Biju Patnaik Memorial Football Tournament Resumes After 2-Yr Break In Rourkela

Rourkela: In a good news for football lovers, the Biju Patnaik Memorial Football tournament has been resumed after 2-year break due to COVID pandemic in Odisha’s Rourkela.

The tournament, organised by Rourkela Sports Association (RSA), was started at the Ispat stadium on March 6 and would continue till March 12.

As many as 8 teams are participating in the current edition of the tournament. Those teams have come from Jamshedpur, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Kerala and other places. Only one team from Odisha has found place in it.

The winner of the tournament will walk away with prize money of Rs one lakh while the runner-up will get Rs 50,000. Earlier, the cash awards were Rs 50,000 for the winner and Rs 30,000 for the runner-up.

Mihir Ray, president of RSA said it is difficult to host a tournament without any big sponsorship. “Every year, we have to make fresh efforts to garner support for the tournament. It is not easy task. Earlier we could manage it with Rs 5-6 lakh. We need to double the amount to attract the teams. At the same time, we are forced to restrict the number of teams due to financial constraints,” he added.

The RSA started the All India Biju Patnaik Memorial Invitation tournament in 2003 in memory of legendary leader of Odisha and a great sports lover Biju Patnaik. During the last 16 edition, many leading football teams of the country have featured in this prestigious tournament.

Parallel to main tournament, the RSA has started another tournament for local teams. Eight teams have enrolled in in its sixth edition.