Kottayam: The three finalists for the Manorama Sports Club Award 2019, instituted by Malayala Manorama in association with Santa Monica Study Abroad Private Ltd, have been announced.
The award intends to honour the contributions of clubs and academies to the state’s sports sector during 2019.
The three finalists picked by an expert panel comprising eminent persons in the field of sports are: Dolphin Club, Thiruvananthapuram; Pattern Sports and Arts Society, Kozhikode; and Future Football Club, Ernakulam.
The members of the expert panel were former Indian footballer and renowned coach C C Jacob, former Kerala Santosh Trophy team captain Asif Saheer, and Dr Jimmy Joseph, head of the Department of Physical Education at Assumption College, Changanacherry.
The winners will be announced at the Manorama Sports Awards ceremony. The first-prize winner will be given away the Manorama Sports Club Award and a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh. The second and third place winners will be awarded trophies and a purse of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively.
Over 100 clubs were in the fray for the Manorama Sports Club 2019 award before the expert committee pruned the list to six and then to the final three. The panel members visited the shortlisted clubs and interacted with coaches, sportspersons, and office-bearers in order to evaluate their achievements in 2019.
The three shortlisted academies/clubs who could not make the cut were Kovalam FC, Thiruvananthapuram; Chess Association of Marottichal, Thrissur; and Kadathanad Raja Football Academy, Kozhikode.
The track record of the six nominees, their contributions to the development of sports in the area of operation, conduct of events at local level, participation in non-sporting activities, and training programmes organised by them during the period were taken into consideration before selecting the final three contenders.
