The Hindu : Nehru Cup to be revived

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 06, 2002

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Nehru Cup to be revived

Mandya May 5. The Jawaharlal Nehru Cup international football tournament will be revived this year.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) president, Mr. Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, has announced the tournament's return in a press conference here on Saturday afternoon. The tournament's 13th edition is likely to be held in Bangalore during this year-end. The championship was last held at Kochi in 1997.

"The Nehru Cup was the best tournament in Asia and was ranked 18th in the World. Unfortunately lack of funds forced us to shelve the tournament temporarily. The tournament will be probably held in Bangalore," he said.

The Nehru Cup was launched in 1982 as an annual tournament and since 1989 was held every alternate year until the last edition at Kochi in 1997.

The AIFF president mentioned that conflicting views on the presence of foreign players in the National Football League (NFL) would be discussed in the executive committee meeting at Delhi on May 17.

One view is that the present format of five foreign players with four playing in the main eleven in the NFL, should be retained. Another view is that it should be downsized to four players with three playing in the eleven.

Our decision will be announced after the meeting at Delhi, he said. In a move to reinforce the league structure at the National level, the AIFF has also decided to replicate the NFL pool format in the second division. This means that the present zonal qualifying system will be abolished. This will also pave the way for a third division, Mr. Das Munshi said.

The AIFF president also clarified that Mohun Bagan has confirmed participation in the Asian Club Championship. Das Munshi also said that FIFA had approved the construction of the football academy in Bangalore and the FIFA House in New Delhi. "The academy will be set up in Bangalore and we also intend to use the Austin Town corporation ground for training purposes. A final decision on the funds will be taken at the FIFA Congress at Seoul on May 28 and 29," he said.

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