For a City which is starved of big deeds in the world of football for close to two decades, Hyderabad Sporting FC ushers in a new chapter by making it to the Redbull Neymar Junior Fives World Finals to be held in Brazil from July 5 to 15.
The City team beat Kalina Rangers of Mumbai 3-0 in the National final in Guragaon.
Sports Authority of Telangana State Chairman A. Venkateshwar Reddy and the SATS VC & MD A. Dinakar Babu not only felicitated them on Monday but also promised a cash incentive on their ‘wonderful achievement’.
“We feel proud that a team from Telangana is going to Brazil which has such a rich history of producing some of the greatest players including the legendary Pele. We promised them to give at least ₹ 50,000 each since the organisers in Brazil are taking care of the ‘to and fro’ expenditure for the entire team,” Mr. Reddy told The Hindu .
“It is a remarkable achievement by Sporting Club considering the fact that the national qualifying event saw teams across the country vie for top honours. And, to come on top in this is something really special,” Mr. Reddy said. And, for the record, the World Finals in Sao Paulo will feature 53 national teams from across the world.
If the mood of the Sporting members - Zubair Bin Sultan, Emaz Nasir, KhaseemMehdi, Zaidh Uddin, Salman Alkathery, Alauddin Basheer - is any indication, they are not clearly overawed by the huge opportunity but also confident of putting a better show.
“It is an experience we are going to cherish forever. For not every footballer in the world will get a chance to play a friendly against Neymar Jr,” says Salman Salman Alkathery.
Sporting FC has rekindled memories of the glorious past of Hyderabad football with this stunning qualification.
