Eight teams for Rovers Cup football

Eight teams, including the youth team from Iran, will vie for honours in the Bristol Rovers Cup football tournament, in its centenary year, at the Cooperage, in Bombay, from December 30 to January 9, 2001.

Western India Football Association president Praful Patel said the other seven teams apart from the Iran outfit would be Calcutta giants Kingfisher East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan, Goan outfits Zee Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar Sports Club, local outfits Mahindra United and Air India and JCT Sports Club, Phagwara.

The teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each, with East Bengal, Churchill, JCT and Mahindras in Group A. The other teams in Group B are Iran Youth Club, Mohun Bagan, Salgaocar and Air India.

The tournament will be played on a league cum knock-out basis, with the top two teams from each group making it to the semi-finals.

The winners will be richer by Rs 250,000 while the runner-up will collect Rs 150,000. The two losing semi-finalists will take home Rs 100,000 each while the man of the tournament will get Rs 50,000.

A cheque of Rs 500,000, which is long overdue to the Maharashtra team for winning the Santosh Trophy this year, will be handed over to them during the Rovers Cup final on January 9.