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The MDFA Trophy[/caption]
Dimapur, Oct. 2 (EMN): The much awaited MDFA Trophy 2017 organised by Mokokchung District Football Association (MDFA) will kick off on Tuesday, October 3 at the Imkongmeren Sports Complex at 1p.m with parliamentary secretary for Social Welfare, Government of Nagaland, Merentoshi R Jamir as the chief guest.
This year’s edition of the MDFA Trophy is a special one because this is the Silver Jubilee year of the MDFA which was commemorated on September 29 last, a trophy has also been unveiled and the prize money has also been enhanced to Rs. 2 lakhs from the previous Rs. 1 lakh. The total prize money for the tournament has been earmarked at Rs 3.60 lakhs.
Altogether, 15 teams have registered for the nearly month long tournament. As is usual with the MDFA trophies, it is hard to predict who will be the ultimate champions of the tournament. The re-entry of pioneering football club Zonipang S/A (after missing out some years) will surely raise the ante of the competition. Besides, entry of Intermingle Club and NU Lumami teams will make the tournament an interesting one; NU Lumami missed out last year’s edition of the Tournament, but they had always been one of the crowd’s favorite during the previous years.
But as stated earlier, it is hard to predict. There are some teams – SSS Yellow, Mongsenbai Youngsters, Youth Association Merepkong and Alempang Youth Association – might emerge as the dark horse of the tournament. The Silver Jubilee edition of the MDFA Trophy 2017 will conclude on October 21, 2017.