Bengaluru FC, on Thursday, announced that the inaugural edition of the JSW Youth Cup would take place at the JSW Township, in Bellary. The tournament, scheduled to begin in the third week of March 2022, will see five Residential Academies – Dempo SC, Reliance Foundation Young Champs, Roundglass Punjab, SESA FA Goa and Bengaluru FC – compete against each other over two weeks.

“We are really excited to host some of India’s best youth academies for the inaugural edition of the JSW Youth Cup. During the COVID19 pandemic several teams have found it hard to get competitive matches across age groups, and we aim to bridge that gap,” said club CEO, Mandar Tamhane.

The JSW Youth Cup, initially scheduled to be held in 2021 and rescheduled due to the pandemic and lockdowns imposed in several parts of the country, will be played in a League-cum-knockout format. The tournament, set to be played in the Under-18 age group, marks phase one of the club’s plans to present tournaments to age-group teams in the coming months.

“While the first part of this competition involves the U18s, plans are already in place to host it at the U15 and U13 level as well. We want to ensure that the best players in these age groups across the country have opportunities to develop and the JSW Youth Cup is a step in that direction,” Tamhane added.

The JSW Youth Cup will be held at the Inspire Institute of Sport facilities and JSW Township in Toranagallu, Karnataka, with all teams secured within a bio-bubble.

(Bengaluru FC)