A 19-member Pune FC A squad heads to the north-east to participate in the Bharat Ratna Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy Football Tournament which kicks off in Guwahati Tuesday.
For the squad, comprising mostly of Under-19 players, the tournament is the first of the 2014-15 season. Moreover, this is also the first time the squad travels outside Pune for an open tournament in two years.
"This tournament will be a tough one for our boys since a lot of senior teams will be taking part. However, the competition will prepare our youngsters for the upcoming U-19 I-League," team director Ranjan Chowdhury said.
Pune FC A, who play the opening match Tuesday, have been seeded directly into the pre-quarter-final group stage and will be clubbed with two other qualifiers. Furthermore, the top two teams from the group will qualify for the quarters.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Sukhadev Patil, Tanmay Bhattacharjee
Defenders: Balkar Singh, Asheer Akhtar, Myron Mendes, Dimple Bhagat, Monoranjan Singh
Midfielders: Sanchayan Samaddar, Arjun Jayaraj, Chesterpaul Lyngdoh, Jesmon Soares, Pradeesh Clement, Altamash Sayed, Md. Shibili KP, Md. Ashique Kuruniyan, Sannik Murmu, Subhasish Bose
Strikers: Farukh Choudhary, Arif Shaikh
Staff: Naushad Moosa (Coach), Ranjan Chowdhury (Team Manager), Lino Sequeira (Physiotherapist).
