The newest age-group competition in AIFF\u2019s calendar for the year 2023-24 will start in April and will be known as the \u2018Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football Championship\u2019. The championship will be held at the sprawling Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh having an in-house full-fledged football pitch, training facilities and residential area, the AIFF informed on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Following the discontinuation of the U21 competition during the Covid-19 pandemic, the AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, last July, expressed the urgent need to restart the competition in the senior boys\u2019 category to fill the existing void at this level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI\u2019m pleased to see the Under-20 NFC competition has been brought back into our football calendar this year, thus bridging a wide gap which was in existence last few years in our youth structure pyramid between U17 Youth League to Santosh Trophy,\u201d Chaubey said in an AIFF release.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe felt the need to have the competition in Under 20, to put the building blocks in place for our footballers\u2019 gradual progression into senior competitions and to create a pipeline for Asian Games U23 selection. The U20 group competition is very crucial in a player\u2019s life cycle to step into a professional career. With the U20 competition back in recognition, the youth structure slabs from Sub Junior to Santosh Trophy gets completed,\u201d added Chaubey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As a next step, AIFF will invite all its state member associations to participate in the U20 Championship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2024\/02\/swami-vivekananda-u20-national-football-to-kickstart-in-april.jpg", "alt_img": "Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football to kickstart in April", "alt_title": "Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football to kickstart in April", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football To Kickstart In April On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football To Kickstart In April, Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football: The All-India Football Federation (AIFF), on Thursday announced the commencement of the Men\u2019s National Football.", "seo_keywords": "Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football, India Football Federation, New Delhi, The All, National Football Championship, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Kalyan Chaubey, U17 Youth League, Santosh Trophy, Asian Games U23, The U20, Sub Junior, U20 Championship", "tag": "", "tagging": " India Football Federation, New Delhi, The All, National Football Championship, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Kalyan Chaubey, U17 Youth League, Santosh Trophy, Asian Games U23, The U20, Sub Junior, U20 Championship", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "swami-vivekananda-u20-national-football-to-kickstart-in-april", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "984", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "0", "created": "2024-02-29 18:12:03", "updated": "2024-02-29 18:12:03", "img_from": "Image Source: IANS", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Swami Vivekananda U20 National Football, India Football Federation, New Delhi, The All, National Football Championship, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Kalyan Chaubey, U17 Youth League, Santosh Trophy, Asian Games U23, The U20, Sub Junior, U20 Championship", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "1", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "23", "jio_date": "2024-02-29 18:12:03", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "0", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "sports_name": "football", "cnmid": "872953", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/sports-news\/swami-vivekananda-u20-national-football-to-kickstart-in-april-13632" }