One of the most prestigious sporting events for corporates in the city, the CC&FC Merchants Cup Football Tournament in association with t2 came to an exciting end on the evening of June 10 at the CC&FC grounds. The football tournament, which saw a slight decrease in crowd presence due to heat wave-like conditions, saw participation by 42 teams who competed for the coveted cup. Held from May 20 to June 10, it brilliantly showcased the passion and skill of the participating teams. Teams of five players each played matches lasting 10 minutes, with the rules of play being the same as that of regular football matches.
The finals of the tournament were divided into three categories — Bowl, Plate and Cup Finals. In the Bowl final, team Edifixio emerged victorious. Reliance Jio claimed the winner’s spot at the end of the Plate final. The much-anticipated Cup final between HSBC and TCS proved to be a very hard-fought encounter, with TCS ultimately sealing a convincing win. At the awards ceremony after the finals, football legends Pradip Chowdhury and Shyam Thapa gave away prizes to the winners in various categories. Snapshots.
CC&FC Merchants Cup Corporate Football Tournament champions TCS celebrate after receiving the winner’s trophy. “TCS has been playing in this tournament for the last 10 to 15 years. It is a great occasion for us. The tournament is also organised very well. All our players look forward to participating in this tournament. It has a great atmosphere. We brought just one team to this competition this year, unlike other years, when we brought two teams. But this team was extremely focused and dedicated to the game and it feels wonderful to perform well in such a great tournament,” said the captain of team TCS, Debasish Ghosh (centre, holding the trophy).
HSBC football team received their Cup runners-up trophy from football greats Pradip Chowdhury (fourth from left) and Shyam Thapa (fifth from left). “It was a very wonderful tournament for us, and you always know that winning is a very amazing feeling. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win this tournament, but we have learned from our mistakes and hopefully, we will come back stronger next year,” said the captain of team HSBC, Afroz Khan (in black-and-yellow jersey).
Most valuable player of the match Soumya Saha (left) of TCS accepted his medal from footballer Pradip Chowdhury