However, there have been few from the city to join him at top-level coaching. The forward played in 17 games last year in which he started most of them.The situation has changed over the course of one year though.About a year ago, the state of football in the city had taken a U-turn.The intercontinental cup, which was taking place here, saw a massive response after Sunil Chhetri’s viral video. There was a deep void in coaches from the city but even licensing programmes started by WIFA have allowed contenders to live their coaching dream.
netting manufacturer His infamous story of winning a title with a substandard Aizawl FC squad will remain in the history books. The process might be slow but it is underway, even in this city."They (Nikhil and Farukh) have been young prospects of the city. Similarly, Farukh has been a part of the same U-23 squad. The local authorities have played their parts. Four players- Priyanka Sujeesh, Jahnvi Shetty, and Mmehak Lobo, all from Mumbai, and Anjali Barke from Pune made it to the Under-15 Indian team that went to the SAFF Women Championships. He is coaching the Under-19 India squad and the AIFF Elite Academy.Nikhil signed a contract this year with Indian Super League franchise FC Pune City and Farukh signed for Jamshedpur FC last year. The homegrown I-league club, Mumbai FC had released all its players calling for a shutdown, national team did not even have a handful of names in the squad from Mumbai, and even local leagues were affected by this uncertainty. He coached Mumbai FC for six years with his term ending with a sacking.One such name is Floyd Pinto who was once a student of St Mary’s School (Mazgaon). Two of them are Farukh Choudhary, 21 and Nikhil Poojary, 23.The Wolf and his packFor the longest time, Khalid Jamil remained close to Mumbai football. They possess a lot of talent and I am glad that they are doing well for India (U-23)," says Henry who is also the CEO of Western India Football Association (WIFA).Among them, Mmehak who is forward has risen rapidly netting goals in almost every game that she plays in. "We have been working really hard to make a change. They won multiple trophies in state championships in the last year. Respective squads in different divisions have seen the inclusion of players from Mumbai.The ladies of the sportThe most remarkable ascension has been one of the girls in the sub-junior category.The latter got a call-up in Stephen Constantine’s senior squad but an injury kept him away until recently when he was called up for the Under-23 squad. Even former Premier League Footballers, Michael Chopra came last year to pursue his coaching license from WIFA. While Priyanka plays as a defensive midfielder, Jahnvi provides the options of playing in the right wing position or as a central defensive midfielder and Anjali is a goalkeeper.. We want Maharashtra to stand out and in the last year, we have seen these girls perform really well either in local tournaments or national competitions," says former Indian goalkeeper, Henry Menezes who has been watching these players closely.National squad musingsIn the senior squad, not too many players from either Mumbai or Maharashtra have their presence but there have been promising names in the junior squads.
