Calcutta Cricket & Football Club recently saw 20 teams jostling for the coveted title at the Corporate 7s 2023 that the football section of the club organised in association with t2.
In this 7-a-side format game for the corporates, the recently-concluded edition had corporate participants in a week-long tournament. In this format, the teams are divided into four groups. Each group plays 10 games in the group stage, and the top two teams (the first and the second) qualify for the Cup category. Two teams from each group, i.e., eight teams in total then proceed to play quarter-finals. And then, the semi-finals take place between four teams, followed by the finale.
The teams that emerge third and fourth in the group stage compete in the Plate category. Eight teams qualify for the quarter-finals, after which the semi-finals and the finale take place.
This edition of the tournament saw participation of teams representing corporates, including PwC, E&Y, CESC, IMRB, Blue Dart, HDFC Bank, Ericsson, Sunknowledge, LTI Mindtree, Mahe Technologies, Infiflex, Kenilworth, Accenture, Vyana Sports, Apeejay Surrinder, Cognizant, Bando Design, SAIL, Red FM and British Telecom.
In the Plate category, HDFC Bank defeated Accenture in the quarter-finals and British Telecom in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, LTI Mindtree defeated Kenilworth Hotels in the quarter-finals and E&Y in the semi-finals.
The Plate finale saw 2-2 after full time and LTI Mindtree defeat HDFC Bank 4-2 on penalties.
In the Cup category, Bando Design defeated Blue Dart in the quarter-finals and Infiflex in the semi-finals while Sunknowledge defeated Vyana Sports in the quarter-finals and PwC in the semi-finals.
Sunknowledge faced off against Bando Design in the finale where the former won 1-0.
CC&FC’s football section 2023 comprises Nirmalya Karmakar, captain; Liam Bain, vice-captain; Javed Ansar, joint secretary and Thean Law, joint secretary.
The football section in the current year successfully organised four large-scale tournaments back-to-back, including the Merchants Cup, Club Opens & Masters 5s, the Football Premier League and the CC&FC Corporate 7s.
Team Bando Design, the runner-up team in the Cup category.
HDFC Bank, the runner-up team in the Plate category
Sunknowledge, the champion team in the Cup category, posed together for a photo.
(Left) Shankar Sen (left) of SAIL won the best veteran of the tournament award. “When a player participates in a match, he/she does not play to gain something individually. S/he plays for the team. We had expected to reach an even better position. When I played in this edition, I had no expectations that I would win this award. I am happy I have achieved it. I will keep playing football as long as I can”, said Sen.
(Right) Amitava Bose of team Infiflex with the best goalkeeper of the tournament award. “I did quite expect this award after our match against Bando Design. It feels great. We could have played better in the semi-finals,” said Amitava.
(L-R) Peash of Bando Design receiving the most valuable player award from former cricketer Arun Lal. “We tried hard to bag the champion’s trophy. I attribute my win in the individual category to the hard work of the team”, said Peash.
“The Merchants Cup (5-a-side) and the Corporate 7s (7-a-side format) were very successful and well received by all,” said Nirmalya Karmakar, captain of football section 2023, CC&FC.