Pune FC faces Mumbai Tigers in U 19 I-League opener

Pune: Two-time defending champions Pune FC will open their campaign against Mumbai Tigers FC in the Under-19 I-League here, starting on January 14.

Pune FC goes into the tournament looking for a hat-trick of wins after emerging at the top of the heap in the last two editions of the competition in Kalyani (2012) and Jamshedpur (2013), respectively.

Clubbed in the five-team Maharashtra-zone, Pune FC Under-19s -- comprising the second batch of the Peninsula Pune Football Club Academy (PPFCA) players -- will be up against U-19 teams of Mumbai FC, Kenkre FC, PIFA Colaba FC and AIFF Navi Mumbai Academy, apart from Mumbai Tigers.

Post expansion, the U-19 I-League will be played in a new format and will have 29 teams contesting for top honours in a two-tier run to the title.

The five zones include, Kolkata, Mumbai, Shillong, Goa and Rest of India.

The four city-named zones will engage themselves in a home-away format with the winner advancing to the final leg to be held in Jamshedpur. The Rest of India zone will play a single-leg in Jamshedpur with the top two advancing.

The final leg of the tournament, which would feature six teams, is scheduled in mid-April in Jamshedpur and will be played on a single-leg.