Footy Association of Bengal (FAB) organised their 7th annual state championship at the Angrail Vidya Mandir Ground, Bangaon, West Bengal on the 23rd January 2023. The Murshidabad district team took home both the senior and junior division Champions trophies, defeating the North 24 Parganas district teams in both the Grand Finals.
Six districts participated in the tournament that marked the return of competitive Footy in the state of West Bengal post Covid. Other district teams that participated were Purulia, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram and Purba Medinipur, with a total of 160 boys and girls participating on the day. The senior Murshidabad team won by a score of 46-20 while the juniors scored 26-19 to win the title. In the junior division the ‘Best Player’ was Ejaj Ahammed from Murshidabad district, ‘Best Mark’ award was won by Nobel Islam from Murshidabad district and the ‘Best Goal’ prize went to Dwip Mondal from North 24 Parganas district. In the senior division, the ‘Best Player’ trophy was awarded to Soyeb Ali from Murshidabad district, ‘Best Mark’ to Abu Bakir from Murshidabad district and ‘Best Goal’ trophy was won by Sk Rakesh from North 24 Parganas.
The Captain of Murshidabad Shaikh Shamim seemed very happy with the performance of his team (Murshidabad district), as he made sure to get the best out of every player in his team and this showed in the team’s performance on field.
An exhibition match was organised between two girls’s teams, who displayed various footy drills taught by their coach and former Team India player, Bishwajit Das. They play a very keen role in the footy development for the North 24 Parganas district. They aim to continue the training in their district and grow the sports with the youngsters.
The event was graced by the presence of The Director of Angrail Vidya Mandir – Mr. Shubad Kumar Vasu and also the Secretary of Angrail sporting club Mr. Debashish Gosh. They watched every match with great interest and also learned a few drills. ARFAI supported the event along with AFL Asia and FAB is grateful for the constant support.
A cultural program was conducted by the locals who penned and recited a poem based on the history of Footy in West Bengal – a delight to listen to in the local language – Bengali. There were around 800 locals who joined in to watch the matches all day. We can say, it was a great day of Footy festival organised by the Footy Association of Bengal (FAB).
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