India will make its maiden appearance in the Under-17 Futsal World Cup in Paraguay from July 11, 2016 after being invited by the Association Mundial de Futsal (AMF) through ‘Wild Card’. India will become one of the twelve countries to compete for the U-17 World Cup crown in Paraguay. One of Futsal’s biggest Global events, the U-17 Futsal World Cup, will be held from July 11 to July 20, 2016.
India has been drawn in Zone ‘A’ which also houses Catalonia, Kazakhstan and the host nation, Paraguay. Colombia, Belgium, Brazil and Australia make up the Zone ‘B’, whereas Argentina, Uruguay, Morocco and Curazo conclude the last Zone ‘C’.
Futsal Association of India (FAI), Founding President, Namdev Shirgaonkar said, “Futsal is at a very nascent stage in India and sending our U-17 team to the World Cup could be a great opportunity to propagate Futsal in India. We have picked fifteen of the best Futsal players in India through a National Camp and we are confident of them putting up a good show at the World Cup. I am hoping this experience helps them come back as better players. We are grateful to the AMF for extending an invitation to India to compete in one of its marquee tournaments.”
The Indian contingent was selected through U-17 Nationals which were hosted in Haryana from June 14 to June 16. The shortlisted players from the Nationals were put through a training camp in Mumbai from June 26 to July 5, where fifteen players were selected to represent India at the U-17 World Cup.
Bharat Raj, 15, who hails from Chennai, will be leading the Indian contingent in Paraguay. Bharat said, “It is a great honor to be representing India at the highest level in any form. To play against other national players who have grown up playing Futsal would be a great learning experience for us. We are excited and ready to test ourselves against the best Futsal players in the world.”
The U-17 FAI-India Team left for Paraguay in the wee-hours of Friday morning for the U-17 World Cup. India will be playing their first game against Catalonia on July 12, Paraguay on July 13 and their final group game is against Kazakhstan on July 14.
FAI-INDIA U-17 SQUAD FOR THE AMF FUTSAL WORLD CUP
| NO | SURNAME | GIVEN NAME | States |
| 1 | SELVAKUMAR | BHARATRAJ | CAPTAIN – TAMILNADU |
| 2 | NARANG | DIVYANSH | GOALKEEPER – DELHI |
| 3 | RAWAT | SARVAGYA | KARNATAKA |
| 4 | VARGHESE | RITVIK | HARYANA |
| 5 | KUMAR | PRITHVI RAJ | HARYANA |
| 6 | COONDAPUR | SANKET PRASANNA | MAHARASHTRA |
| 7 | PULLURU | VISHRUTH | TELANGANA |
| 8 | DUREMANTHI | GUNAVANTH MAHENDRA | GOALKEEPER – TELANGANA |
| 9 | DALVI | SIDDHANT KETAN | MAHARASHTRA |
| 10 | BOKADIA JAIN | PRATYUSH SUDHIR | TAMIL NADU |
| 11 | ANAND KHATRI | HRIDAY | TAMILNADU |
| 12 | CHANANA | PRANAV MANISH | MAHARASHTRA |
| 13 | SAMPAT | JEET | TAMILNADU |
| 14 | NEELAKANT | SREEJIT | DELHI |
| 15 | PARAKH | HRIDAY | MAHARASHTRA |
| SUPPORT STAFF | |||
| 16 | VAZ | ALOYSIUS JOSEPH | TEAM COACH |
| 17 | CHAUHAN | KISHOR ISHWARLAL | TEAM MANAGER |
| 18 | SHIRGAONKAR | VITTHAL | CHIEF DE MISSION |
| RESERVED PLAYERS | |||
| 1 | BADANI ANISH | MIHIR | TAMILNADU |
| 2 | KISHINCHANDANI | PRATHAM VICKI | MAHARASHTRA |
| 3 | MOHAMMAD | ZAHOOR ABBAS | DELHI |
| 4 | PATWARDHAN | AMIT NITIN | MAHARASHTRA |
| 5 | MOHAMMED | ISAAQ ALI | TELANGANA |
(Report & Photo courtesy Futsal Association of India)
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