The Samikhsya Bureau
BHUBANESWAR: The 2021 CII Beach Soccer has started at Chandrabhaga in Konark with footballers Shradhanjali Samantaray and Ranjita Mohanty present during the inauguration ceremony on Monday.
The corporate beach football tournament features 10 teams including Tata Steel and Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL).
The first of its kind beach soccer festival in Odisha, “Beach Soccer 2021” is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with the Department of Tourism, Government of Odisha. Odisha Football Club (OFC) is the Technical Partner of the event.
Eminent footballers Shradhanjali Samantaray and Ranjita Mohanty were present during the inauguration ceremony along with Saikat Roy Chowdhury (Regional Director – East and North East, CII), Binaya Dash (Additional District Magistrate, Puri), CII Odisha state council members and members of Odisha FC.
This is a maiden initiative to integrate football and the mesmerizing coastline of Konark. This is a corporate beach soccer tournament in which the industry members are a part.
The major objectives of the tournament are promoting tourism, health and sports in the state, industry-government collaboration and the development of state beaches as venues for international beach soccer events.
A total of 10 teams have been divided into two groups.
Group A includes Odisha Tourism, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, CSM, Nalco and Tata Steel. Paradeep Phosphates Limited, Paradeep Port Trust, Odisha Power Transmission Corporation, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) and Gupta Power have been placed in Group B.
