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I-League: After dream run, Aizawl FC plan to send youth squad to Europe

Aizawl FC will send their young players to train abroad as they aim to build on their I-League success.

By Sujata Sarkar

Kolkata, April 21: They are being now called the Leicester City of Indian football. In a dream run through the I-League this season, Aizawl FC have been the first ever team from India's North East to have reached the top of the table. They can win the championship if they beat Mohun Bagan on Saturday (April 22) at home.

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They were relegated from the I-League last season. But thanks to Dempo Sporting and Salgaocar FC for their withdrawal from the league that finally helped Aizawl again get back into top division.

Aizawl FC players are pictured during training. Photo from team's official Twitter page


But the most interesting part in their story is that Aizawl management does not seem to be out of the world with the success.

They do not want to get complacent at all with this unprecedented success no club from North East has been able to do till date. Rather they have started making plans for the next football season silently.

The chairman of the club Robert Royte was humble on the issue when asked about their plans in future.

Royte's first reply was, "We will be developing our youth side in a manner that the senior team can be built with them and they can maintain the performance. So, in a bid to improve our youth team we will send them abroad for training and matches for more than once."

Royte revealed, "Negotiations for the tie-up were going on with a top Netherlands club academy in the beginning of last season. But that did not materialise. Now, we will make that project real. It might be Netherlands or might be a top Spanish club academy with whom we can make the association and help our youth team to gain competence."

The Aizawl FC management is also planning not to recruit more than three to four footballers outside North East in the next season also.

Royte said, "We will try to build the senior squad in the same fashion we have built this season. We will not even try to rope in more than one foreign footballer as we have recruited this season, the only midfielder from Syria."

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 8:06 [IST]
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