Last year’s winners BNKe Solutions who beat Bignesh Finance Co 2-1 to grab the Main Plate; (top) action from the first two matches of the tournament. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

Cricket may be ruling the airwaves, but when it comes to the corporate circle of the city, it’s time for the annual dose of soccer mania. After bat and pad under the floodlights, it is dribble and dodge time for the executive in town as McDowell’s No. 1 Celebration presents The Telegraph Cup Football 2009 For Corporates takes centre-stage at the CC&FC lawn through this month.

The prestigious tourney that kick-started on Saturday is more than three decades old, establishing itself as one of the premier corporate recreation events in town.

This year, The Telegraph Cup Football will see 56 teams divided into eight groups fight it out on the field. Each group comprises seven teams. The tournament starts with a two-week-long league stage. The third week consists of knockout matches. The finals are scheduled for May 30.

As usual, the teams will play for the Main Plate, the Loser’s Plate and the Bowl Plate. While the first and second from each group will compete for the Main Plate, teams which end up in the third and fourth spots go on to play the Loser’s Plate. And teams that finish in the fifth and sixth spots play for the Bowl Plate.

Matches start at 7pm on weekdays. And on weekends, play gets underway at 4.30pm. Though heat may play spoilsport, Deepankar Nandi of CC&FC feels that there will be quite a formidable turnout in the evenings. “Members who like football look forward to this annual event. Though cricket is also popular, I just get a feeling that more people come to watch football,” he adds.

BNKe Solutions were the winners last year and this year too, they are the favourites. “The event is organised very well — the timings are perfect and there are beautiful lights. Besides, it is nice to win,” says Clayton Fairman, captain, BNKe. The team also boasted tourney top scorer Donovan D’Rozario.

“Apart from BNKe, Selvel is the team to watch out for,” says Jimmy Vacha of CC&FC.

On May 9, the first few matches of the tourney kicked off with Selvel Vs Eveready and Apeejay Surrendra Vs J. Thomas & Co. Watch this space for more.