inaugurated by Geeta Pushkar Dhami, wife of Chief Minister, Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami. The final of the tournament will be played on 14 August.
During the event, Malhotra stressed the importance of the involvement of women in sports, specifically in football. He expressed that the women’s national football team has remarkable talent and a promising future in women’s football. The recent tournaments serve as evidence that they are performing exceptionally well.
He also discussed the idea of establishing football fields in all educational institutions to enhance the game at its grassroots level, and to involve acclaimed football players as coaches. He emphasized the importance of reputable schools in sending promising male and female athletes abroad for advanced football training.
He said blue tigers have been performing exceptionally well and have been consistently winning in numerous tournaments recently. Highlighting the significance of adequate preparation for the AFC Asian Cup, Malhotra expressed confidence in the Indian team’s readiness and their promising potential to enhance their ranking. Malhotra stated that under the leadership of President, AIFF Kalyan Chaudhary and Secretary General, Shaji Prabhakaran they have recently introduced the football game’s 2047 vision. Arun also praised the performance of players from Jammu and Kashmir in national level competitions.
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