The Sub Junior National Football Championship,[1] also known as Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, is an Indian annual football tournament for under-13 teams representing the states of India. It was formerly held for the U-16 age group before being converted into an U-13 tournament from the 2023-24 edition. The tournament was started in 1977 for boys under the age 16 years. The tournament was constituted at the Darjeeling meeting of the AIFF on 12 June 1976.[2] AIFF donated the trophy in the memory of former President of Karnataka State Football Association, Mir Iqbal Hussain.
| Founded | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Region | India |
| Number of teams | 36 |
| Current champions | Mizoram (7th title) |
| Most successful team(s) | West Bengal (12 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | IFA TV (YouTube) SportsKPI |
| Website | Sub Junior NFC |
Conduct and format
editFrom the 2009–10 season onwards, the championship has been sponsored by Coca-Cola and was rechristened as the Coca-Cola MIHT for a period of three years. This also saw a change in the format of the tournament where there are three different levels before the selection of national team. At national level, a total of 12 state teams compete to decide the national winner state.[citation needed]
The 32nd edition of Sub-junior National Football Championship was conducted in 2009 with the new format. Subsequently, tournament has been held from last three years with similar format.[citation needed]
The three levels of the tournament are as explained
1. District Level
The district football association would select a team of 16 players from among all the young footballers to represent the state at zonal level tournament. This would be done through Inter-School competitions conducted between participating school teams in each district.
2. Zonal Level
All the state teams will be divided into 5 zones. The state teams from each zone would play in a tournament at a zonal level. The top 2 teams will qualify for the National finals.
3. National Level
Total 12 teams - 10 teams (2 from each zones) plus the last years winners and the home team would compete at the National finals. Each team would then play in a round robin format. The top four teams with the maximum points would advance to the Semi-Final stage, two of them would progress to the Final Stage. The winning team would be rewarded the Coca-Cola Mir Iqal Hussain Trophy. At the National Finals, AIFF would identify and select 40 of the most promising football talent. These 40 footballers would be groomed by AIFF to become the Official National Under-16 Sub-Junior Team.
Championship structure
editThe NFC structure was converted into a two tiered championship format from the 2023–24 season. The state associations are eligible to participate in the championship through the two tiers of the competition played across the country.
| Sub Junior National Football Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tier | Division |
| I | Sub Junior NFC Tier I |
| II | Sub Junior NFC Tier 2 |
Results
editThe following is the list of winners and runners-up:[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Hero Sub Junior NFC". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ Basu, Jaydeep (8 September 2019). "The tournament where stars are born: Subroto Cup burns bright". Sports Lounge. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy (Under-15)". Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2022.