The Subroto Cup 2023 inter-school football tournament will start on September 19 and run till October 23.
Considered to be the oldest national school football tournament in India, the Subroto Cup is named after Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee. He was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force.
The Subroto Cup was introduced to promote and encourage the game of football at the grassroots level in the country. The prestigious inter-school football tournament has been held annually since 1960. Around 50 school teams participated in the inaugural edition.
It has been played in two age groups, sub-Junior (under 14 years) and Junior (under 17 years) since 1998.
To be organised by the Air Force Sports Control Board in collaboration with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the 62nd edition of the Subroto Cup will be held at three venues. Apart from Delhi and Gurugram, the Subroto Cup 2023 will be hosted in Bengaluru for the first time in the tournament’s history.
As many as 109 teams from 27 Indian states and Union Territories will take part in more than 180 matches in the three categories of Subroto Cup 2023. Foreign teams from Bangladesh and Nepal will also compete in the upcoming football tournament.
The Under-17 junior boys and girls competitions will take place in Delhi-NCR, while the Under-14 sub-junior boys tournament will be hosted at the ASC Centre, the Air Force School, Jalahalli and the Air Force School, Yelahanka in Bengaluru.
The Ambedkar Stadium, Subroto Football Ground (Delhi), Tejas Football Ground (Delhi) and the GD Goenka School (Gurugram) will host Subroto Cup 2023 matches in Delhi-NCR.
Pilgrim Higher Secondary School, Dimapur (Nagaland) are the reigning champions in the Subroto Cup junior boys tournament. On the other hand, St Patrick’s School, Gumla (Jharkhand) are the defending champions in the Subroto Cup junior girls category.
Heirok Higher Secondary School, Imphal (Manipur) won the previous edition of the tournament in the sub-junior boys category.
Madhyamgram High School (West Bengal) has been the most decorated team in the tournament history. They won the Under-17 tournament on seven occasions, including a hat-trick of titles in 1981, 1982 and 1983.
Meanwhile, Greenwood School (Nagaland) in sub-junior category, and Krida Shiksha Protishtan (Bangladesh) in girls junior category, have clinched three titles each.
Where to watch the Subroto Cup 2023 inter-school football tournament live?
Live streaming of the Subroto Cup 2023 will be available on the SportsCast India’s YouTube channel. There will be no live telecast of the inter-school football tournament on any TV channel in India.
Photo credit: Alamy
