AIFF U-18 Youth League Finals to begin tomorrow

The national finals of the AIFF U-18 Youth League gets underway in Shillong on Wednesday and fierce competition is expected, with teams bring forth their best talent to the stage.

The round features a total of 16 teams split into four groups and after a round-robin that will see each team play three games, the top teams of each group will advance to the knockout stages, which culminates with the final which will be held on May 26, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The current edition of the competition should be more wide open than usual as the reigning and three-time back-to-back champions AIFF Academy will not feature at the tournament. The last edition in 2017 was held in Kolkata.

The teams have been divided into four groups which are as follows:

- Group A: Sudeva FC, SAI Kolkata, Sporting Clube de Goa and Tata Football Academy

-Group B: East Bengal, Minerva Punjab, FC Pune City and SAI Thiruvananthapuram

-Group C: Bengaluru FC, DSK Shivajians, Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and Kerala Blasters

Group D: Shillong Lajong FC, FC Goa, Aizawl FC and Ozone Football Academy

The final round will kick-off with a doubleheader with Sudeva FC taking on SAI Kolkata at the JLN Stadium and Bengaluru FC challenging Kerala Blasters at the MFA Turf on Wednesday.