The much awaited Hero Under-15 Youth League kicked off last weekend in the Kolkata-Jamshedpur Zone (Group A) with a lot of fanfare and the Maharashtra Zone (Group B) is now set to start tomorrow. Saturday’s game sees traditional Mumbai rivals, Mumbai FC playing Kenkre FC at Cooperage followed by a couple of more games on Sunday featuring Pune FC against DSK Shivajians FC at the Pune FC Training Pitches, Mamurdi and PIFA Sports taking on debutants, Steadfast Academy in Bhiwandi.
While giving U15s competitive match experience is a key objective of the Youth League, another important consideration of the league is to see clubs promoting local talent, ideally from within their existing grassroots program.
Pune FC Under-15 Player in Action
Image Credit: Pune FC Facebook Page
One club that has always performed exceedingly well at youth levels is Pune FC. However, their success in the past at U18, U19 and U20 levels has been driven by top class scouting and excellent training for elite talents from across the country. The U15 Youth League presents a new challenge for the club and, in a bid to promote footballers from the city, the club has named as many as 16 Pune lads in their 23-man squad.
Speaking ahead of the competition, Pune FC U15 Coach, Mohan Dass, said:
“Our goal has always been developing local talent at the grassroots level. The fact that players from the Pune FC Soccer Schools have made it into the team is a testament to our grassroots program.”
As touched upon by Dass, this year’s Pune FC U15 squad boasts two players, Chaitanyaa Advani and Aadarsh Vanjare, who have both come through the ranks of Pune FC Soccer Schools, the club’s mega-scale grassroots program which trains kids from the ages of 6 to 15 years at five centres across Pune.
As most football fans are aware, there are few more satisfying things in the sport than to witness a homegrown player turn out for the team in club colours. This is why the U15 Youth League is such an important development for Indian football. It may not revolutionalise the youth setup in India, but it will certainly push clubs across the country to invest in their grassroots and youth programs. That in itself will be a big step forward for Indian football.
As the Maharashtra Zone kicks off tomorrow, GFI takes this opportunity to wish every team in the league the very best! May playing good football take precedence over results – difficult, but not impossible! 😉
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