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In a major boost for Indian grassroots football, Chennaiyin FC's Under-12 side is geared up to represent India on an international stage at the prestigious Norwich City Mina Cup UK.
The tournament, taking place on October 12 and 13 at Norwich City FC's state-of-the-art training facility in England, will feature top youth talent from around the globe. This landmark opportunity provides the young players a chance to gain invaluable international exposure, compete at a high level, and further hone their skills against elite opposition. Chennaiyin FC will be the only Indian club to participate in the prestigious tournament which will feature 16 teams, including some of the world's biggest football clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Inter Milan, SL Benfica, Leeds United, Feyenoord Rotterdam and Borussia Dortmund. A 15-member Chennaiyin team flew out to England late on Wednesday along with the coaching staff. "The Norwich City Mina Cup UK offers an outstanding platform for young footballers to showcase their talent, and we are excited to send this promising Chennaiyin FC team to compete against some of the world's top clubs. We are grateful to Norwich City FC for this opportunity and are eager to continue strengthening our partnership in all areas moving forward," club vice president Ekansh Gupta said as quoted from a press release by the club. The nine-a-side tournament will also be the only qualifying event in the UK for the 2025 Mina Cup, considered among the world's leading youth competitions. "We're really excited to be launching the first iteration of our flagship academy tournament, which will feature some of the biggest clubs in World football, not least Arsenal, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund. It's with great pride that we welcome Chennaiyin FC to Norwich to participate in the tournament and offer their Academy players a truly unique experience. When we announced our partnership with Chennaiyin we were very clear that this wouldn't be a superficial partnership, and we hope hosting Chennaiyin vs Liverpool and Inter Milan is proof of our commitment," said Sam Jeffery, Commercial Director, Norwich City FC. The Marina Machans have been drawn in Group 4 alongside top clubs Liverpool (England), Inter Milan (Italy) and Empire Football Club (UAE) as 16 teams are divided into four groups. Each team will play three matches in the initial group stage, with the top two advancing to the Gold Cup and the bottom two to the Silver Cup. Both Cup phases include another group stage with three additional games. Teams will then compete in two placement matches based on their standings, ensuring eight games and concrete development for all participants. Squad: Goalkeepers: Seram Ronaldo Meitei and Mohamed Nabil Defenders: Rohit Tenshubam, Ningthoujam Thouba Singh, Abheer Hemant Jadhav, J Ryan Fabio, Ishan and Hitaansh Dipesh Midfielders: Punshiba Ningombam, Meet Yogesh Satpute, Prakhar Dhar Khatri, Yaikhomba Oinam, W Lydian Mardona Attackers: Nepolian Laikhuram and Uziyan Susai. (ANI)
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