Spectre of overage haunts prestigious Subroto Cup International Football Tournament in 2023 

The burgeoning overage issue is likely to haunt the 62nd edition of the Subroto Cup International Football Tournament that will begin on September 19, with the U17 Girls category. The U14 Sub-Junior Boys event will commence on October 2 and the U17 Junior Boys will be played from October 14.

“Subroto Cup is a major age group inter-school football tournament at the grassroots level. But has been mired in controversies due to overage and alleged manipulation of school teams at the state level,” Rajender Sajwan, a former national level football player from Delhi said. “Things haven’t changed over the years.”

"Overage," said Sajwan "has been a bane of the grassroots football tournaments in the country. The Subroto Cup International Football Tournament is no exception. The overall selection criteria at the district and state levels have been alleged to be unfair.”

To check the age of the players, the organisers of the tournament, in coordination with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), will conduct the TW3 method. They will do so in coordination with the AIFF to verify the age of the players in case of a protest or suspicion.

“The X-rays of left hand and wrist are taken during the TW3 test. It is used to examine the bone age of the player,” one of the officials of the organising committee said. “If there is any protest, the medical panel will randomly check four players from the team.”

To check manipulation, the organisers have made the Aadhaar card mandatory for the students who will compete.

“The school principal has to verify and sign the players' list. The director education of the state has to countersign a list,” a member of the organising committee said.

Background to Subroto Cup International Football Tournament 2023

The tournament has been named after Late Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, whose aim was to promote football at the grassroots level. The event is organised by the Indian Air Force under the aegis of Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society.

The 62nd edition of the tournament in U17 Junior Boys and Girls will be held in Delhi and Gurgaon. Bengaluru has been selected as the venue for the U14 Sub-Junior Boys’ competition for the first time.

More than 100 teams in all three age groups are expected to compete in the prestigious tournament. Teams from Bangladesh and Nepal are also expected to compete.

Pilgrim Higher Secondary School, Dimapur, Nagaland is the defending champion in Junior Boys category. Gumla’s St Patrick School in Jharkhand was the winner of the Girls Junior group in the previous edition. Heirok Higher Secondary School, Imphal, Manipur, was the winner in the Sub-Junior Boys' section.