So it’s monsoon, a time when sportspeople usually reboot their bodies. But it’s not long before they sense the old restlessness within — the need to get back to the midst of action.
So it’s monsoon, a time when sportspeople usually reboot their bodies. But it’s not long before they sense the old restlessness within — the need to get back to the midst of action.
If cricketers burn up their weekends by playing the Kanga League, footballers start the season with the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) tourneys. And so, Mumbai’s premier inter-school football tournament begins today, with some of the best teams competing in a round-robin format.
A great deal is expected from defending champions Don Bosco from Matunga, who completed a hat-trick of titles last year. How about adding another title and repeating a double hat-trick, which they achieved two years ago? Coach Leslie Machado believes it’s not an impossible feat. “We want one more feather in the cap. We have a balanced side and a talented bunch of youngsters who are excited to put up another good show,” he says.
Bosco will be up against Dominic Savio, Bombay Scottish, St Stanislaus, OLPS and last year’s runners-up Campion among others.
Pressure, he says, is understandable since they’re the title holders. He says, “I’ve asked my boys to enjoy the game rather than worry about anything else.”
MSSA is one association that has a structure in place. “We are a nursery of sports,” claims secretary Sebastian Fernandes. “Players start here and graduate to the higher level. MSSA is the only organisation in the country that organises different tournaments for nearly 300 schools.”
Fernandes’s only concern is that talents lose their way after moving to the next level. He says, “A great like Sachin Tendulkar has played in our inter-school Harris and Giles Shield Cricket tournaments. In other sports, too, people who have played in the MSSA leagues have represented India. Maybe, there aren’t too many tournaments in the higher level.”
Apart from cricket, athletics is another MSSA event to watch out for. Fernandes says that the District Sports Office and sponsor Nike will jointly host athletics this December.
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