2017 FIFA Club World Cup to feature three stars who have played club football in India
What's the story?
The 2017 FIFA Club World Cup is all set to get underway on December 6 and a total of seven teams will be participating in this tournament.
Incidentally, three footballers, namely Leo Moura, Kris Bright and Angel Berlanga, who will feature in the competition, have earlier been a part of India's domestic circuit.
In case you didn't know...
Leo Moura used to play for ISL club FC Goa as a midfielder in 2015. Angel Berlanga is a former I-League star, who played for Sporting Goa in 2013 and Kris Bright is also a former I-League player and featured for Bharat FC in 2015.
The heart of the matter
Berlanga and Bright will be the first players to get into action as their current team, Auckland City, will kick things off against Al Jazira in a playoff game to enter the quarterfinals.
Moura, who shone in midfield for FC Goa in the ISL, will be turning out for Brazilian side Gremio, who have been awarded a direct entry into the semifinals by virtue of being the 2017 Copa Libertadores winners.
Other teams include Urawa Reds, Pachuca, WAC Casablanca and Club World Cup favourites, Real Madrid FC.
There have also been talks about FIFA planning to start a 'Super Club World Cup' by 2021. However, this will mean that the Confederations Cup will have to be axed to make way. The way it will work is that 24 teams across five continents will be represented in this Super Club World Cup.
What's next?
Coming back to the current FIFA Club World Cup, Real Madrid are the hot favourites for the title.
Author's take
It is great to see that India is getting a form of recognition and representation in the FIFA Club World Cup with these three players.