ZINC FOOTBALL ACADEMY WINS RAJASTHAN STATE LEAGUE 2021

Udaipur : The young footballers of Zinc Football Academy, all of whom are under the age of 18 years, have created history by winning the coveted Rajasthan State Men’s League 2021, held in Jaipur.

Organised by the Rajasthan Football Association, the league saw the participation of eight best teams in Rajasthan – Rajasthan United FC, Neerja Modi FA, Royal FC, FC Brothers United, Jaipur Elite FC, Rajasthan Perfect FC, Island United FC and Zinc Football Academy.

Although Zinc Football Academy had the youngest squad in the league, they remained unfazed by the age difference, accumulating five wins and one draw right through and scoring a total of 23 goals in just seven matches. Zinc Football also won the ‘Fair Play’ Award for the second consecutive time.

The Vedanta Hindustan Zinc-initiated Academy ended their campaign with a stunning 10-2 win over Elite Jaipur FC. Before that, the Udaipur-based Academy defeated Royal FC 3-1, FC Brothers United 2-1, Neerja Modi FA 2-0, Rajasthan Perfect Football 3-1 and played a 3-3 draw against FC Brothers United. Their only loss in the league came against Rajasthan United FC.

Zinc Football Academy’s Aman Khan scored an incredible 8 goals in the tournament while his striking partner Ashish Malya scored 6 goals for the team. 

Expressing his delight over the victory, Mr Arun Misra, Chief Executive Officer, Hindustan Zinc Limited, said: "I am very proud of the Zinc Football boys for the way they have played throughout the tournament while facing such senior players. The boys have given their everything in preparation for this league after coming back from the unprecedented Covid-19 break. They deserve all the applause.”

Mr. Annanya Agarwal, President, Vedanta Sports, said: “This is an incredible achievement for our young boys. I am glad that the whole of Rajasthan have appreciated the brand of football these young bunch of players have displayed over the past week. This is just the beginning of many more such achievements for Zinc Football.”

Zinc Football is an initiative of Vedanta Hindustan Zinc to usher in a footballing revolution in Rajasthan. It is a one-of-its-kind grassroots development programme with technology and data analysis at its core at Zawar near Udaipur, Rajasthan. The programme is using football as a tool for social and community development and ensuring young boys and girls have a platform to express themselves through football. The Football Link is the strategy and implementation partner of the project.