3rd Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup Kicks Off in Goa with Top Teams Competing for Championship Glory
Goa, 29th October 2024 – The much-anticipated 3rd edition of the Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup commenced on 28th Oct’24, bringing together top youth football talent from across the state & the country for an intense series of matches in Goa. This year’s tournament features eight premier teams: Sesa Football Academy (SFA), South Goa United, Salgaocar FC, FC Goa, FC Bengaluru, Muthoot FA, Zinc FC, and Dempo SC. The competition will be held at two premier venues, SFA’s Sirsaim Campus and PVC Parra, providing an excellent platform for budding footballers to showcase their skills.
The Tournament is being played in a ‘pool’ format, with the 8 teams split into two ‘pools’ of four each. The top two teams from each ‘pool’ will contest the semi-finals and vie for a place in the Finals. After the initial round of match ups, matches are scheduled on 30th October at, and 1st November, at SFA, Sirsaim and PVC, Parra. The semi-finals and the summit clash are scheduled on 3rd & 5th November at SFA , Sirsaim.
Adding an exciting dimension to this year’s tournament, two new teams — Zinc FC and Muthoot FA—join the roster, raising the stakes and competitive spirit. Last year’s champions, South Goa United, and runners-up, FC Goa, are back to defend and challenge for the title, promising thrilling encounters and a high standard of play.
In today’s times where there is no dearth of finding support for teams and sports, there has been a shrinking in the talent pool of young age group footballers. The U-15 Youth Cup fits into an extremely significant space in terms of development of football in Goa and beyond, as the age group stages are an indicator of the football eco-system prevailing in India. With the Goa Football Association and the Goa Football Development Council identifying grass-roots talent, community connect and fan interest as the critical factors plaguing the future growth of the sport in India, the 3rd Vedanta Youth Cup could not have come at a better time. The tournament will spur interest among the young footballers as also help draw talent from the villages, especially with SFA having its catchment area from among the rural and mining belt in Goa.
Leena Verenkar, Head SCDF & Head CSR, Sesa Goa said “SFA has since 1999 been focussing on nurturing homegrown talent from the rural and mining belts of Goa. It has been a vessel for developing and nurturing the rich legacy of Goan and National football. Over the last three years it has successfully expanded into age group teams including U-13,U-15,U-17 & U-19 . Our focus is on strengthening Goan and Indian football and supporting age-group football contributes to the aim. At Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup we get to assess our skills against the best and which in turn helps us in developing holistically.We’re excited to see these young players rise to the occasion and make the most of this invaluable experience.”
Gavin Araujo, Technical Director, SFA, said “The Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup is a fantastic opportunity for young footballers to test their skills against some of the best teams across the state and the country. It is a superb platform for developing football skills and for assessing each other against some of the best teams around. This tournament provides the right impetus to the young footballers and gives them the much needed edge in terms of honing skills and sharpening key attributes including mental robustness. Each match will not only challenge their technical abilities but also their physical prowess and resilience.”
The Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup stands as a testament to Vedanta’s ongoing dedication to promoting grassroots football & building a pipeline of skilled athletes who could one day represent India on national and international stages. Through initiatives like this, Vedanta aims to provide aspiring footballers with essential exposure, resources, and a platform to showcase and enhance their talents in a highly competitive environment and supporting them in realising their aspirations att the national and international stages.
About Vedanta Cares
Vedanta is committed to reinvest in the social good of its neighbourhood communities and the nation. The Group’s flagship CSR project, Nand Ghar, is a network of model anganwadis where the thrust is on inclusive development of women and children at the grassroots level. The Group CSR initiative comprises of seven key verticals – Education, Healthcare, Water and Sanitation, Sustainable Livelihood, Skilling, Sports & Culture and Employee Volunteering. Vedanta Foundation, a philanthropic initiative of Vedanta Group is focused on skill development and vocational training programmes for the underprivileged to make them employable. A key healthcare speciality CSR project is the Balco Medical Center, a 200-bed state-of-the-art Cancer care hospital located in New Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The company supports grassroots level sports through their Football academies in Goa and Udaipur.
About Vedanta Limited
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing to India’s growth story, currently contributing 1 percent of India’s GDP. The company is among the top private sector contributors to the exchequer with the highest ever contribution of INR 42,560 Crore in FY 2019. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company has been conferred the CII-ITC Sustainability Award, the FICCI CSR Award, Dun & Bradstreet Awards in Metals & Mining, and certified as a Great Place to Work. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
About SESA Football Academy
An initiative of SESA Community Development Foundation (SCDF), SESA Football Academy (SFA) was founded in 1999 for the holistic development of the local youths through football. The academy has created the conditions for discovering, creating and building talent for football. SFA does not restrict itself to football trainings but involves in a long term residential program which takes care of the formal education, skill development of the trainees during the four-year training period.
The academy has a strong focus on women empowerment through football. Since inception, SFA has trained around 200 footballers and has made tremendous impact on the football fraternity in Goa as well as across India. The graduates from SFA are serving in the national teams, Indian Super League (ISL), I-League clubs of India and clubs in Goa. 7 players have earned the national team cap and several players played the elite ISL.