Soccer Mania off to an exciting start amidst carnival-like atmosphere

NEW DELHI, June 27: The inaugural Delhi Daredevils Soccer Mania 2009 got off to an exciting start with 12 matches amidst a carnival-like atmosphere on the Outside grounds at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium on Friday.

As many as 32 Under-21 Boys teams and four Girls teams have entered the five-day tournament which runs through till July 1.

The first day saw more than 350 youth, accompanied by friends, school and college mates and parents, leading to a Carnival-like atmosphere with seven-a-side football being accompanied by music and food stall under lights. The matches started at 4 pm and continued till 10 pm. Each match lasted 40 minutes with a five-minute break in between the 20-minutes halves.

The Outside grounds of Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium, normally used for Cricket nets, have made way for two half-size football fields for the 7-a-side games, leading to some fast-paced action.

The opening day saw a series of exciting contests and only one of the 12 games ended in a draw.

The referees for each match also decided on the Man-of-the-Match awards, with the winner getting a special Delhi Daredevils Sports Bag.