The first of its kind night football tournament will kick-start tomorrow evening in the sports ground of Delhi Public School, Srinagar. In the first fixture, DPS Srinagar will face off with Sanctorum School, Sopore. The tournament is the first of its kind to be held in the country for school children as the school achieves the commendable distinction of being the first school in the entire country to have a fully lit school ground to allow play at night.

Speaking on the occasion the Pro-Vice Chairman DP Dhar Memorial Trust, Vijay Dhar said “We are greatly excited at having the immense privilege of being the pioneers in organising sport under floodlights for school children in the whole country. We remain committed to develop all round excellence rather than only academic excellence.” The Principal Mr Alastair Freese agreed “Sport is a great way to bridge boundaries, and foster an atmosphere of corroboration. With this small but sure step, we wish to contribute back to the society that has elevated DPS Srinagar to one of the best schools in the country.” Ehsaan Quddusi who heads the organising committee said “The talent in the valley is at par with any state of the country. All we need is right infrastructure and opportunity. With this tournament we hope to start a new culture of harnessing talent and providing it a platform to shine and rise.”

The schools participating in the tournament are Delhi Public School Srinagar, Army Public School Srinagar, Tyndale Biscoe Srinagar, Burnhall School Srinagar, Green Valley Educational Institute, Dr AGMs City School, DPS Budgam, AGS Hanzik, KV No 1 Srinagar, J&K Sainik School Manasbal, AGS Wuzur, AGS Pahalgam, Sanctorum School Sopore, AGS Sopore & Bandipora, AGS Krusan & Chandigam.