GEORGE TOWN: FOOTBALL development at grassroots level in Penang has received another boost with the Seberang Perai Tengah Indian Football Association set to host a Boys’ Under-11 competition.
All the 28 Tamil schools in the state and SK Stowell from Bukit Mertajam have confirmed their participation in the inaugural competition on Nov 22.
They will play for the V. Vasutheyvan Challenge trophy while the main sponsor is Jaya Catering with support from Delta Force, Sivam Catering, Appu Curry House KL, SSTEX Trading and Up Services.
The event is organised by Seberang Perai Tengah Indian Football Association (SPTIFA) with the cooperation of Penang Indian Football Association (PIFA) and Penang Tamil Schools Headmasters Council.
The goal of the Under-11 competition is to prepare Tamil school students for the Penang Schools Under-12 competition next year.
SPTIFA, earlier known as the Tamilan Football Club which was founded and managed by Vasutheyvan, changed to its present name in 2008 for a wider scope.
SPTIFA vice president R. Arumugam said Accha, as Vasutheyvan is popularly known, has not only spent a lot of money to develop football among young Indian students, but sacrificed a lot of his time in the field to make sure his charges gets the best training.
"Our main mission and vision is to develop football at the grassroot level starting from the age of nine as football builds character and instil team work and understanding.
“We also want to enhance the sport of football, which is the most loved and recognised sport in the world,” said Arumugam.
All the 28 Tamil schools and SK Stowell received a complete set of jerseys in preparation for the tournament sponsored by SPTIFA.
Present at the launch of the Inter-Tamil Schools Boys’ Under-11 Football tournament for the V. Vasutheyvan Challenge trophy at the Safira Club in Seberang Jaya recently were state Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P. Ramasamy and Malaysian Indian Football Association deputy president J. Dhinakaran.
Penang State Tamil School Headmasters Council chairman Veerasamy Annamalai said the competition will pave the way for Tamil school children to move forward towards state and national level.
“It is our earnest desire to improve sports at all Tamil schools but our constraint is that the workforce is mostly female teachers and only a handful were male teachers.
“Some pupils were good academically while some are good in sports, therefore we appeal to SPTIFA and PIFA to play a more meaningful role to develop these children.”
Veerasamy appealed to SPTIFA and PIFA to conduct coaching clinics and training sessions for the teachers and pupils on a regular basis.
Malaysian Indian Football Association deputy president J. Dhinakaran said SPTIFA is the only association that is committed to developing football at grassroot level.
SPTIFA Academy conduct development programmes for the Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 categories.
They have a string of successes in competitions, 2012 champions of the Astro-1MCC National Junior Under-16 League, 2008 and 2009 winners of the Under-16 National Tournament for the Datuk Pathmanaban Cup, and finished in the top four of from 2010 till last year.
In the Under-20 National Tournament for the Datuk Seri S. Samy Velu Cup, SPTIFA were finalists in 2010 and 2011, and semifinalists in 2012. In 2013, they emerged as champions.
In the Bukit Mertajam Junior League, they were the champions in 2008 and at the Penang Football Association Junior League,they were the champions for two consecutive years in 2009 and 2010.