NIT Trichy's Festember: Black Mambas and Friends Ekm emerge victorious

This year’s edition of the FFL took place in two cities as two separate competitions. It occurred on the 22nd and 23rd of June at DAV Gopalapuram, Chennai, and on the 6th and 7th of July at The United Sports Centre, Kochi.

Both the tournaments took place, as per design, with the group stages followed by the knockouts. However, there were variations in the number of teams enrolled and the number that participated. In Chennai, 16 teams played in 4 pools of 4 teams each. In Kochi, however, 24 teams were to play in 8 pools of 3 teams each, but 3 teams backed out, resulting in 21 competing teams. What was common was that teams of both tournaments had 5 players with 3 rolling substitutes.

In Chennai, 2 teams from each of the four pools advanced to the quarterfinals, while 1 team from each of the 8 teams in Kochi did the same. The 8 teams then fought amongst themselves for the 4 places in the semi-finals, only to battle again to clinch the 2 spots for a chance to win the cup.

To win the cup would require great skill, determination, and perseverance, qualities that all four teams from both the finals possessed in abundance. Ultimately, there can only be one winner per tournament, only one team can lift the coveted trophy for their city’s edition. In Chennai, the Black Mambas emerged victorious, grabbing their victory after a tough fight [ 2-2 (pen 3-2) ], while in Kochi, Friends Ekm rose to lift the trophy after a match that was fittingly onerous [ 2-1 ].

The champions were presented their trophies by their respective chief guests, with Ajith Kumar- Defender, Chennai City FC, the winning team of I league, performing the honors in Chennai, and one of the representatives from Decathlon fulfilling the obligation in Kochi. In his speech, Ajith Kumar talked multitudes about football, his experience evident. Being a Chennai resident himself, he exclaimed there isn’t any difference between playing here and on the field. He further stated all these budding talents have a bright future ahead.

The winners of both tournaments took home 13k in prize money each, while the runners were presented with 7k each.