Dear colleagues,
Please find below an interview with *Indian U-16 National Team Coach Nicolai Adam. *In the interview to AIFF Media, Adam mentions that he aims to qualify for the U-17 World Cup on merit, the scouting process and where he expects the boys to be in the next five years. Also find attached the invite for the Official Pre-Tournament Press Conference for AIFF Youth Cup which is to be held at Bogmallo Beach Resort on May 14, 2016 at 12.30pm. The Press Conference would be followed by Lunch. The contacts of the Liaison Officers for the participating Teams (for Media queries and Interactions) and the Match schedule have also been attached. *Also find attached a picture:* *We want to qualify to the U-17 World Cup on merit, says Nicolai Adam.* *The copyright of the pictures lie with AIFF. Please credit AIFF Media for the pictures used.* For all updates of the Hero Federation Cup and all other news and exclusive pictures please follow our Official Twitter Handle @AIFFMedia at *https://twitter.com/AiffMedia* <https://twitter.com/AiffMedia> Also follow and like the Official Page of Indian Football Teams on Facebook at *https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam* <https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam> *For Media queries contact AIFF Media Manager Mr. Nilanjan Datta at +91-9873185150.* Regards, AIFF Media Team ========================================================== *#AIFFYouthCup #BackTheBlue* *We want to qualify for U-17 WC on merit, says Nicolai* *‘TOO EARLY TO PREDICT ABOUT BOYS’* *By Nilanjan Datta,AIFF Media Team* *NEW DELHI:* The International exposure which the AIFF has been providing the U16 National Team on their road to prepare for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup has been quite unprecedented in Indian Football history. The Team has already been to International exposure Tours to Germany, Spain and South Africa and would embark on Tours to Germany, Norway and Brazil immediately after the completion of the AIFF Youth Cup, all to prepare for U-16 AFC Finals in September and the U-17 World Cup in 2017 November. “The target is to make it to the semifinals of the U-16 Finals so that we qualify to the 2017 U-17 World Cup on merit,” Adam told www.the-aiff.com. The four semifinalists gain automatic berths to the U-17 World Cup. “We are working on the goal. We want to play the U-17 World Cup on merit,” he reiterates. “In India it’s hard to get the right kind of opponent to play for the boys to develop. Even close to the AIFF Youth Cup, we struggled to play quality opposition,” he clarifies. Adam has always stressed that it’s a “revolving door,” and that he would be scouting for boys till the registration process of the U-17 World Cup ends. “Off-course, I mean it. We scouted some new Players whom we found during the exhibition matches and they are now part of the Team,” he informs. “We even spotted some boys from the U-15 League and though they are not that good enough right now, they are with us and will improve.” “I expect the State Associations to respect our mission and send Players of the right age. During our exhibition match in Guwahati most of the boys from the opposition were over-age but we spotted one Player who has the potential. Unfortunately he is injured at the moment.” India play Malaysia in their first match of the AIFF Youth Cup on May 15. Nicolai, however, wasn’t willing to predict as to where the boys would be five years from now. “It’s too early to say. We cannot predict the numbers of the lottery for the next week. Can we?” he queried. You could not doubt him. ====================== EOM Media Department, AIFF. Alternate: [email protected] Website: www.the-aiff.com
