The Western India Football Association (WIFA), the governing body of football for Maharashtra state affiliated to the All India Football Federation announced a 18 member State U-20 Men’s Football squad,  that will participate in the inaugural edition of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship 2024.

To be held at sprawling Ram Krishna Mission Ashram, Narainpur, Chattisgarh, the same is being held in league cum knock-out format and is witnessing participation from 32 States from across the country in four phases from 12 April to 22nd May, 2024.

Maharashtra team that will be coached by Thane based Varun Dsouza have been clubbed along with Rajasthan, Mizoram and Meghalaya in Group H. They will play their opening league game against Rajasthan on 12th May, followed by one against Mizoram on 14th May and their final league match Meghalaya on 16th May. The topper of this group will take on the topper of Group F which comprises of teams like Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam on 18th May.   

The Semis are scheduled for 20th May and followed by a grand finale on 22nd May.

Maharashtra U-20 Men’s Football Team:

Goalkeepers:  Aaryan Mhatre (Thane) and Nihar Apte (Pune)

Defenders: Shahid Mahalkari (Kolhapur), Mohd. Azam (Nagpur),  Abhishek Rawat (Mumbai), Yash Salunkhe (Pune), Mukesh Rathod (Mumbai) and  Kaushal Kantak (Mumbai)

Midfielders: Bornil Gogoi (Nashik), Sayed Fawwaz Ahmed (Nagpur), Meraj Khan (Aurangabad), Darshan Patil (Kolhapur), Rishi Ravi Chauhan (Mumbai) and Om Surve (Mumbai)

Forwards: Mohammed Jaffer Mansoori (Mumbai), Aditya Kalloli (Kolhapur), Sanket Medhe (Kolhapur) and  Tafseer Junaidi (Nagpur)

As may be recalled AIFF President, Kalyan Chaubey while emphasising the need for hosting a U20 Men’s tournament had earlier opinioned that to have the competition in Under 20 in place of the defunct Under 21 post Covid aims to provide the talented footballers’ a  gradual progression path into senior competitions, and to create a pipeline for Asian Games U23 selection.

“The U20 group competition is very crucial in a player’s life cycle to step into a professional career. With the U20 competition back in recognition, the youth structure slabs from Sub Junior to Santosh Trophy get completed,” said Kalyan Chaubey.

He further added “Apart from the newly introduced U20 championship, the AIFF also holds two other men’s age group competitions, the Junior NFC and the Sub-Junior NFC”.

Photo Above: The 18-member of the Maharashtra state team, along with Head Coach pose for a group photo ahead of the inaugural edition of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship 2024 in presence of WIFA Hon. Secretary Prof. Dr. Kiran Chougule before their departure to Narainpur, Chattisgarh