ISL 2017: Bengaluru FC put faith on all-Bengaluru squad for U13 Youth League
Former I-league club, Bengaluru FC, who are all set to partake in their very first ISL season have walked the talk of giving priority to home grown talents by selecting all 20 players from the city itself for the inaugural edition of the Under-13 Youth League, which kicks off on November 4, the JSW-owned team have made their intentions clear about their priorities when it comes to selecting players for their junior squads.
The Bengaluru FC colts are placed in the Karnataka Zone, alongside other clubs from the city like Ozone Football Academy, Bangalore Youth Football League, Boca Juniors Soccer Schools, Roots Football School and Stadium Sports Foundation.
Just like the U-18 I-League and the U-15 Youth League, the zonal phase will be played on a home and away basis, with top two teams from each zone qualifying for the Final Phase which will be held at a neutral venue.
Another interesting fact about this team is that the BFC Soccer Schools Programme, which is conducted at various centres across the city, have contributed five of the 20 players. They are Ishaan Rudragowdar, Yash Visal, Joshua Wilson, Arjun Gowda and Aditya Kalasur.
Bengaluru FC’s Head of Youth Development, John Kila, explained the thought behind selecting only Bengaluru players in the team.
Bengaluru FC U-13
Goalkeepers
Adhithiyan Senthilkumar (Cathedral School), Ahan Prakash (Delhi Public School East)
Defenders
Aryan Nair (Delhi Public School North), Gagan Amarnath (Inventure Academy), Shyam Patra (Inventure Academy), Yash Visal (Inventure Academy), Joshua Wilson (Clarence High School), Sarath Rajkumar (Army Public School)
Midfielders
Ishaan Rudragowdar (Delhi Public School North), Arjun Gowda (Clarence High School), Macarton Louis Nickson (St. Joseph Indian High School), Parikram Borah (Delhi Public School East), Aditya Kalasur (Delhi Public School East), Abhinav Sunil (Greenwood International School), Soham Varshneya (Oakridge International School)
Forwards
Yohann Victor (St. Joseph’s European School), Hridaya Jain (Stonehill International School), Soumil Kalra (Greenwood International School), Aaron Joshua (St. Joseph’s European School), Ankith P. (Angels High School)
Officials
Rajan Mani (Head Coach), Govardhan V. (Asst. Coach), Levin Vinod (Physio), Rohit Thorat (Team Manager)