Indian football players have lot of potential: Gary Neville
Former England and Manchester United stalwart defender Gary Neville believes Indian players have a lot of potential, but need guidance in order to achieve success at different platforms.
“There’s no dearth of talent in India. I am amazed there are many academies in India and the infrastructure is really good. There should be more coaching in terms of developing football at grassroots level in India. I think Indian football is moving in a right direction,” said Neville, who was at Minvera Academy, Mohali, for the fourth season of United We Play.
Neville also interacted with young kids and guided them with a few tips. “It’s amazing to see infrastructure in India and how academies are catering to these young kids. As I said, guidance and teaching towards achieving the aim is really important. And, I wish to see India achieving new heights,” added Neville. While interacting with young kids, the 49-year-old shared how important it was to develop skill and stamina at a young age.
The United We Play, which saw participation of over 15,000 budding Indian footballers across 18 cities, culminated into a grand finale in the presence of Neville.
In the finale, five young footballers (PC Lalchhuanawma (Mizoram), Shreejal Kisku (Bubhaneswar), Bhakta Bahadur Pariyar (Nepal), Mohd Ayan (Lucknow) and Chanason Chaiyatham (Bangkok) emerged as winners in the fourth edition.
The United We Play programme is an on-ground grassroots football initiative to encourage young football talent from across different geographies by giving them a platform to showcase their skills with the objective of motivating aspiring footballers to continue playing and introducing them to global training methodologies.
A rare one-club man, Neville played for Manchester United for his entire career, spending almost 20 years with the club with a whopping 602 appearances for his club. He has also served English football with distinction with 85 appearances over a 12-year career for his country.
“Delighted to see the dedication and passion for football among young children in India. Investing in youth development is extremely important and I am very pleased to see the efforts of Apollo Tyres and Manchester United in having built this platform, which encourages the youth to pursue their passion for football,” added the former England defender.
The shortlisted players will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Old Trafford to participate in exciting activities like a match-day experience, training session with Manchester United Soccer School coaches and interactions with legends.
The launch of the fourth edition of United We Play had taken place in Kolkata in December last year, where former Manchester United and French footballer Louis Saha kicked off the programme.
