Present and former football players from Vadodara came together to organize a football league with the aim to develop the sport in the city. The five-a-side football league will feature local as well as players from other states fight it out for the winner’s trophy.
The Baroda Football league (BFL) is an initiative by Baroda Football Academy to kick-start a league that would collaborate with entrepreneurs, who can purchase their teams and script a history like never before in Vadodara City. The aim is to give football its due respect in the city that has given the country illustrious players and take the passion of game to next level through this initiative.
Former National players Jeet Patel, Dhruv Patel, Rajvir Agarwal, and current woman player Tarannum Sheikh who is also a certified C license coach are part of the league to motivate the players as well as identify their talent. The league will have 8 teams, each sponsored by leading entrepreneurs, and will take place on Turf 106 – Gujarat’s largest turf.
“This is the inaugural season and from 1000 plus players 140 made it to the auctions. These players will be selected by the highest bidders and per team has 10 players consists of three each from U-18 and U-21 and four from senior. The players are from Gujarat, Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai, Rajasthan. The selection was done under the observation of Ex. India Player Jatin Bisht and Ex. ‘l’ League player Amit Mandal, ” said Sandeep Desai from Baroda Football Academy.
The league will also concentrate on developing women’s football in the City district and the second season will be exclusively on Women’s football players.
The Baroda Football League will start from 16th October 2021 with a total of 35 matches will be played between the franchise teams. This is not an official tournament but a stepping stone to develop the football culture in Vadodara.
