NAVELIM
YOUTH CENTRE LIFT GLITTERING J. P. DMELLO TROPHY
INDIAN ICON SUNIL CHHETRI GRACES FINAL
Navelim Youth
Centre (NYC) inscribed their name on the glittering J. P. D’Mello Trophy when
they subdued a fighting 10 men Indian Strikers FC 2-1 in the final of the KIFF
League Championship organized by Kuwait Indian Football Federation and played
at the Al-Qadsyia Stadium on Friday, 14th June 2013 at 6:30pm. The yearlong tournament featuring 18 teams
from the expatriate Indian community in Kuwait was officiated by the Indian
Football Referees Association (IFRA) and the final was sponsored by Gulf Cable
& Electric Industries Company, Kuwait.
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| Section of the supporters |
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| A large crowd watched the game |
The final got
underway when the day’s dashing host Kevin Vaz the Sports Secretary of KIFF
welcomed the guest and KIFF General Secretary Praveen Kumar escorted Sunil
Chhetri the captain of India Soccer Team and a special invitee of KIFF to the
field to take the first kick, while both captains released symbolic balloons. Other dignitaries present in the VIP box were
the chief guest first secretary Mr. Sushil Kumar on behalf of the Indian
Embassy, the guest of honor, Naser Omran Kanan representing Gulf
Cable & Electrical Industries Company, Asif Juzar owner of Pro Sports and all club presidents.
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| Sunil Chhetri addressing the crowd |
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| Sunil Chhetri kicking the first ball |
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| Club presidents |
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| Players making their grand entry |
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| VIP guests |
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| Kiff President addressing the crowd |
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| The guests and special invitees |
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| Players introduction |
Indian
Strikers FC making their first appearance in the KIFF League final started the
game on the back foot with the experienced forwards of Navelim led by the
opportunistic Cruzedio Rodrigues and Simao Gaunkar and
ably supported by Sunford Cardoz and Bernardo Pires in midfield led wave after
wave of attacks and it was only a matter of time before Cruzedio drew first
blood when he headed in the first goal in the 20th minute of the
first half off a corner kick. Samson who
had a wonderful game, made it 2-0 from the penalty spot a little later, when defender
Shihin of Indian Strikers acrobatically handled a goal bound ball , and referee
Julio Cardoso had no hesitation in giving him the marching orders.
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| Referee Julio Cardoso escorted by two assistants Nicholas and Francis (R to L) |
However after
interval and with only ten men, the physically stronger and never say die
Indian Strikers made a great comeback in the second half when one of their
players was brought down in the box and Dustan Paul confidently converted to give his team a glimmer of hope. With the beating of drums and encouraged by
their large number of supporters, Indian Strikers forward Roy Pathrose, Biju
and Amada tried their level best to find the equalizer, but Navelim Youth Center had other plans and
their defense held firm with Man of the Match and captain Duarte Ferrao marshalling
from an unusual position of central defender, thwarted all the their
attempts. The match ended 2-1 in favor
of Navelim when the referee who was ably assisted by Francis Fernandes and Nicholaus
Fernandes on the lines finally blew the whistle, much to the relief of the
Navelim supporters.
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| Navelim Youth Centre pose for a pic |
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| Captain Duarte Ferrao receiving the trophy from Special Invitee Sunil Chhetri and Guest of Jonour Naser Omran Kanan |
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| KIFF President Fidelis offering a memento to Sunil Chhetri |
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| Mrs. Aratha Fernandes giving away a trophy to the referee |
Before the start
of the final, the teams paid respect to the late J. P. D’Mello in whose memory
the tournament is conducted and after the national anthems of both Kuwait and India
were played, Fidelis Fernandes the President of Kuwait Indian Football
Federation welcomed the guests and thanked the participating teams as well as
the officiating body IFRA. Sunil Chhetri in his brief speech thanked KIFF
for inviting him to Kuwait and said he was very impressed with the way the
Indian Expatriate community promoted the game of soccer in Kuwait.
During half time, The Federation also made time
to honor Mr. Raymond D’Sa the longest serving president of Goan overseas
Association (Goa Maroons) for his selfless service to the community and Indian
soccer while Fr. Francis (Franco) Pereira Sdb., was also felicitated for his
contribution to promoting soccer among the youth and for having completed 25
years of priesthood. Both the awards to
the distinguished gentlemen were given by KIFF President Fidelis Fernandes.
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| Fr. Franco Pereira Sdb. being honoured |
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| Raymond D'Sa president of Goan Overseas Association being honoured |
In the prize
distribution ceremony, Navelim Youth Centre swept all the individual trophies
with Man of the match being rightly won by Duarte Ferrao and given by Kevin Vaz,
Best Goalkeeper Britto Pereira given by Stephen Fernandes, best defender was
Alfred Pires and given by Seby Dias, best midfielder was Bernardo Pires given
by Joseph Gomes and best forward was Cruzedio Rodrigues and the award was given
by Mrs. Rauzat Juzar.
The
runners-up and individual trophies were given away by the guest of honor Naser
Omran Kanan to Dustan Paul the captain of Indian Strikers and the players,
while Fidelis Fernandes and Sunil Chhetri jointly gave away the winner’s trophy
and individual trophies to Duarte Ferrao of Navelim Youth Centre and their
players. Mrs. Aratha Fernandes gave away
the trophies to the Referees.
AVC
Sports & Cultural Association under
the captainship of Kevin Vaz were declared the ‘Seasons Champions’ and this is
the 5th time AVC - Kuwait have been awarded season championship by KIFF in a
span of 12 years from the club inception . In this season AVC - Kuwait accumulated
the maximum number of points to win the championship after winning the season
ending NYC trophy. The glittering
trophy was collected by Alvaro Dias and given away by Mr. Sushil Kumar. The Rolling Trophy was given away by Sunil
Chhetri and collected by Vincy Pereira on behalf of his club.
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| AVC Season Champions |
Striker Anthony Rodrigues of AVC – Kuwait
was also awarded the highest goal scorer for the season and besides the trophy
given away by Praveen Kumar, Anthony also received a gold coin from the hands of
Mr. V. K. Vohra.
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| Anthony of AVC won the golden boot & gold coin |
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| Real Betalbatim won fair play award for the season |
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| Runners up - Indian Strikers |
The
Fair Play Trophy for being the best disciplined team during the season was won
by Real Betalbatim FC and it was collected by the club president Vijay
Gonsalves and given away by KIFF V. President, Derrick Gomindes .
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