U-16 soccer c'ship quaterfinals to start

U-16 soccer c'ship quaterfinals to start

JAKARTA (JP): The final-eight round of the U-16 national
soccer championship will kick off on Sunday with the organizers
pondering the establishment of centralized training camps as part
of a plan to ensure the development of young players.

The eight clubs are divided into two groups. Group C comprises
Planet Ciparay, Pelita Bakrie, ASIOP and Bina Pakuan, which will
play at Kuningan Stadium, Jakarta.

Competition in Group D will take place at the Simomulyo
Stadium in Surabaya, with the teams featured being Mitra
Surabaya, Ksatria Solo, Star Sidoarjo and Apac Inti.

The eight participants reached the quarterfinals after winning
the qualifying matches, which saw 28 clubs participating in the
competition in Jakarta, Bandung, Solo and Surabaya.

Each team will play round-robin matches on Sept. 23, Sept. 30
and Oct. 7, with the Group winners qualifying for the final to be
held on Nov. 4.

Taufik Jursal Effendi of the organizing committee said that
the PSSI, the national soccer governing body, had mapped out a
plan to establish several centralized training camps for the
further development of the players.

"We have assigned a team of scouts to keep their eyes on the
talented players. We expect up to 30 to attend one camp," Taufik
said at a press conference here on Tuesday.

He disclosed that energy drink producer Extra Joss was likely
to sponsor the setting up of the project. "We have held some
talks about the plan and hopefully it will be realized next
year," he said. (01)