Soccer Mania 2009 continues to hold Delhi youth's attention

NEW DELHI, June 28: The inaugural Delhi Daredevils Soccer Mania 2009 continued to attract great attention as the City youth got into the mood with 12 more matches on the second day of the five-day event on the Outside grounds at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium on Friday.

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

After a roaring start on the first day, the second day saw more than 400 youngsters make use of the slightly cooler weather, as they were accompanied by friends, school and college mates and parents.

The seven-a-side football is 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, has made way for two half-size football fields for the 7-a-side games, leading to some fast-paced action.

Once again only one of the 12 matches ended in a draw and the contests were even more keenly fought than the first day.

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