Chris Punnakkattu Daniel and Hrishikesh Namboothiri during an exposure trip to Borussia Dortmund and Remscheid in May 2019.
German Football Academy product Hrishikesh Namboothiri has signed a professional contract with I-League side NEROCA FC for the 2021/22 season.
18 year old Kochi-born Hrishikesh Namboothiri played football with local Kerala football academies before joining the Kochi centre of the German Football Academy.
Hrishikesh Namboothiri said: “I’m very excited to join NEROCA FC. It is one of the best team in the I-League. Thanks for the supporters who prayed for me. I will work hard for the club.”
“My aim is to play for the Indian National team,” an ambitious Hrishikesh added.
At the GFA, Hrishikesh got trained under experienced coaches and he was part of an exposure trip to Borussia Dortmund in May 2019 which ended with a football weekend in Remscheid.
The German Football Academy helped Hrishikesh to develop his football skills and in March 2020, he got a chance to join the international program of Norwegian Eliteserien (first division) side Viking FK in Stavanger but due to the pandemic he was unable to fly across to Europe.
The German Football Academy’s Krish Roy said, “For us at GFA it is a great honour to see one of our players get selected for a reputed I-League team like NEROCA FC. I wish Hrishikesh all the best and that he succeeds!”
“I would also like to add, thank all our coaches and staff members and specially our mentor Arunava Chaudhuri to make this positive step,” Krish Roy added.
Congratulations Hrishi! I’m proud of you and I wish you all the best for the exciting challenge ahead!