Kolkata giants ATK Mohun Bagan FC survived a scare as they came back from 1-0 down to hold FAO Academy (Odisha) to 1-1 draw in their Group-B match of the AIFF Elite Youth League (U-17 Youth Cup) Football Tournament at Barrackpore Stadium in Kolkata today.

Ajay Soren gave FAO Academy the lead in the 42nd minute, while Samrat Bose equalized for ATK Mohun Bagan in the 74th minute. This was the third match for FAO Academy, who earlier won their opening match against Sanju Football Academy (Sikkim) 1-0, but suffered a 7-0 drubbing against Football 4 Change Academy (Manipur) in their second game.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has introduced the Elite Youth League with an aim to find talent for India U-17 team. Also titles as Hero U-17 Youth Cup, the Elite Youth League would played across two phases.

While the group stages will be played from 22 December 2022 to 5 January 2023, the final rounds, the venue for which will be announced later, will take place from 20 to 31 January 2023. There will be a total of 111 matches across 11 locations (Group Stages + Final Rounds) during the course of the tournament.

A total of 49 teams from 29 State/Union Territories, including two from Odisha, have been divided into 10 groups, which will be played across 10 locations in the country in a single-leg round-robin format in the group stage. The two Odisha teams are: FAO Academy and Odisha FC.

The 10 group winners and six best second-placed teams will qualify for the Final Rounds. The Final Round will be played in a knock-out format, starting from the round of 16 stage.

FAO Academy, owned by Football Association of Odisha (FAO), has been placed in Group-B along with ATK Mohun Bagan (West Bengal), Sanju Football Academy (Sikkim), Minerva Academy FC (Punjab) and Football 4 Change Academy (Manipur). Group B competition is being held in Kolkata.


FAO ACADEMY TEAM (22): Goalkeepers: Sri Satyam Sing, Sk Arman. Defenders: Sk Mahammad Mustafeez, Papu Murmu, Rahul Samal (Captain), Sumirat Mohanty, Shashwat Shrestha, Manoj Hantal. Mid-fielders: Sayed Niyaz Ali, Kumara Satyabrat Sahoo, Bablu Bagh, Sainar Jojo, Bidyadhar Takri, Tignanshu Mohanty, Pratap Chandra Purti, Aaryaveer Patnaik, Mukesh Jani. Forwards: Ajaya Soren, Hrudayanath Sardar, Somya Rout, Md Sarfaraz, Subhasis Sahoo. Head Coach: Sk Manjoor.

FAO ACADEMY RESULTS:
December 24: FAO Academy (Somya Rout 80) beat Sanju Football Academy, Sikkim 1-0.
December 26: FAO Academy lost to Football 4 Change Academy, Manipur (Kishor Tiwari 1, 16, 48, 56; Thonggouchao Lotjem 57, Bidyadhar Takri 62-OG, Mangminlal Haokip 80) 0-7.
December 28: FAO Academy (Ajay Soren 42) drew with ATK Mohun Bagan FC (Samrat Bose 74) 1-1.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Players of FAO Academy team for AIFF Elite Youth League pose with their head coach Sk Manjoor on 24 December 2022.