Something that recently made headlines is the fact that Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 of Srinagar recently qualified for the knock out rounds of the semi-finals for Subroto Cup. The Subroto Cup is one of the most famous of football tournaments in the country and probably the most significant inter school tournament in the country. As the preeminent school football fixture of the country the wining of the trophy has become a worthy achievement to aim for in the decades since its inception in 1960.
A bit about the Subroto Cup
Named after and conceived by Air Marshall Subroto Mukerjee, (also known as the Father of the Indian Air Force) the tournament has assumed great popularity and has become the prize to win for the nation’s young football aspirants. There are two age groups: junior or under 17 and sub junior, under 14. Madhyamgram School in West Bengal has the distinction of having won the Subroto Cup the most number of times.
In the past, students from Malaysia, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and even Brazil have participated. In 2015 the tournament included teams from Afghanistan for the first time. The Chief Guest of the tournament was football legend Pele, here seen with Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Arup Raha:
The Subroto Cup is credited with creating grass roots level opportunities in the sport of football. Since the tournament conducts matches at the sub division, district and division levels it is possible for kids in far flung locations to become involved with the sport. While the tournament started out with just 50 teams, an incredible 32,000 schools now participate.
Opportunities and integration
Kids get opportunities to develop sporting skills, experience and exposure and organizers have a wide talent pool to identify promising youngsters. The tournament has also contributed to the Indian football team in a big way. Players such as Baichung Bhutia, Prashanto Banerjee and many more came into national province via the tournament.
The tournament is also a way for integrating children from remote areas into the national discourse. The cup has been won very frequently by schools from the north east (Aizawl, Shillong, Mizoram, Dimapur) and now by a school from Srinagar. The fact that it is a team from India’s northern most state; one constantly impacted by separatist unrest is very significant.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
