CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Football Association in collaboration with the Chennai Sports Mission Trust will organise an awareness run titled ‘Chennai Run ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2014’. The event, which will be conducted on June 8 from 7 am, will begin near the Labour Statue on Kamaraj Salai (Beach Road) and end near the New Light House (Beach Road).
At a press conference announcing the run on Monday, S Cletus Babu, president, Tamil Nadu Football Association said, “The FIFA World Cup is the most watched sports event in the world. Nearly 400 countries, 207 officially and another 200 or so, unofficially, play the game. It is more valued than the Olympics. We are organising the running event, in order to create awareness about it.”
B Ravikumar David, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Football Association, noted how the addition of two new features, the goal line technology and the vanishing spray, were going to add interest to this year’s world cup. Talking about the run, he said, “There are still 24 days to go before the World Cup starts and we are looking to build the momentum by spreading word about our event.”
He added that renowned names from the world of cinema and sports, along with luminaries from administrative circles, would be roped in for the Chennai Run.
Cletus Babu shared his experience of having personally witnessed the level of craze among Brazilians for the game. “Even if the Brazilian team plays a match in any other country at an odd time, a national holiday is declared, as no one wants to go to work when their team is playing. A player is paid more than five thousand dollars for a practice match. Such encouragement is the reason behind them winning the World Cup five times,” he said.
There is no entry fee for participation. Registrations for the event will close on May 31. Those who wish to take part can contact Tamil Nadu Football Association (25321535) or Chennai Sports Mission Trust (9841335114). You can also register through email/SMS (Text “Yes to Meet”) Email: tn.football@yahoo.in or chn.sports2013@gmail.com