3rd Vedanta Youth Cup ’24 Provides Elite-Level Boost to Football in Goa & Beyond
Goa, November 6, 2024: In a heartening development for football talent in India, Sesa Football Academy successfully helmed and anchored the 3rd Vedanta Youth Cup. The 8-team elite tournament for U-15 age group was organised across Goa & in collaboration with Goa Football Association. Played on a Group-cum knockout basis, the tournament featured two-groups of four teams each. Three out station elite age group teams -Bengaluru FC, Muthoot FA, Zinc Football Academy – joined five teams from Goa, including Sesa Football Academy.
Through one week of intense & exciting competition the summit clash featured Muthoot FA & Zinc Football Academy and the former secured a commanding 3-1 win to claim the ‘Vedanta Youth Cup’. The finalists were making their debut in the prestigious tournament & have added an all-new dimension to the initiative.
The Vedanta Youth Cup ’24 prize distribution ceremony was graced by Mr. Nilkant Halarnkar, Hon’ble Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Services and Factories & Boilers; Rupesh Madgaonkar, Deputy sarpanch VP Sirsaim, Simran Uskaikar Panch Member , Sarpanch, VP Sirsaim; Mr. Bibiano Fernandes, Mr. Bibiano Fernandes- former SFA coach & India Under-17 team coach and current BFC reserve team coach, Mr. Aaren D’Silva, SFA Alumnus and ISL Player, Mr. Vinod Kumar, Chief Operating Officer-Mining, Sesa Goa; Ms. Leena Verenkar, Head CSR & SCDF, Sesa Goa who congratulated all the participants for their exceptional performance and devotion throughout the championship and praised Vedanta Sesa Goa’s contribution to the growth of sports excellence in Goa & beyond. They also emphasized on the importance of such initiatives in nurturing young talent and fostering a culture of sports across age groups.
Mohammed Jeheruddin was adjudged the ‘player of the Match’, with Mahendra Tudu (ZINC FA) being adjudged ‘Most Promising Player’, Leivon Thangalur Kom (Muthoot FA) won the ‘Top Goal Scorer’ award, with Prathyush Dev (Muthoot FA) being adjudged the ‘Best Goal Keeper’ of the tournament.
Champions and runners up were awarded with prize money of Rs. 1,00,000 & Rs. 70,000 respectively along with trophies and a Fair-Play Award for Salgaocar FC, along with a cash-prize of Rs. 10,000/ This championship marked a significant milestone in SFA’s mission to identify, nurture, and groom young footballing talent & to work towards the development of Goan & Indian football as part of its #LetsFootballForIndia initiative. The prestigious tournament witnessed the enthusiastic participation of over 160 young footballers from Goa & beyond and provided an exceptional avenue for the next-gen of Indian football.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Nilkant Halarnkar, Hon’ble Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Services and Factories & Boilers, said “Initiatives like the Vedanta Youth Cup are instrumental in shaping the future of Indian football. I am truly impressed by the talent and dedication displayed by these young players, and it’s heartening to see the commitment of Sesa Football Academy and Vedanta Sesa Goa in providing them with a platform to excel. Such tournaments not only nurture budding talent but also inspire a new generation to embrace sports and pursue their dreams. I congratulate all the participants and look forward to seeing these young stars make a mark on the national and international stages.”
The successful completion of the third edition of the Vedanta Youth Cup ‘24 signifies another step forward in the mission towards nurturing the football talent that lies within the youth. Vedanta remains committed to promoting the growth of sports and supporting the aspirations of young athletes across India.
Speaking on the successful helming of the tournament, Mr. Navin Jaju, CEO, Vedanta Sesa Goa, said “The Vedanta Youth Cup is an extremely significant tournament for providing a platform to young age-group football talent & I congratulate all participating teams on their exemplary show. I particularly comment the two finalist teams on their spirited performance. SFA has been instrumental in nurturing rural & grass roots footballing talent & the initiative to hold the elite tournament will create newer pathways for Goan & Indian football & for #TransformingSports & in particular transforming the game of football in Goa & for Indian football in general.”
The Vedanta Youth Cup presents a transformational elite-level exposure for the age group players & is an important marker for gauging the depth & extent of football talent & development in India. The tournament takes forward SFA’ objective of strengthening football & nurturing young talent as also for increasing the popularity of the game among the younger generation The successful conduct of the tournament spotlights Vedanta Sesa Goa’s commitment to fostering young talent & transforming lives through sporting excellence.Vedanta Sesa Goa has a long-standing commitment to promoting and furthering football in India football through the Sesa Football Academy, which has been successfully groomed over 180+ alumni professional footballers through its residential training programs. Many alumni of the Sesa Football Academy have made their mark on prestigious football platforms across national and international level. Additionally, Vedanta Women’s League, developed in collaboration with GFA, has provided a professional footballing platform for over 250 aspiring women footballers across its six successful editions.
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.