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Bengaluru FC Media
It’s the start of the competitive season for Bengaluru FC Under-15s as they kick off their campaign in the 2017-18 edition of the U15 Youth League against Roots Football School at the Centre of Sports Excellence in Yelahanka on Friday, 27th October 2017.
Drawn in the Karnataka Zone, the Blues are grouped with five other city-based teams in Bangalore Youth Football League, Stadium Sports Foundation, Boca Juniors Soccer School and Ozone FA apart from Roots Football School.
Led by Ghanian coach Sadiq Abubakar, the Under-15s are based at the BFC Residential Academy in Bellary and have played a host of friendly games in Karnataka, Navi Mumbai and Goa preparation for the competition.
All the home games of the Under-15s will be played at the FSV Arena in Hennur, while the other teams will host their games Bangalore Football Stadium in Ashoknagar and the Centre of Sports Excellence in Yelahanka.
Meanwhile, newly formed BFC ‘B’ will also be in action in their first ever competitive tournament, when they take on Viva Chennai in the quarterfinal of the 12th G. V. Raja All India Football Tournament at the Chandrassekharan Nair Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram , Kerala.
Organized by the Thiruvananthapuram District Football Association, the annual G. V. Raja Tournament kicked off on 23rd October, and features 12 teams from all over India. Led by Naushad Moosa, BFC ‘B’ left for Kerala on Wednesday, and are seeded directly into the quarterfinals, and will play their semifinal game on the Sunday 29th, if make it through to the last 4. The final is scheduled on 5th November.
AIFF Media
In pursuit of creating a robust football structure across the length and breadth of the country, the AIFF is encouraging the Grassroots Football. As many as 206 teams will ply their trade across the three different age-group competitions this season which will kick-off in October 2017.
Teams from I-league, Indian Super League, Second Division League (as per last year only), Sports Authority of India and accredited academies under the AIFF Academy Accreditation Program are going to participate in the three separate Youth Leagues (U-13, U-15 and U-18 age-groups).
It'll be the first season of the U-13 Youth League while the U-15 Youth League will fall into its third season.
This is the first instance when the AIFF will implement the 'Homegrown' rule which signifies that each of the 206 teams has to register a minimum number of 6 homegrown players in the squad. A player who is born in the same state where the parent club is registered will be tagged as a 'Homegrown' player.
When 80 teams have already confirmed their participation in the U-15 age group, 70 and 56 teams will take part in the U-13 and U-18 Youth League respectively.
U-18 Youth League Qualifying round is scheduled to start in Chennai, Maharashtra, Kolkata and Delhi at a time on November 20, 2017.
Having the pre-qualifying rounds for U-15 and U-13 Youth League already kicked off in New Delhi, the U-15 and U-13 Youth League qualifying rounds are scheduled to start on October 26, 2017 and October 28,2017 respectively.
Bengaluru FC Media
Bengaluru FC announced a 28-member squad which will be part of the club’s first ever reserve side, known as Bengaluru FC ‘B’, for the 2017-18 season.
The squad, led by AFC Pro-License holder Naushad Moosa, is formed with a view of bridging the gap between the BFC Academy and the first team. Keeping the player pathway as the focal point of the Blues’ newest project, the management is committed on providing the best facilities at a professional level for up and coming Indian talent and has signed several young players for the season.
While two graduates, Leon Augustine and Prashanth Kalinga, from the inaugural batch of BFC’s Residential Academy in Bellary have been drafted into the squad, seven exciting players from the India U-19 set-up have also been signed. These youngsters, along with six other BFC Academy players who are part of BFC ‘B’, are eligible to represent the Blues in the U18 I-League.
Meanwhile, five players from the squad - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Robinson Khumukcham, Prashanth Kalinga and Leon Augustine - are part of the Blues squad for the ongoing AFC Cup 2017.
Club CTO Mandar Tamhane said, “When we started the BFC Residential academy, we also had plans for BFC ‘B’. With competitive action at the national stage only available till the Under-18 level, it’s very crucial for youngsters graduating out of the academy to get competitive action. At 18, not all players are ready for the intense demands of the first team, and so with the ‘B’ side we are trying to bridge that gap. It’s no different than our first team, and along with a few graduates from our academy, we have scouted for some talented young players from all over the country who do have the potential to progress through to our first team.”
Head Coach Naushad Moosa said, “It is very important to have a reserve side in a club. With Bengaluru FC ‘B’, there’s a platform for youngsters to improve their game while rubbing shoulders with the established stars and getting a ton of competitive action at the same time. We know this season is going to be a challenge for us, but the management has provided with a great structure.”
The squad, formed predominantly with Under-23 players, has been training over the last few weeks at the Bangalore Football Stadium, and will be playing in the 2nd Division League, conducted by the All India Football Federation, apart from the upcoming BDFA Bengaluru Super Division, and other all-India level tournaments.
AIFF Media
The Senior Indian National team who were already on track for a qualification to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 felt it best to settle matters on Wednesday evening itself, that too with two more matches left.
Sunil Chhetri led India beat Macau 4-1 to register their fourth successive win in as many matches (Group A) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru to script India’s 2nd qualification to the AFC Asian Cup in last 8 years, and 4th overall.
