In sync with its passion for sport, which it shares with the people of Meghalaya, Assam Rifles, launched the Assam Rifles Invitational Football Cup 2017 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the presence of Chief Guest, the Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Meghalaya, Zenith Sangma, and Assam Rifles Director General lieutenant General Shokin Chauhan, AVSM , YSM, SM,VSM.
Assam Rifles also boasts of a rich sporting tradition and have produced many sporting star of the country since its inception. A similar tradition is shared by the extremely talented and enthusiastic people of the North East when it comes to sports and especially football, which is an immensely popular game both amongst the locals and soldiers of Assam Rifles, a fact noted by lieutenant General Shokin Chauhan in his welcoming address.
“People of Shillong and Meghalaya are extremely passionate about sport, especially football, and Assam Rifles shares your passion. We are in the second year of this tournament and we are thankful to the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister and the Meghalaya Football Association for their support. We hope that this tournament apart from being popular with the local populace will also bring out new and fresh talent from Meghalaya. I am sure this tournament will turn into a premier event of the North East in the coming years,” lieutenant General Chauhan said.
Before declaring the tournament open, Sangma said, “Assam Rifles are the friends of the hill people and I am thankful to the Assam Rifles’ leadership for organising this tournament, which will act as a bridge between the common people and the armed forces. As we all know, football is very popular in Meghalaya and the people are passionate about the game. It is therefore befitting that Assam Rifles has organised this kind of tournament. From the government side we are giving maximum focus in promotion of sports in the state and with the direction of the Chief Minister we are targeting to popularise football in the state and identify talented players among the youth.”
The competition features 20 teams in all with 19 of them drawn from several parts of Meghalaya as also one of the Assam Rifles laitkor team.