Shameel Chembakath’s young team gears up for a packed summer
Hyderabad: Hyderabad FC have named the 24-man squad for the inaugural edition of the Reliance Foundation Development League set to kick off in Goa on 15th April. HFC joins six other Indian Super League teams and a team from Reliance Foundation Young Champs in the 8-team tournament which will be held across two venues in South Goa.
Coached by Shameel Chembakath, the HFC B squad will be participating in their fourth competition of the season after featuring in the Durand Cup and IFA Shield in Kolkata, and the CEM Gold Cup in Assam earlier in the season.
The 24-man squad consists of four players – Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Amritpal Singh, Mark Zothanpuia and Abdul Rabeeh – who were part of the Hyderabad FC main squad that were crowned the Hero Indian Super League champions in March.
The RFDL will be played in a single round-robin format with each team set to play seven games. The top two teams at the end of the league will be given the chance to participate at the NextGen Cup to be hosted in the United Kingdom for the first time later this year.
The Next Gen Cup will be hosted by the Premier League as part of its longstanding partnership with the Hero ISL to support the development of football in India.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Aman Kumar Sahani, Abhinav Mulagada
Defenders: Amritpal Singh, Muhammed Rafi, Muhammad Safique Ahmed, Dipu Halder, Paogoumang Singson, Deep Samanta, Jeremy Zohminghlua.
Midfielders: Abdul Rabeeh, Mark Zothanpuia, Lalchungnunga Chhangte, R Swapana Jeevan RT, Koustav Dutta, Crespo Vanlalhriatpuia, Suhit Chhetry, Amosa Lalnundanga, Bishnu Bordoloi, Abijith PA
Forwards: Ishan Dey, Arun Kabrabam, Joseph Sunny, Rohlupuia
Staff: Shameel Chembakath (Head Coach), Thangboi Singto (Technical Director – Youth), Joel Prabhakar (GK Coach), Vinu Varghese (Physio), Damodar Chowdhary (Analyst), Nithin Mohan (Manager), Prashant Naidu (Kit Manager) Sanjay Kumar (Masseur)
