NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL NEWS

The 2nd Division League is scheduled to started after the end of Santosh Trophy in March at Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) received 47 nominations who wanted to participate in the 2nd Divn I-League and submitted the important AFC club licensing critirias within December 22, 2012 which started on November 21, 2012.

The final deadline for the clubs to submit the documents were even extended to January 22, 2012 (by AIFF Executive Committee which met on January 15, 2013) from 22th December. In the Tournament the top 2 teams will get the chance to play next year's 1st Divn I-League.

As per AIFF the following Clubs stay as follows:

TISB, Bangalore, India's first school with FIFA standard football field

The International School Bangalore (TISB) is India's premier independent, selective, coeducational HMC boarding and day school which is located 45 minutes from the centre of Bangalore which is called the 'Silicon City' and the 'Garden City' of India.

Complementing its world-class infrastructure, TISB has completed a sports infra program by installing a FIFA standard FieldTurf artificial grass football field, and FIBA standard SnapSports (Interlocking, modular sports flooring) for its Tennis, Basketball and other sports. Now the thousand students of TISB and the school management along with the parents of the students are pleased for dust-free and injury-free artificial Football field installd by
famous company Field Turf.

Mumbai's Don Bosco School of Matunga also have a project to install an artificial Football turf in the School before their 75th years anniversary on 2015.

The Comnaly Field Turf already installed more that 7,000 stadiums, school and college playgrounds in the world and the
India's first artificial grass soccer field (88,000 sft) had been installed in Margaon, Goa (Chowgule Group) in Dec-05 by FieldTurf and now there are over 7 FIFA standard football fields throughout India.

The Field Turf's past projects were:-

Chougule Education Society, Margaon (Goa) - 2005

Pillai`s Academy, Mumbai

Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata - 2009

Assam Rifles Ground, Aizawl - 2011

Paljor Stadium, Gangtok - 2011

Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Mualpui (Mizoram) - 2012

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shilong - 2012

Lunglei, Mizoram

Field Turf also have an artificial Football Field project in Jharkhand, Silli Stadium in Ranchi. It would be the first-ever spined Monofilament installation (Duraspine Pro) of the FieldTurf range in India, and installed entirely by the Great Sports Infra team.

All India Football Federation President Mr. Praful Patel met FIFA President Mr. Joseph Blatter, FIFA Secretary General Mr. Jerome Valcke and Mr. Thierry Regenass, Director Member Associations and Development Vision, FIFA, to dicsuss the issues relating to the guarantees from the Government of India required by FIFA regarding the hosting of the U-17 in 2017. The meeting took place at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich on Wednesday (January 23, 2013).

Mr. Patel explained to Mr. Blatter and Mr. Valcke that all the requirements mentioned in the guarantees are fulfilled by the existing legislations of the country and the Government of India had already sent a letter to FIFA explaining the same and giving its unequivocal support for hosting the U-17 World Cup, 2017.

The Government of India letter was also supported by a legal opinion endorsing the declaration by the Government of India.

The meeting was very positive and FIFA agreed to review the letter of the Government of India and the legal opinion with their legal department and requested AIFF to send their legal advisors for a meeting with FIFA so that the matter can be explained in greater detail.