AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Himachal Pradesh Football Association (HPFA) organized an online quiz competition for young footballers across the state, which began on June 26, 2021, and came to a close in a grand finale on Saturday (July 3, 2021).

It featured a total of 43 participants, divided into a total of seven teams, who contested over multiple rounds that covered different topics such as Indian football, the FIFA World Cup, European Championships across different formats such as head-to-head, multiple-choice questions, etc.

The first prize was won by Suriya, who is from the Girls Youth Football Academy Khad while the second and third positions were claimed by Akhilesh and Atul respectively, both of whom are from the Northern Football Academy.

HPFA General Secretary Mr. Deepak Sharma, who is also a member of the AIFF Executive Committee, hailed the 'enthusiasm' shown by the participants and stated that more such competitions will be held in the near future.

He averred, "This is the first time an online quiz competition has been conducted by us and we are thrilled to see the enthusiasm shown by all the contestants. It is a great sign. I am happy that the winner was a girl and she was part of the team that won the gold medal at the Junior Nationals (held in Kolhapur in 2019)."

"With the players unable to go out due to the pandemic, we thought of organizing this in order to engage them, help them remain connected to football, and maintain their competitive spirit. The interest shown by them was incredible and it will also help them increase their knowledge. We have done other online activities as well in recent months and we plan to continue doing them in the near future," Mr. Sharma added.