The development comes after the BMC General Body recently approved a proposal to change the 8,450-square-metre plot’s reservation from a playground to an exhibition and convention centre. The decision had faced strong opposition from Mumbai’s football fraternity, residents and activists, who argued that the ground is an important part of the city’s sporting ecosystem.

The Mumbai Football Association (MFA) had approached the High Court challenging the proposed change, arguing that losing the venue would seriously affect football in the city. The association has highlighted the ground’s importance for organised football, with the facility hosting hundreds of clubs, youth players and competitions every year.

The controversy intensified after the BMC approved the reservation change despite an earlier assurance given before the High Court that no decision would be taken before the matter was heard. The court expressed concern over the handling of that undertaking and has now ordered the civic body to keep further action on the proposal on hold.

The BMC, meanwhile, has maintained that the proposal originated from MHADA, which pointed to the site’s original planning history. According to civic officials, the land was earmarked for a convention complex under the Bandra Reclamation layout approved in 1983, although it was subsequently marked as a playground and has been used extensively for football.

The proposed conversion has also attracted political opposition, with representatives from Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) calling for the ground to remain dedicated to sports and recreation. Footballers, residents and supporters have also held protests urging authorities to preserve the facility.

For Mumbai’s football community, the High Court’s intervention provides temporary relief in a battle that has become much bigger than one football ground. Neville D’Souza Ground has long served as an important playing and development space for footballers across the city, and its future has now become a key issue in the wider debate over protecting Mumbai’s shrinking sporting and open spaces.

The matter will continue before the Bombay High Court, with the court having directed that no further steps be taken regarding the proposed reservation change until further orders.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest happenings in the world of Indian Football.

The post Bombay HC Puts Hold on BMC’s Move to Change Neville D’Souza Ground Reservation appeared first on Football Counter.

Neymar Jr is seen in Paris, France on december 18, 2017

Neymar Jr’s Five is a global five-a-side tournament bringing players from all corners of the world together to celebrate their shared passion: football. It is a fast, technical and fun competition, played in more than 60 countries. The rules are pretty simple; each match lasts 10 minutes, with no goalkeepers. Whenever a team scores, the opposition loses a player. Teams need to outplay them all!

There will also be mixed tournament this year while plans for women’s competitions for next year are also being considered. In 2017, over 100.000 players from 53 countries battled it out to be crowned World Champions, with Romania coming out victorious. Neymar Jr’s Five 2018 is set to be even bigger this year. More than 60 countries from 6 continents will host tournament qualifiers, where players will be competing with the same dream of making it through to their National Final and book a ticket to the World Final, in Brazil, on July 21.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sng4-nSkEwU

Check out these interesting videos where you can see Neymar Jr rev up his engines for Mario Kart on Switch, against his childhood friends, João, Gustavo, Jô and Gil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iZXOJYybeM&feature=youtu.be

About Neymar Jr Five:

• This is a 5 a side football tournament and the winner gets the chance to compete against Neymar and his childhood mates
• Contestants participating in the tournament should be in the age group of 16 to 25 years, with only two players above the age of 25
• There are around 62 countries that participate in this event with around 21,000 teams registering for this global event

The Red Bull-organised tournament has given an opportunity for football lovers across India to use their street skills and win a chance to visit Brazil, which is home to some of the finest footballers. The qualifiers took place across 14 cities across India, including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa, Delhi, Aizawl, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and Shillong with the national winner set to make it to the world finals in Brazil in July.

Know more about Neymar jr 5 here: https://www.neymarjrsfive.com/en/IN

Also Read: VIDEO: A fight broke out after Young Boys vs Salsette’s Super Division game

The post Neymar Jr’s Five 2018 World finale to be held on July 21 appeared first on Football Counter.

Both kids and parents are invited to the workshop and see for themselves what the Academy aims at providing young footballers. Apart from the normal Grassroots training sessions from Steven and Co. the workshop will also have sessions from Nutritionists and Physiotherapist where parents can talk about their doubts and concerns.

