A team from Dubai, UAE and one from Kerala will be competing for the top honours in the Mumbai Football Association (MFA) organized Veterans Football League (VFL) which is set to kick-off at the Neville D’Souza ground, Bandra from July 22, 2023.
“The two visiting teams from Dubai and Kerala have been directly drawn into the quarter-finals. They will be joined by six teams who will qualify from among the 15 local teams which will play in the initial phase of the tournament,” informed MFA Secretary, Sudhakar Rane.
The participating teams include, Central Railway HQ, Offshots SC, Thane Veterans, Juhu Akers, MYJ Sports Club, Golden Gunners, Mumbai Knights, Sunday Boys, Rudra FC, Madanpura SC, Ambernath United, Tarun Sporting, Pune Veterans, UK Football Club, Spartan Bombay Tigers.
The 15 Mumbai-based teams have been divided into three groups and will play on a league basis. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
“This is the second edition of the Veteran’s Football League and we are proud that teams from UAE and Kerala have shown interest in participating here, in our league. A team from Tamil Nadu and from some other states are also keen to participate, but due to time constraints we have not been able to accommodate the other teams. Maybe next season we will try to accept their entries as it would provide plenty of interest and excitement,” Rane further stated.
The teams – Group-A: Central Railway HQ, Offshots SC, Thane Veterans, Juhu Akers, Spartan Bombay Tigers.
Group-B: Golden Gunners, Mumbai Knights, Sunday Boys, Rudra FC, Madanpura SC.
Group-C: Ambernath United, Tarun Sporting, Pune Veterans, UK Football Club, MYJ Sports Club.