In a very encouraging development in Dehradun Football Academy, four talented footballer from Dehradun Football Academy namely, Surya Pratap Singh Rawat, Shardul Gusain, Rakesh Thakur hailing from Dehradun Football Academy, who appeared for selection trials at Pavilion Ground for the Uttarakhand Super League, have been shortlisted for player grading and bidding and will eventually play the 1st edition of Uttarakhand Super League (USL) from June 15 to July 15.
USL franchisee bidding will take place on May 29 which will be followed by player’s bidding on 1st June.
Teams will fight it out for a winning prize of Rs 15,00,000 and Runner’s-up prize of Rs 10,00,000. The event will also give away individual prizes for man of the match, player of the tournament and golden boot etc.
Former international footballer and Indian captain, Bhaichung Bhutia has been appointed the USL brand ambassador and former international player, Arun Malhotra, who hails from Jammu, is the chief selector and technical advisor at USL. Arun Malhotra is presently employed with ONGC at Dehradun and is also a member of J&K State Sports Council.
Virendra Rawat, son of Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat, is heading the league tournament as USL Chairman and in a press conference held today he emphasized that the ultimate aim of the USL is to promote opportunity, energy and enthusiasm in football. He also wanted to use this as a platform to create awareness towards drug-free sports among the youth of the state and country.