Football is not all about what you do on the field but there is a lot of aspects behind that are equally important for a player. Steven Dias during the press meet talked about the importance of young footballers being taught about the other aspects of the game, “We want to educate youngsters with the right knowledge about the sport. There’s plenty of talent in Mumbai, who do not get the right guidance at the right time to take their game forward and Ambitious Football Academy will give them that opportunity.”

The Ambitious FA will also focus on developing individual techniques at a very young age. “When we were young we were never taught these techniques and had to gradually develop it on our own. This is the main difference between us and the European countries. Teaching the proper techniques at young age is very important and we will try to give that to these youngsters.” stated the former India International.

The workshop will be conducted on December 2^nd and 3^rd from 8:30 PM onwards at Karnataka Sports ground. All players under the age 18 can register for this workshop. Registration are open and one can register at www.AmbitiousFA.com.

For more details contact: 9930767835/022 22631664 or email at: [email protected]

Also Read: Indian Super League Week 1: Five talking points

Also Read: Bengaluru FC – Mumbai City FC Racism row: Full story

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more updates on Indian Football

The post KSA-Ambitious Football Academy to arranges free workshop for young Footballers appeared first on Football Counter.

Former Indian Captain Bhaichung Bhutia has written to the Jammu and Kashmir Football Federation offering a training stint to Kashmiri Youth Majid Khan at Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools, New Delhi.

“I was very sad to read reports of Majid joining a terrorist organisation. Football has provided solace to many over the years and I felt he requires a platform to play the ‘Beautiful game,’ again” Bhutia, the sole Indian Player to have played over 100 International matches stated.

“I have already touched base with the J&K Football Association offering him to train with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi. I want him to train under my Coaches and then we can decide where he stands as a player. I believe he deserves an opportunity and hence, felt best to open the doors for him,” Bhutia added.

“I also read that he has been a promising Footballer since his childhood and has even won quite many trophies,” the Padmashree explained. “Once you start kicking the ball again, you never know, your lives may just kick-off again. We want Majid to come back to normal life eat the earliest.”

Majid’s mother Ashiya Begum had made emotional pleas on social media asking her son to come back home after she heard that Majid had joined terrorist ranks, a plea which forced Majid to return back home.

Also Read: An Academy for Goalkeepers

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more updates on Indian Football

The post Bhaichung Bhutia offers training stint to Kashmiri youth Majid Khan appeared first on Football Counter.

This is the second visit for the former FC Barcelona consultant as he had visited the country back in 2013. The All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) had called for his services four years ago when he conducted a similar workshop only for I-League coaches in New Delhi. The workshop would see coaches such as Derryl D’souza, Mangesh Desai, Firmin D’souza and Caeteno Pinho as participants.

The event is being organized by Ultra Sports India, one of the upcoming sports management companies in the city. Curator of the event, Prashant Singh said, “Raymond is one of the world’s best coaches and we are lucky to have him conduct a workshop in our country. Coach Education in our country has seen a lot of growth in the past few years, and we at Ultra Sports India would want to add to it, with nothing but the best.”

Shaji Prabhakaran, Indian Football Expert, and Author, said about the event, “I am glad that Raymond is coming to Mumbai to conduct his fitness workshop. His experience will be of great value to participants attending the workshop. I will be there for the closing session on 24th September and wish Prashant and his team all the very best.”The details of the event are as follows:

Date: 23rd – 24th September 2017

Venue: American School of Bombay, Mumbai.

Raymond Verheijen’s Football Journey

As a youth player Raymond Verheijen was part of the famous Dutch Academy structure. Unfortunately, the dream of a professional career ended as a chronic injury forced him to retire at the young age of 18. This disadvantage became an advantage as Verheijen got the opportunity to start his coaching career at the age of 19. As a young football coach and from a football-specific perspective Verheijen studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at the Vrije University Twitter iconAmsterdam. He completed his Master’s Degrees in 1995. He also studied at the Liverpool John Moores University in 1993-1995.

In 1998 Dutch National Team manager Frank Rijkaard appointed Verheijen as one of his assistants; preparation for the EURO 2000 in which Holland reached the semi-final. In 2002 Guus Hiddink appointed Verheijen as his assistant to prepare South Korea for the FIFA World Cup 2002. Verheijen has been involved in every World Cup or EURO ever since most recently with the Argentine squad for World Cup 2014 as a conditioning coach.

