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)