Nurain to lead Mohammedan in second division I-League

Nigerian defender Kareem Omolaja Nurain will lead city football club Mohammedan Sporting's charge in the second division I-League where they will first clash against Guwahati FC on November 14.

"We have made a team comprising new faces and old players. We have signed 11 new players out of the 26 in the squad. Kareem will be our captain and Basanta Singh vice-captain," club president Sultan Ahmed told reporters here.

Mohammedans will have to play eight matches in the first round which will involve four away and home matches. The team will travel to Imphal, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Gangtok to play their away games.

"After coming back from Bangladesh, we have started practising and we are quite confident of the new players that we have signed. Speaking about our toughest game, it will be against Guwahati. They are a good side and they know how we play, so it will be an even contest," coach Subrata Bhattacharya Jr. said.

Speaking about the financial crisis at the club and whether the West Bengal government would help in any way, Ahmed, who is also a parliament member, said: "We are making a scheme, after which we will try and see if we can get some funds. Presently we are not thinking of installing floodlights and all."