NFL to kick-off before January 10

The high profile National Football League will kick-off in Kolkata before January 10, All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said on Tuesday.

The detailed fixtures of the NFL, to be inaugurated by either the Prime Minister or the President, would be decided at the executive committee meeting of the AIFF on December 17, Dasmunshi said.

The Union minister, who was in Kolkata on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Calcutta Sports Journalists Club, hailed the contribution of the Fourth Estate in projecting the achievements and shortcomings in the sporting arena.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi made a call to give due recognition to achievements in non-glamourous disciplines like athletics and chess along with cricket and tennis.

Gandhi also gave away the life-time achievement awards to five veteran sports scribes -- Moti Nundy, Kishore Bhimani, Shyamsundar Ghosh, Manojit Chanda and Ashoke Dasgupta.

The recipients of the award were presented a citation and Rs 10,000 each.