SRINAGAR, May 16, 2026: Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council is executing a rapid district-by-district football talent hunt across the Kashmir Valley as part of the Government of Jammu & Kashmir’s 100 Day Nasha Mukt Jammu & Kashmir Abhiyan, a campaign leveraging sport as a frontline response to the growing menace of drug abuse among youth.
The Kashmir Champions Football League (KCFL) trials were formally launched on May 13 in Ganderbal, with youth from across the district turning out in impressive numbers. The drive extended to two simultaneous venues today in Bandipora and Shopian and is scheduled for Budgam and Srinagar on Sunday, May 17, completing the current phase of a roadmap that ultimately spans every district from Kupwara to Kulgam.
At Bandipora, the trials were graced by MLA Bandipora, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, whose presence reinforced legislative commitment to grassroots sports development in North Kashmir. Large participation was recorded at registration, with locals turning up in significant numbers as spectators, visibly rallying behind the youth on the ground.
At Synthetic Turf Draggad, Shopian, parallel trials drew an equally spirited response, with local spectators thronging the ground throughout the day and encouraging the aspiring footballers participating in the selections.
Selected players across all districts of Kashmir will enter the full KCFL competitive structure, a government-backed pathway from grassroots trials to organised league play, offering youth a sustained sporting direction as a shield against substance abuse.
Running concurrently, the Karate Championship 2026 was also inaugurated today at the Indoor Sports Hall, Polo Ground, Srinagar, in the presence of the Secretary, Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council, Nuzhat Gull, drawing karate practitioners from across the Valley.
The South Kashmir Volleyball League 2026, organised in association with the Volleyball Association of J&K and running from May 14 to 17 at Batapora Stadium Shopian, entered its second day with six teams competing before packed stands. Senior official of J&K Sports council attended the matches.
Together, these events mark one of the most concentrated multi-sport youth engagement drives undertaken by the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council under a single campaign, anchored in one message, “Choose Sports, Not Drugs.”
