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India Khelo Football (IKF), a non-profit organization connecting Indian Football grassroots talent with the professional Football ecosystem, commences its partnership with ANFA or the Andaman and Nicobar Football Association to host trials in Port Blair for boys and girls under ages of 13-17. In its pursuit of creating a viable career path for aspiring players, IKF has built the first-of-its-kind platform where multiple ISL clubs, I-leagues, and international scouts come under one roof to scout the best-in-class Football talent across the country through a democratized and open talent identification process.
Halfway across Season 2, IKF has witnessed 5000+ enrollments across 15 cities, already surpassing the total figures from Season 1. This impressive growth will take yet another step forward as IKF is ready to kick off Asia's biggest trials in Port Blair on 23rd - 24th December. One can register online or offline at Hotel Daya Sagar Office, Brichgunj Chowk, Prothrapur, Port Blair, for the trials. Selected boys and girls will qualify for IKF pre-finals and National Finals, where ISL and I-League teams and International scouts will come to scout the untapped talent pool in the country. Shortlisted players from the National Finals will also get a chance to win free trials in Europe. IKF has already covered 15 cities and will be going to 9 more cities including Kolkata, Mumbai, Dimapur, Kohima, Nilgiri,Vadodara before 31st December. Paying homage to the spirit of the beautiful game, the Hon. Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Football Association, Sanjay Meshack said, " The exposure and recognition that the kids will receive through IKF's initiative will result in enriching the existing football culture in the territory. The interest in football in Andaman and Nicobar has seen a revival in recent years as demonstrated in the 2021 Santosh Trophy, where we competed for the first time since 2014. The association with India Khelo Football is an important step towards tapping the potential in the region and will surely accelerate the interest in playing, as well as develop a viable career for aspiring players in Football. " Excited to host the trials for the first time in the territory, Paras Mehndiratta, Founding Member of India Khelo Football commented, "We are delighted to partner with the Andaman and Nicobar Football Association to provide the kids with a professional football platform in India and abroad. We are grateful to our partners and the team, who make our trial outreach a success. In light of FIFA's spirit that makes India the largest spectator of the game, and the girls embarking India's football journey in the FIFA World Cup U-17, we are set to upskill, train, and scout the best Indian Football talent who are the future of Indian Football. We have seen a tremendous response from our community online, reaching up to 9.5 M users on digital forums.'' IKF aims to holistically develop a self-sustainable environment for India to begin the international footprint with opportunities in the form of Clubs, Agents & Scouts. IKF publicly releases a summary report of all kids selected from the City Trials, consisting of the player's strengths and weaknesses on the ground. Prior to the National Finals, IKF is hosting the ProSoccer Global workshop which will host Premier League scouts organizing workshops in India for the first time. (ANI)
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