CHENNAI: With a few days left for the planet’s biggest sporting carnival — FIFA World Cup 2014 — to kick off in Brazil, soccer aficionados in the city are planning to busy themselves with brain-tickling questions about the game. World Cup quiz, organised by Y’s Men International, will start on June 8 at Hotel Aloft on OMR, Sholinganallur. Television anchor and quizmaster Sumanth C Raman will host the event. Addressing the media persons, Raman, who hosts BSNL Sports Quiz on Doordarshan, said, “Quiz is for everybody. The only criteria is interest and passion for the topic, definitely not age. I assure it would be a time well spent for those who participate,” he said.
Partaking in the event, Tamil Nadu state football team coach C M Ranjith expressed hope that such initiatives would encourage youngsters to pick up sports other than cricket. He expressed his confidence that the soccer State team, which reached the semi-finals of the Santosh Trophy, will win the tournament soon. “Tamil Nadu is coming up in both the junior and senior levels. For the first time in over 60 years, we beat Kerala, Punjab and Goa and that is a testament to our progress as a team,” he said.
Raman said that there has been a ‘tremendous amount of interest’ shown by city residents towards football in the past five years. “Improved accessibility to the game, courtesy the satellite television, has helped,” said Raman, pinning hopes on Brazil to win it in their own backyard.
“Brazil has the edge. But, we shouldn’t write off the European powers like Spain and Germany just yet,” he said.
Registration for the quix event is free. Those interested can call 9444643592.