For a team of teen footballers from Tamil Nadu, to play its ilk at the National level is motivating. The players get refined and their limits of exposure and scope of play get spread.
This, precisely, was the initial gain for the 18-member Mahogany Football Club, the lone entrant from the State, at the inaugural AIFF u-15 Youth league for boys, a part of the I-league. Arindam Biswas, Head coach of the Chennai-based Mahogany Football Academy and the team says, “It was a first for the boys; to be at an elite and well organised event. They had a great deal to learn entering a mix more professional.”
The league spanned six months — November 2015 to April 2016 — and Mahogany FC, fielded in the South Zone with five other teams, played a game each against all in January. The top two from each zone — seven zones in all — advanced to the next round, also a league phase, before the semifinals and final. Chandigarh-based Minerva Academy FC emerged the maiden champion.
Mahogany won one, drew one, and lost three, to end fifth in its group in the first round. “We lost 7-0 to Bengaluru FC at start, rallied to hold Fateh Hyderabad 2-2 in the next and lost with meek defence to Kovalam FC. A win from there against Boca Juniors was a big boost but we went down against one of the best teams in Ozone FC.”
Despite low expectations, he reckons they could’ve prepared better pre-event. “We had to put up a team at short notice. Four months after we applied in July, we got the certification and were asked to form a team immediately, in four days’ time. We managed it and towed along with Fateh Hyderabad to train in Anantapur. From there, we shifted to Chennai, and finally to Bengaluru where we played our games.”
For the team, the campaign was a push to lay its vision wide afar, up ahead. “Then, we were content with just playing at that level. Now, we don’t want to merely participate; we want to win the league.”
Cognizant of the league’s calibre, the team has been reformed for the upcoming season — only three players from the old squad have been retained. The maximum strength of a squad is 30 and the coaching staff are busy enlisting.
“We’ve handpicked 18 boys from our selection trials at Tuticorin, Ooty, Coimbatore and Madurai. We had boys from Karaikal coming to Chennai for trials. We’ve planned to focus next on Tiruchi and Thanjavur.”
“We’ve chalked a training schedule for the next six months. We train in two sessions — morning and evening — everyday across three venues in the city. We want to win this time,” he says.
