National Football League to kick off before Jan 10

KOLKATA, Dec 12: The high profile National Football League would kick off in Kolkata before January 10, All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said here on Monday.
The detailed fixture of the NFL, to be inaugurated by either the Prime Minister of the President, would be decided at an executive committee meeting of AIFF on December 17, Dasmunshi said.
The Union minister, who was here on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Calcutta Sports Journalists Club, hailed the contribution of the fourth estate in projecting the achievements and pointing out the shortcomings in the sporting arena.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi called for endeavour to give due recognition to achievements in non-glamourous disciplines like athletics and chess along with cricket and tennis.
Gandhi also gave away the life time achievement awards to five veteran sports scribes - Moti Nundy, Kishore Bhimani, Shyamsundar Ghosh, Manojit Chanda and Ashoke Dasgupta.
The recipients of the award were presented a citation and Rs 10,000 each.
Former soccer legend and Sheriff of Kolkata Chuni Goswami said sports journalism in India has matured and become courageous over the last few decades.
However, the advent of television media has made the task more challenging for newspapers, he said.
Former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya and Bengali actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty were also present at the programme, which was followed by a cultural function.