Thiruvananthapuram: The youth team of Kerala Blasters flew to London today to participate in the Next Gen Cup 2022 tournament. The tournament organized by Premier League will start on 26th of this month. The team returned from Thiruvananthapuram today evening. The team left for the tournament following completing a month’s training at the academy jointly run by the State Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs and Kerala Blasters at GV Raja Sports School, Thiruvananthapuram.
The squad consists of players from the Blasters reserve team and senior team, as well as players from the academy run by GV Raja. Blasters senior teammates Jackson Singh, Hormipam Ruiva, Ayush Adhikari, Bijoy Varghese, Sachin Suresh and Givson Singh are the notable players in the 18-member squad. The goalkeepers are Sachin Suresh, Muheed Shabir Khan and Mohammad Murshid, while the defensive players are Mohammad Basit, Hormipam Ruiva, Bejoy Varghese, Tejas Krishna, Marwan Hussain, Sherin Salari and Aritra Das. In the middle row, Mohammad Jasim, Jackson Singh, Ayush Adhikari, Givson Singh and Mohammad Azhar will tie the boots. Muhammad Ajsal, Muhammad Aymen and Nihal Sudheesh are spearheading the attack.
The coach of the team is Thomas Tosh, a UEFA A licensed coach from Poland. Former Indian footballer and co-coach of the current Santosh Trophy champions Kerala team T.G. Purushottaman is the co-coach of the team. Goalkeepers are trained by Rafal Kwischen from Poland. Team Analyst Anush Aditya, Physio Arithra Nag and Team Manager Richin Babu are also accompanying the team. Blasters secured their ticket to London following becoming runners-up in the Reliance Foundation Development League held in Goa last April and May. Development League champions Bengaluru FC’s youth team is also flying to London. The Blasters will face the under-18 teams of eight Premier League clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Crystal Palace and West Ham United. Kerala Blasters’ U-21 team, FC Goa’s U-15 team and Reliance Foundation’s Young Champs team participated from India in the first Next Gen Cup tournament organized in Mumbai in 2020. Under-14 teams of Premier League teams Manchester United, Chelsea and Southampton also participated in the tournament. Chelsea FC’s Under-14 team were the champions of the tournament. The Next Gen Cup is organized as part of a collaboration between the Premier League and the Indian Super League. The tournament is organized with the aim of providing an opportunity to young footballers to play at international standards and conditions.
