64th Subroto Cup 2025: The 64th Subroto Cup is all set to begin on August 19 in New Delhi, with a total of 106 teams taking part. Four of these teams will come from outside India, showing how the tournament has grown over the years. This big football event will have three categories Junior Boys under-17, Junior Girls under 17, and Sub-Junior Boys under-15. Matches will be played in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru till September 25.
According to News18, Air Marshal S Sivakumar said, “We will have international teams from Sri Lanka and Nepal participating, which speaks volumes about the tournament’s global reach and rising stature.”
Independence Day 2025 At Red Fort: How To Book Your Tickets?
He also added, “As we continue to pursue our ultimate goal of nurturing young talent, this tournament provides an ideal platform for school children to showcase their talent, gain exposure and prepare for progression into senior-level football.”
This year, as part of the “Indian Tigers and Tigresses” talent hunt program, seven players will get picked from the tournament for special football training in Germany.
Inspiration for Young Players
Indian women’s footballer Dalima Chhibber joined the event as the Guest of Honour. She shared her personal story, saying, “This is where my journey started in 2011 and I am privileged to be a part of this and sitting here life has come a full circle for me.” She also spoke about the future of Indian football, saying, “We are heading towards a golden future. Recently, our U20 team also qualified for the Asian Cup. It is a sport that every country plays, we are taking steps in the right direction and it is a matter of time that we achieve success.”
The Subroto Cup started way back in 1960, planned by Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee to promote football in schools. Over time, it has become one of India’s most respected school-level tournaments.
64th Subroto Cup 2025: Venues
The tournament will start with the Junior Girls under-17 in Delhi NCR on August 19. The Sub-Junior Boys under-15 games will start in Bengaluru from September 2, and the Junior Boys under-17 will begin in Delhi NCR on September 16.
64th Subroto Cup 2025: Matches
Matches in Delhi NCR will happen at Ambedkar Stadium, Tejas Football Ground, Subroto Park Football Ground, and Pinto Park Football Ground. Bengaluru matches will be held at Air Force School Jalahalli, Air Force School Yelahanka, and HQ Training Command Football Ground.
Asia Cup 2025: Shubman Gill to Be Appointed Team India’s New Vice-Captain
All 106 teams will represent states, union territories, and educational bodies, along with the four foreign sides. Over 200 matches will be played in total. For fair play, an age-determination test will be done for the Sub-Junior Boys category in Bengaluru.
Air Marshal S Sivakumar explained, “We will be carrying out skeleton age-determination test this year as per the guidelines of the All India Football Federation.”
In the last edition, TG English School from Manipur won the Junior Boys title, Mother International School from Jharkhand defended their Junior Girls title, and Nongiri Presbyterian Secondary School from Meghalaya lifted the Sub-Junior Boys trophy in Bengaluru.
