Mumbai - The Mahindra Group's commitment to promote football at the grassroots level saw it take its first step towards fruition with the launch of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge (MYFC), an under-14 School Football Tournament-cum-Talent Hunt.

The company has partnered with European football giants, Celtic Football Club, who will take on the responsibility of training and developing young talent identified through this initiative.

In its first season, MYFC will play out in six cities including popular football destinations - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Goa, Bangalore and Kerala -casting a wide net to identify the most talented junior football players in the country. Mahindra has tied up with leading sports management company, Procam International, to execute this six-city challenge.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Anand Mahindra Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group said, "We are delighted to be back as promised with a grassroots level football program, a sport we have long been associated with. The Mahindra Youth Football Challenge aims to cultivate young talent and provide a competitive framework to hone their skills."

32 schools in each of the above cities/states will be invited to play a knockout round. This will result in a winning team from each city. These winning teams will then play against each other. The winners will be crowned the Champion of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge.

Backing Mahindra's commitment to the sport, Peter Lawwell, Chief Executive, Celtic Football Club said, "We are delighted to accept this invitation to visit India and take part in the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge and we hope to establish a positive and enduring connection in the country. Celtic will always be much more than a football club and our social dimension will always be of paramount importance."

Speaking about the top-class event that will commence in the six cities, Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director, Procam International, said, "It is indeed a pleasure to be associated with a project that involves such reputed entities as Mahindra and Celtic FC. Procam International is committed to giving India's junior footballers a playing experience they will never forget, enabling them to focus completely on the task on hand, which is to play good football."

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES: The winning school of the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge will receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000, along with the winner's trophy, while the runner-up team will win a cash prize of Rs 30,000 and a trophy. There will also be awards such as 'Star Performer of the Game' and individual appreciation trophies for the 'Best Striker', 'Best Mid-fielder', 'Best Defender' and 'Best Goalkeeper.'

Each player in the six teams in the Inter-City League will be given two pairs of kitting (Jersey, Shorts & Stockings). Travel, out of pocket expenses during the travel, and lodging & boarding of all the six schools will be taken care of by MYFC.

There is plenty to play for in the Intra-City stage too, with the winners from each city gaining Rs 30,000, the runners-up team Rs 20,000 and the 3rd placed winner Rs 15,000. The winners and runners-up teams will also be awarded trophies while each player from these teams will be given a kit bag. Similarly there will be a 'Star Performer of the Game' trophy for each match from the quarter-final stage and 'Best Player of the Tournament' Trophy to be won.

A CHANCE TO LEARN FROM THE BEST: The winning schools from the six cities and their coaches will benefit from a four-day coaching camp to be conducted by a panel of visiting coaches from Celtic Football Club before the Inter-City Challenge. This same panel will then shortlist 16 players from the Inter-City Challenge who will further undergo an intensive five-day long coaching clinic where two to four of the best players will be picked to travel to Scotland and Celtic Football Club for further intensive training.