SRINAGAR, July 5 -- World Cup can wait; local football tourneys cannot!

Cheers, slogans and tears rend the air as football fans swarm newly set-up synthetic turf soccer grounds in Kashmir.

This is all because of the UT administration's thrust on sports infra through J&K Sports Council.

From a single ground to eight synthetic turfs, Jammu and Kashmir has become one of the few states and union territories to have modern football infrastructure.

"Football has a history in Kashmir. We have had 19 departmental teams a few decades ago. Such was the craze that people used to climb trees to watch matches. This love for the game is still there. There were few grounds then. Now, the government has given a major infrastructure push. We have eigh...