Bengaluru, Aug 18 : The Sub-Junior Boys category of the 63rd Subroto Cup will commence tomorrow at various venues in Bengaluru. 36 teams representing different states, union territories and educational organisations including two foreign countries will be vying for top honours in the competition. '

Minerva Public School, Mohali, Punjab are the defending champions of the tournament and they will be hoping to defend their title this year also as they will be representing the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE)

This is the first time that the Under-15 category has been introduced in the tournament from the usual Under -14 category. NNMHSS Chelembra, Malappuram, Kerala will face 01 Goa Battalion representing the National Cadet Corps in the opening match of the tournament at Air Force School, Jalahalli at 7:30 AM.

In the feature match which will commence after the opening ceremony at the Army Service Corps Centre will see Army Boys Company, Bengaluru take on Maharana Pratap Sports College, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

36 teams are divided into eight groups and group winners will qualify for the quarterfinals. The group stage matches will continue till 23rd August. Sri Lanka Schools Football Association and Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan are the foreign representatives in the tournament.

A Skeletal Age Estimation Test was conducted today as per the regulations of the tournament and the criteria set by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to curb age fraud and the reports are awaited. If any team is found to have four or more players overage, the team will be disqualified from the tournament. In the last edition, 15 teams were disqualified from the tournament for fielding overage players.

Army Service Corps Centre (ASC), the Air Force School, Jalahalli, the Air Force School, Yehalanka, and the HQ Training Command Football Ground will be hosting the matches. The quarterfinals are scheduled for 25th August with the semi-finals to be played on 26th August. The finals of the tournament will be played on 28th August at the ASC Centre.

Participating teams:

Group A

NNMHSS Chelembra, Malappuram, Kerala

01 Goa Battalion, NCC

Army Boys Sports Company, Bengaluru

Maharana Pratap Sports College, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Group B

Nongiri Presbyterian Secondary School, Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya

Sri Lanka Schools Football Association

Navrachna International School, Vadodara (ISSO)

Gyanmata High School, Silvassa, Daman and Diu & Dadra & Nagar Haveli

Army Public School, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Group C

Tashi Namgyal Academy, Gangtok, Sikkim

Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan

Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, Hyderabad (IPSC)

The Army Public School, Delhi Cantonment, New Delhi

Sanjeevan Vidyalaya, Panhala

Group D

Nazareth Model High School, Dima Hasao, Assam

Mother's Pride Public School, Maloti, Himachal Pradesh

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Pakur I, Jharkhand (NVS)

Fountain Head School, Surat, Gujarat

GSSS Mazara Dingrian, Hoshiarpur, Punjab

Group E

Minerva Public School, Mohali, Punjab (CISCE)

Major Dhyanchand Sports College, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh

SFS Higher Secondary School, Medziphema, Nagaland

Ramkrishna Mission Vivekanand Vidyapeeth, Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh

Group F

Manikpara Vivekananda Vidyapith, Jhargram, West Bengal

Sainik School, Kunjpura, Haryana (Sainik School)

Govt. Boys Senior Secondary School, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

Ultou Govt. Model High School, Bishnupur, Manipur

Group G

St. Stephen's School, Sector-45 B, Chandigarh

The Air Force School, Subroto Park, New Delhi

Perpetual Succour Convent High School, Salcete, Goa

St. Xavier's High School, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand

Group H

Govt. Chawngfinga Middle School, Saidan Kolasib, Mizoram

Infocus India Public School, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal (CBSE)

Nehru Public School, Jamuai, Bihar

Ebenezer High School, Sabroom, South Tripura

Indira Modern High School, Bhuna, Haryana

/IANS