The post World-renowned football fitness coach Raymond Verheijen to host a two-day workshop in Mumbai from September 23-24. appeared first on Football Counter.

Preparations are in full swing at the Mumbai Football Arena for the upcoming friendly match between India and Puerto Rico . While on the ground , head coach Stephen Constantine has tough  task on his hand against his South American opponents. Puerto Rico  ranked 114 , are definitely  having upper hand over India who ranked pretty low (152) in FIFA ranking . And the enormity of task is very much to Constantine’s  sliking . He is one to believe that the best way to  test the strength of the team is by playing higher opposition.

“It’s a hugely important match for the people in Maharashtra that International Football is back in Mumbai after a long gap. Mumbai, as vibrant as ever, has been known for its Football culture and I hope the Indian fans will be turning up to support and cheer from the Stands. It’s important that we have a good crowd,” India coach Stephen
Constantine told  AIFF

He has also mentioned that it will be exteremely  tough match for the Indian players. India’s last game was against Bhutan which they had won  3-0. However this time they are up against seemingly very tough opponent  . this is also the first time  ever that team from CONCACAF  team is visiting India.

They  CONCACF team has the best ever movers on the field which can keep Indian Defender on their toes. The Puerto rican side also have mauch better exsposed squad with most of it’s player playing in quality leauges all over the world including  Europe USA. Their resurgence in upwards direction of FIFA Ranking is an example of their strength. On the other side Indian side have support of 20000 home support to boost their morale but they certainly need more tyhan that in order tomatch the quality of the South Americans on Staurday.

The list of 28 Players:

GOALKEEPERS: Subrata Paul, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh

DEFENDERS: Rino Anto, Sandesh Jhingan, Arnab Mondal, Keegan Pereira, Chinglensana Singh, Pritam Kotal, Narayan Das, Fulganco Cardozo.

MIDFIELDERS: Vinit Rai, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Dhanpal Ganesh, Pronay Halder, Jackichand Singh, Isaac Vanmalsawma, Bikash Jairu, Udanta Singh, Halicharan Narzary, Rowlin Borges, Alwyn George, Germanpreet Singh, Md. Rafique, Arjun Tudu

FORWARDS: Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sumeet Passi.

The post India vs Puerto Rico : probable team line up & news appeared first on Football Counter.

Mumbai is gearing up to host it’s first ever   International football match to be  held at Andheri Sports complex  on this weekend 3rd September.The news comes as pure delight for Mumbai Football fanatics  as they  we”ll be witnessing International football after a gap of 48 years in city of Mumbai.

The Idea of holding match came up in January  when  BMC  sent  a report to the  Federation of  Inetrnationale de Football Association (FIFA) . International governing body  of Association football. Prior to that preparation were on full swing for the Recreation of  Andheri Sports Complex.

” “In November of last year, a FIFA representative had inspected the football stadium at the sports complex. Post the visit of their official, FIFA had tendered a list of necessities which were a must for the stadium,” The officials said.In matter of six months  BMC  accumlated  the basic infrastructure  of  the   stadium  including  improved floodlights , renovated dressing rooms , player’s tunnel’s entry and have  also organised  player’s accomodation.

They have also laid new grass on the field which has been imported from Indonesia. The civic body is also revamping the  audience  seating gallery with  plans to construct  special sectionsand enclosure for VIP’s. It looks like the prepartion are in  final stages for the  match. And the stadium is all set to soak up the Internatinal Soccer atmosphere.

Due to such excellent work by ground officals there are also talk of hosting  U -17  FIFA  football world cup which is to be scheduled in September of next year. But the  final call on this decision holds on the court of FIFA which is still pending.However  Saturday’s friendly reamains to be the main course  action for now  which might open doors futurstic growth of Indian Football in  near future  from our very own city of Mumbai and the well  decked up stadium & BMC  have left no stone unturned for that.

So don’t  forget to cheer our Blue Colts against  Puerto Rico this Saturday   on 3rd of September.

The post India vs Puerto Rico : Stadium latest News appeared first on Football Counter.