India Yamaha Motor has now set its eyes on the game of Football as it exclusively organizes the Yamaha ASEAN CUP, U-13 Football 2011 for the first time in India.  The tournament is being held from May 15 – 28, 2011 and will witness participation from 120 players & 8 teams from Pune, Nagpur, Kerala, Kolkata and Assam.

The Tournament winner will be representing India at the third Yamaha ASEAN Cup U-13 Football Finals to be held in Thailand from July 15, 2011 to July 17, 2011.  The participants will comprise of 6 teams from 5 Asian countries namely- India, Thailand (2), Indonesia, Vietnam & Malaysia.

The full press release

Yamaha kicks-off Football fever in India

Organizes the ASEAN Cup U-13 Football for the first-time in India

New Delhi, May 17, 2011 – After introducing racing culture to the youth of India, India Yamaha Motor has now set its eyes on the game of Football as it exclusively organizes the Yamaha ASEAN CUP, U-13 Football 2011 for the first time in India.  The tournament is being held from May 15 – 28, 2011 and will witness participation from 120 players & 8 teams from Pune, Nagpur, Kerala, Kolkata and Assam.

The Tournament winner will be representing India at the third Yamaha ASEAN Cup U-13 Football Finals to be held in Thailand from July 15, 2011 to July 17, 2011.  The participants will comprise of 6 teams from 5 Asian countries namely- India, Thailand (2), Indonesia, Vietnam & Malaysia.

The preliminary round of the tournament will include the intra-state matches amongst the eight teams from across India. The winning teams from preliminary round will then compete at inter-state level for the final round, both to be played in Kolkata.

Mr. Jun Nakata, Director – Sales and Marketing, India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd. said, “Football has always taken a backseat in India in spite of being one of the most popular sports worldwide. With more than 50% of the population below the age of 25, we feel that there lies a huge potential in India to take this game to new heights. By organizing the Yamaha ASEAN Cup 2011, we not only want to capture the right talent but also contribute to the development and promotion of the game in the country.”

“Yamaha Motor Company has been successfully organizing the Yamaha ASEAN Cup U-13 Football since 2008. This is the first time that Yamaha has organized this tournament in India and we are committed to promote the spirit of football in India by offering a platform to budding football enthusiasts to display their talent”, he added.

Yamaha’s corporate culture has always given special importance to popularize, promote, and support a range of sports, including motorcycle racing. These activities are a direct reflection of the ‘spirit of challenge’ that the company values highly in its corporate culture as well as in its commitment to youth development and social contribution.

About India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd.

Yamaha made its initial foray into India in 1985. In August 2001, Yamaha India became a 100% subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd, Japan (YMC). In 2008, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. entered into an agreement with YMC to become a joint-investor in the motorcycle manufacturing company “India Yamaha Motor Private Limited (IYM)”.

IYM operates from its state-of-the-art manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana and produces motorcycles both for domestic & export markets. With a strong workforce of more than 2,000 employees, IYM is highly customer-driven and has a countrywide network of over 400 dealers. Presently, its product portfolio includes VMAX (1,679cc), MT01 (1,670cc), YZF-R1 (998cc), Fazer (153cc), FZ-S (153cc), FZ16 (153cc), SZ & SZ-X (153cc), YZF-R15 (150cc), SS125 (123cc), YBR 125 (123cc), YBR 110 (106cc) and Crux (106cc).