From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Dec 24: More than 260 teams will feature in the Tejasvi Surya Football Cup to be held from December 25-27 in nine venues across Bengaluru South.

Organised by the office of the Bengaluru South MP, the event is set to be the biggest open football tournament in the city carrying cash prizes worth Rs 3.5 lac.

While 200-odd public teams will take part in a 5-a-side knockout tournament in 8 venues, 32 professional teams have been invited to play a 7-a-side competition at a single venue - Kickstart FC, JP Nagar.

There are eight outstation teams in the tournament, including several from Mandya, Mysuru, Coimbatore and Ooty.

The matches for the professional teams will be held on December 25, 26 and 27.

“Bengaluru is known for its love for football, which can be seen by the large support the city extends to its team in the Indian Super League,” Tejasvi Surya, Bengaluru South MP and national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) said.

“The office is organising this tournament to engage all youngsters of Bengaluru and provide a platform for young talent in the constituency to showcase their skills in a semi-professional event. We look forward to witnessing a football extravaganza in Bengaluru South over the next three days," he said.

The office has tied up with a total of nine venues - the others being FITON Sports (Gottigere), Rush Arena (Rajajinagar), SportsRush (Siddapura), Tiger 5 (Kanakapura Road), TurfPark (Koramanagala and HSR Layout), Golden Leg (HSR Layout) and Dribble Arena (Uttarahalli) - to host the tournament.

Matches in the open category featuring men’s and mixed teams will be held on December 26.

A tournament exclusively for women players will be held at FITON sports on December 25.

“We received an overwhelming 550-plus entries from people across Bengaluru to participate in the tournament,” said Aravind Suchindran, tournament director.

Another set of 250-odd volunteers showed an interest in organising the event. The teams will be allotted venues as per the preference given by them and two top teams from each venue will feature in the main round for the championship.

"We are also hosting an exhibition match featuring the MP’s team on December 25. This is perhaps the first time a national youth leader has brought together these many stakeholders to host a football tournament," he said.

Rajson’s Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd and Sapna Pharmaceuticals are the main sponsors of the Tejasvi Surya Football Cup. Nutrition brand, Fast & Up India are the platinum sponsors. The State Bank of India and Ullas Agarbathi are the Gold Sponsors. The co-sponsors of the event are Pure-O-Natural Bengaluru, GoChe and House of Stori, while the associate sponsors are Heydoc, Stoned Monkey, Popz Kitchen, Diamond Mantra and Akhaada Yoga.

“I am thankful to young and old football lovers of Bengaluru, our sponsors, turf owners, the Karnataka State Football Association and referees for supporting us in conducting the tournament,” added Surya.