ORGANISED BY: The All India Football Federation (AIFF)
DESCRIPTION:
* The AIFF Elite Youth (U-17) League 2022-23 would be 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 (Group-B) and Odisha FC (Group-C).
* 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).
* Rahul Samal has been named as the captain of the FAO Academy team.
* Group B competition will take place in Kolkata, West Bengal.
* Odisha FC has been given berth in Group-C with Alpha Sports Academy (Bihar), Hyderabad FC (Telangana), Techtro Swades United FC (Himachal Pradesh) and Young Heroes (UP).
* Group C matches will be held in Patna, Bihar.
GROUPINGS:
Group A (Bengaluru): Alchemy International FA (Karnataka), TBD (Kerala), Lakshadweep Football Academy (Lakshadweep), Churchill Brothers FC Goa (Goa), Mumbai Kenkre FC (Maharashtra).
Group B (Kolkata): ATK Mohun Bagan (West Bengal), Sanju Football Academy (Sikkim), FAO Academy (Odisha), Minerva Academy FC (Punjab), Football 4 Change Academy (Manipur).
Group C (Patna): Alpha Sports Academy (Bihar), Hyderabad FC (Telangana), Odisha FC (Odisha), Techtro Swades United FC (Himachal Pradesh), Young Heroes (UP).
Group D (Imphal): Classic Football Academy (Manipur), Gauhati Town Club (Assam), Shillong Lajong (Meghalya), East Bengal (West Bengal), Jamshedpur FC (Jharkhand).
Group E (Hyderabad): Sreenidi Deccan FC (Telangana), Mumbai City FC (Maharashtra), Gandhinagar FC (Gujrat), Silvassa United FC (Daman and Diu), Jeppiaar Institute of Technology FC (Puducherry).
Group F (Chohal): Punjab State FA U-17 (Punjab), Kumaon Heroes (Uttar Pradesh), Real Lona FC (Ladakh), Real Kashmir FC (Jammu & Kashmir), Himalayan FC Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh).
Group G (Bokaro): Sail Football Academy, Bokaro (Jharkhand), KR Football Leaders (Uttarakhand), Rajasthan United FC (Rajasthan), Madan Maharaj FC (Madhya Pradesh), Adani Sarguja Football Academy (Chhattisgarh).
Group H (Rudrapur): Corbet FC (Uttarakhand), Hero FC (Jammu & Kashmir), Ladakh Football Schools and Academy (Ladakh), Chandigarh Football Academy (Chandigarh), Sudeva Delhi FC (Delhi).
Group I (Bhilai): RKM Football Academy (Chhattisgarh), Premier Sporting Football Academy (Bihar), TBD (Kerala), Chennaiyin FC (Tamil Nadu), The Diamond Rock FA (Madhya Pradesh).
Group J (Goa): FC Goa (Goa), Bengaluru FC (Karnataka), ARA FC (Gujrat), Zinc Football Academy (Rajasthan).
MATCHES OF FAO ACADEMY:
December 24: FAO Academy vs Sanju Football Academy, Barrackpore Stadium, Kolkata
December 26: FAO Academy vs Football 4 Change Academy, Barrackpore Stadium, Kolkata
December 28: FAO Academy vs ATK Mohun Bagan, Barrackpore Stadium, Kolkata
December 30: FAO Academy vs Minerva Academy FC, Barrackpore Stadium, Kolkata
MATCHES OF ODISHA FC:
29 December 2022: Odisha FC vs Hyderabad FC, Pataliputra Sports Complex, Patna
31 December2022: Odisha FC vs Techtro Swades United FC, Pataliputra Sports Complex, Patna
4 January 2023: Odisha FC vs Young Heros Club, Pataliputra Sports Complex, Patna
6 January 2023: Odisha FC vs Alpha Sports Academy, Pataliputra Sports Complex, Patna