John Abraham wants to groom stars in North East
The North Eastern states have proved their passion for football
By : moulin parikh
Update: 2014-07-23 04:40 GMT
Mumbai: It might be foolhardy to identify favourites and frontrunners for the first season of the Indian Super League after just seven rounds of domestic player draft, but if there is one likely underdog in the eight-team franchise, it is North East United FC. Owned by bollywood actor John Abraham, the team, banking heavily on their homegrown talent retained 14 players from their partner Shillong Lajong FC.
“We were very clear that we would select players from the Northeast. It is the hotbed o Indian football. Most of the players in our team are from the under-19 lot and also players from under-20,” Abraham said.
The North Eastern states have proved their passion for football runs deep when Mizoram created history earlier this year by winning the Santosh Trophy. Shillong too has played an active part with two I-League teams.
John, who also co-owns Delhi Waveriders, winners of HIL this year, said he was not targeting silverwares in the first season but wanted to invest in the talent. “We are a team of purists and probably the only team not backed by any corporate. We have put success secondary. We are concentrating on grassroots development,” he said.