Cricket’s rule over, football is the game-changer in Delhi University admissions

Cricket may be the passion of millions in India, but if Delhi University applications are anything to go by, football is the new rage.

Among the applicants for undergraduate courses in DU colleges under the sports quota, football is the most sought after this year.

The university will begin sports trials from June 27 and most applicants are looking to make a mark through football, followed by basketball, athletics and volleyball. Cricket comes a distant fifth if one goes by the choice filled by DU applicants.

The surge in the popularity of football could be due to many reasons. Cricket’s showpiece Indian Premier League has spawned leagues in many other sports, and Indian Super League is one of the prominent ones.

Chhetri’s rise

Delhi boy Sunil Chhetri is the biggest name in Indian football and his goals have pushed the national team to the top 100 in FIFA rankings. The following for European club football is constantly growing and with the ISL looking to expand, youngsters can genuinely hope for a rewarding career in the world’s most popular game.

Delhi University officials also attribute the growing number of football applicants, almost all of whom have just completed Class 12, to steps taken by All India Football Federation (AIFF), and Sports Authority of India (SAI) in the build-up to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be staged in India in October.

“In the last couple of years, AIFF and sports authorities have been running talent identification programmes at school level. That would have encouraged many students to take up football. The U-17 World Cup will be held in India and DU’s rugby stadium is one of the practice venues,” said Anil Kalkal, director, DU sports council.

Hosts India have also requested the world body to allow them to play most of their matches in the Capital.

Cricket is fourth

Out of the 12914 applications received under the sports quota, 1557 are for football, 1411 for basketball and 1353 for athletics. There are 1087 applicants for cricket.

“Students and parents prefer to take sports such as football and athletics as it involves physical work. In the last few years, our athletes have been getting medals and international recognition, which is encouraging for young students,” said Kalkal.

The university wants to encourage students to play a sport out of love and not just for money. There are 24 DU colleges that take in students on football quota, 30 colleges offer admissions for athletics, 42 for basketball. Thirty one colleges take in cricketers.

The colleges have to notify the number of seats under sports quota and their requirement in various sporting disciplines. This would be notified on DU’s website.

Trials will be held for a particular sport at a college. Marks will be awarded and a merit list prepared, which will also take into account their certificates. The list will be uploaded on the university website.

“Based on the marks scored, he or she can seek admission to different colleges. You just have to take your central registration number to the college and get admission based on your rank in the merit list,” said CS Dubey, chairman, sports department.

First list on July 13

Dubey said the first list will be announced by the colleges on July 13 and admissions will run until July 27. There will be at least three lists, depending on how many seats are left to be filled after the first list is out.

The university reserves 5 per cent of seats under sports and extracurricular activities (ECA) quota with around 2700 seats available. The exact number reserved under sports as well as ECA heads is decided by individual colleges.

Earlier, universities used to equally divide marks given for trials and sports certificates. However, the admission committee has now allotted 60 per cent marks for trials and 40 per cent for marks.

The university has done away with conducting a common physical fitness test, and it will now be sports specific. The trials will comprise sport specific fitness drills, fundamental skills and overall playing ability.

A student needs to get a minimum of 30 marks in the trials for admission under sports quota. However, those who have represented the country will be given direct admission.