The Northeast7s Football Tour, Goa' 2021 is scheduled to start on April 19, 2021, at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim.
The event is the brainchild of Jessica Snock, who beholds the title of 'Mrs. United Nations Universe 2019' and proudly represents India as the Ambassador of the United Nations Peace Keeping Forces Council - UNPKFC.
Like many of the Northeast Indians, she too has a strong passion for the 'beautiful game' of football, something that's common to Goa as well. Last year in August 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded sportspersons who have represented India. He also confirmed that the government is making numerous efforts to popularise sports and support sporting talent in India which can be witnessed through his initiatives like Khelo India and Fit India.
With India being awarded the opportunity of being the host nation for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Jessica Snock is confident that she is heading in the right direction as she proudly presents the concept of the 'Northeast7s Football Tour, Goa' 2021 with the following mission: To enlighten the country about the Northeast region through football, art, and culture, promoting sports tourism and creating a fine example of unity in diversity'.
'The Northeast7s Football Tour, Goa' 2021 aims at being an annual event. This is one of Jessica's endeavours and is set to have its inaugural inception this year. This tournament will help in detecting grassroots-level talent along with a healthy dose of entertainment. With the Minister of State, Ministry of Youth affairs and sports, Kiren Rijiju, and Chief Minister of Goa, Dr Pramod Sawant publicly endorsing the launch of this tournament, this endeavour is already off to a great start.
The Northeast has always been a hub of football in the country. The region has produced some of the finest players to have graced Indian football. Bhaichung Bhutia, Renedy Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua, the list of household names goes on. Not to forget, the Indian national team's first captain, Dr. T Ao was from one of the Seven Sister States, Nagaland. He led India during the 1948 London Olympics held after a gap of 14 years due to the Second World War.
The tournament is scheduled to be played amongst 28 teams. Each team will consist of a minimum of 10 players and a maximum of 12 players. Teams are encouraged to register with one coach, one manager, and one physio onboard. Competing categories of men's, women's, and veterans will battle it out amongst 55 matches spread across 3 days of adrenaline-fuelled football alongside 2 grassroots exhibition matches from local teams.
The tournament will be played in a seven-a-side format and each game will be played on a full-sized football field split in two with two games being played simultaneously on each half. There will be 2 halves of 15 minutes each with an immediate side switch at half-time.
( With inputs from ANI )
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