India had last qualified to the AFC Asian Cup in Doha in 2011. The winners led 1-1 at the interval.
The first goal came in the 28th minute. Off a build-up down the left, Rowllin Borges after receiving it from Jeje Lalpekhlua preferred to turn and his right-footer hit rival captain Cheang Cheng and went in.
The second goal came as a relief for most of the fans, and it came in the 60th minute. The triangle of Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh and Sunil Chhetri did the trick. Jeje essayed it to Balwant in vacant space who sped past his marker and laid it for Chhetri at the other end to tap it in.
The path to the qualification to Asian Cup UAE 2019 became all the broader when in the 70th minute a Halicharan shot deflected off a defender and rolled over the head of Man Fai. Jeje Lalpekhlua added more gloss to the scoreline in added extra time (90+2') to score India's fourth goal and complete mission Macau.
On a night where it rained almost all throughout, India pressed the pedal from right from the kick-off. A corner was earned in the first minute itself and thereafter there were a barrage of attacks.
In the 20th minute, Lao Pak Kin was yellow carded for pulling Sunil Chhetri off the ball, but Chhetri’s free-kick sailed over. The very next minute, Pritam Kotal’s centre bounced of rival Goalkeeper Ho Man Fai’s hands but he managed to hold on in the second attempt.
Borges’ put India in the lead in the 28th minute but it didn’t last long – Nicholas Mario sneaking in between the defenders to head it in nine minutes later. The drizzle had stopped by then and both teams headed to the interval at 1-1.
Changing over, Balwant Singh came in for Jackichand Singh.
Even as India very much like the first half seized the initiative, it was not until the 55th minute that the Blue Tigers had a shy at the goal. But an acrobatic Ho Man Fai kept off Sandesh Jhingan’s header off a Eugeneson Lyngdoh corner.
Chhetri, as he is wont to do, scored his 55th International goal in the 60th minute and two minutes later, Balwant the feeder could have sealed it but his placement just went wide after an onrushing Man Fai had managed to narrow down the angle.
Constantine made his second change in the 65th minute – Md Rafique coming in for Borges.
The third goal for India came in the 70th minute and with some 20 minutes remaining the fate seemed to have been more or less sealed.
The third substitution was made in the 77th minute - Salam Ranjan Singh replacing Anas Edathodika and making his debut for the Indian National Team in the process. In the 86th minute, Jeje almost gave the Macau defence a scare when he shot at half turn after Sunil Chhetri found him near the box. The shot flew inches wide of the goal as Macau survived to tell the tale. Three minutes later, Balwant Singh put a goal on Jeje's plate but Jeje, a little too eager was caught offside with only the net to find after he rounded off the goalkeeper.
However, it was written in the stars for Jeje Lalpekhlua as the Mizo striker found the net in the dying embers of the match, tapping in a Sunil Chhetri pass to make the score line read 4-1. The full-time score line read 4-1 as India marched onto qualification for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.
AIFF Media
"We can't let the opportunity slip. We have to win tomorrow's game and there's no alternative from working harder and harder,” Captain Marvel Sunil Chhetri said in the pre-match press conference before taking on Macau in the fourth match of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru tomorrow (October 11, 2017).
"We are going through a good run but we can't afford to take tomorrow’s game lightly. We have to get it going and make it count. We need three points,” Chhetri stated.
Coach Stephen Constantine also preferred to speak in the same tone referring to the match against Macau as a “crucial one.”
"We’re very close to qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup but we're still not there. We can't think about anything but getting a positive result. We respect every opponent and our philosophy won’t change against Macau too,” Constantine stated.
"We have refurbished the team. The average age of the National Team is around 24. The World Cup qualification stage was a learning curve for us and now we're just one breath away from the AFC Asian Cup. That's what we have achieved and I believe, we have built a team for next 4-5 years at least,” Stephen Constantine maintained.
On being asked what Sunil Chhetri undergoes to keep the fitness level at par with the younger bunch of players, Chhetri quipped: "I don’t do anything special, trust me. Playing for my country is the biggest motivation for me and it keeps driving me always. I won't let anyone take my place just for the sake of it. I will keep working hard day in and day out and fight for my place in the team."
In the away fixture the men in Blue had to toil really hard to breach the resilient Macau defence until Balwant Singh hit the target twice. Chhetri referred to that and stated that 'Macau is not to be taken lightly anytime.’
"We have worked on our strategies. Yes, we struggled there. We had to work hard to penetrate them. In no way, we can take them lightly. We did work on our mistakes and I hope we'll implement them on the pitch tomorrow."
"The AFC Asian Cup is massive. It's the biggest tournament which an Asian team can play. But, as gaffer said, it’s not done yet. In my playing career of 14 years, I have been in this situation before. We are taking the game with the same philosophy. Now, our only focus is to qualify. Once we do, we will surely cherish the memory."
Meanwhile, Stephen Constantine informed that he has no injury worries and his full squad is ready to give it a shot tomorrow.
Macau Head coach Chan Hiu Ming rated the Stephen Constantine-coached side very highly at the pre-match press conference. "India are the better team undoubtedly. We're trying to close the gaps. They have quite a few great players, like 11 (Sunil Chhetri) and others. We'll give our best and it's going to be a great experience for my boys."
The match is scheduled to kick-off at 7.30pm.
