First Jammu Kashmir Professional Football League gets underway in Srinagar

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 12 (ANI): The first Jammu Kashmir Professional Football League has been started in Srinagar and in this tournament, the top eight football teams from the region are participating.
The league is being organised by Jammu Kashmir Sports Council in collaboration with Jammu Kashmir Football Association. All the matches will be played at Synthetic Turf TRC, Srinagar. Top football teams of J-K UT will lock horns with each other and the top two teams in the competition will qualify for I-League 2nd Division.
"Due to Covid-19, there was no football match taking place here. For two years, the sport had come to a halt, this time we have started a professional league, this is the first time that this is happening in J-K. We have a team from Jammu here as well, JK Bank the powerhouse of our football is participating. Real Kashmir is also there. From next year, we will have more teams in it and this professional league will take place every year now," Fayaz Ahmad (District president football Association Srinagar) told ANI.
"We want 10 teams to participate in it going forward, we will have 28 matches this time around, the top two teams will qualify for I-League 2nd Division. All the matches will be played on a fully professional level. Everyone would be required to follow Covid-19 protocols," he added.
The players who are participating in this tournament hailed this step taken by the concerned departments. These matches are being played under proper Covid-19 protocols. Many foreign players are playing in this league with different teams of J-K. Due to the pandemic, only limited spectators are allowed to watch this football tournament.
"This is a very big opportunity for footballers coming from Kashmir. The top two teams in this competition will qualify for the I-League 2nd Division. This is a welcome step, we hope that more and more tournaments are organised. We want players to get exposure and this is a tournament is a big step," said player Tafeem Tariq. (ANI)