KOCHI: ‘Goal 2012’, the lone inter-collegiate tournament in the state, drew to a close at the Maharaja’s College Grounds here on Sunday with some of the shining stars of Kerala’s rich footballing history watching the up-and-coming players from the gallery.The post-match presentation of the 14-day tournament, organised by The New Indian Express Group, witnessed a rare conglomeration of the past, present and future footballers.With the valedictory function of the tournament having been postponed due to the seven-day official mourning declared in the state in respect of the late Kerala Governor M O H Farook, the presentation was limited to medallions to the team members of the top three colleges teams. Olympian footballer O Chandrasekharan presented the medallion to the winners, Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur, while former international C C Jacob gave away the medallions to the runners-up Mar Athanasious College, Kothamangalam. Kerala Football Association (KFA) president K M I Mather handed over the dummy cheque of `1 lakh to the winners, while another former international M M Jacob presented the runners-up with a dummy cheque of `50,000.A cheque of `10,000 was handed over to the third-placed Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), Thiruvananthapuram, by KFA secretary P Anil Kumar. A stalwart of Kerala’s 1973 Santosh Trophy-winning side K P Williams presented the fourth-placed team Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha, a cheque of `5,000. Seven football academies were handed footballs as part of the programme. Earlier, Chirag United Kerala captain and former international mid-fielder K N Ajayan greeted the players prior to the start of the final. At the valedictory function to be held later this month, the Goal 2012 Trophy, the runners-up trophy and the cash prize for the top two teams, along with awards for the best players in various positions from the 16-team event, will be given away in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Eight former Kerala players, who have done yeoman service to the game, will also be honoured at the function. C C Jacob delivered the vote of thanks from the football fraternity of Kerala for the successful conduct of ‘Goal 2012’.“This is the lone inter-collegiate tournaments in the state. The organisers deserve kudos for coming up with such a novel idea. The tournament brought joy to yesteryear players like us,” Jacob, a member of the Kerala Santosh Trophy team of 1973, said.
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