Jharkhand lift Coca-Cola Cup

The Coca-Cola Cup is a grassroots level initiative which would identify and groom young footballing talent in the country by offering them a chance to be a part of the National Under-16 Football Team.

In a glittering ceremony marking the culmination of the tournament, the finalists were felicitated by Kushal Das, Secretary, AIFF; Robert Baan, Director - Technical, AIFF; Scott O’Donnell, Director Academies and Coach Education, AIFF and Debabrata Mukherjee, Vice President, Marketing and Commercial, Coca-Cola India.

The final playoff saw the Jharkhand team, captained by Sayad Bin Abdul Kadir, prevailing over the Goa team with the final score line reading 8-3. Gaurav Mukhi from Jharkhand was named the player of the match for scoring 6 goals.

The Coca-Cola Cup acts as a stepping stone for young footballers in India with players set to be shortlisted by AIFF (All India Football Federation) technical committee for the National Under-16 football squad.

The most promising talents will be picked to be inducted in the Elite AIFF-FIFA Training Academies. The tournament also plays a pivotal role in shaping talent and building the National team to represent the country for the U-17 FIFA Football World Cup to be played in India.

The objective of The Coca-Cola Cup is to promote football at the grassroots level and provide a platform to budding footballers across the country. The tournament players are provided state-of-the-art training facilities and are coached by some of the most respected names in the world of Football.

Kushal Das, Secretary, AIFF, said, “I congratulate Jharkhand who have proven their prowess on the field today. I wish them all the best for the future as they get ready to reach higher echelons of success in the sport and represent the national team someday. The Coca-Cola Cup has evolved into one of the best platforms for AIFF to identify some of the best footballing talent from around the country and provided them with a stepping stone to build a career in professional Football. As in the past, I am positive that ‘The Coca-Cola Cup ‘will provide young footballers with an opportunity to showcase their talent to the right stakeholders and give their career direction and impetus.

According to  Debabrata Mukherjee, Vice President, Marketing and Commercial, Coca-Cola India, “On behalf of Coca-Cola India, I would like to congratulate Jharkhand for their well-deserved win today. In all it was a fantastic display of what India’s future holds and we will continue to support AIFF in its quest to unearth the talent from across India. I am positive that not only the players in the National Finals, but all the 40,000 players, who have participated in this edition of Coca-Cola Cup will benefit from the experience and exposure, especially from participating in Football, which helps build an active healthy lifestyle at a young age.”

Sayad Bin Abdul Kadir, captain of a visibly excited winning team said, “Winning the national finals of The Coca-Cola Cup for our state is a great moment for us all. On behalf of the entire team, I would like to extend deep gratitude to our coach P Nath for guiding us to this win. It feels great to raise this trophy after the sweat and toil of the last few months. Thank you AIFF and Coca-Cola India for organizing this tournament which has provided a much needed platform for young footballers like us.”

The Coca-Cola Cup is a grassroots level football tournament organized by AIFF. The tournament is open to all young footballers in the age group of 12-15 years. This year, the tournament drew participation from over 106 cities.