Why does the Indian Arrows squad consist of only Indian players?

I-League club Indian Arrows is based out of Vasco da Gama in Goa. The club was initially launched by AIFF in 2010 as Pailan Arrows and was later disbanded in 2013.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) re-launched the club and named it Indian Arrows. The club was formed with the motive of promoting and giving opportunities to young and budding Indian footballers.

The Indian Arrows are all set to participate in the upcoming edition of the I-League, which is scheduled to begin on January 9th.

The club consists of only Indian players, as the name suggests. All the players are 19 years old or younger and they get a chance to compete against the top footballers and clubs in the country. By doing this, the AIFF plans to have youngsters trained and prepared for a career in football.

This method also serves as an opportunity for the youngsters to get selected by ISL clubs or the national team.

The Arrows will play their opening encounter in the I-League 2020-21 season against Churchill Brothers FC Goa on the 10th of January at the Kalyani Stadium.

As the club is owned by AIFF, they don the same blue and white jersey as the Indian national team. The Shanmugam Venkatesh-coached side will be rearing to chase the title in a season where all the clubs in the league look equally strong on paper.

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Indian Arrows squad for I-League 2020-21

Ricky Shabong

Goalkeepers: Syed Zahid Hussain Bukhari, Ahaan Prakash, Santosh Singh Irengbam, Naveen Saini.

Defenders: Sajad Hussain Parray, Sumer Sehgal, Evan Thapa, Vellington Fernandes, Chris Anthony White, Praful Kumar Y V, Abdul Hannan, Pragyan Medhi, Tankadhar Bag, Dipu Halder, Leewan Castanha, Kushang Subba.

Midfielders: Lalchhanhima Sailo, Parthib Gogoi, Ricky Shabong, Brijesh Giri, Godwin Johnson, Kanwar Rudraansh Singh, Chawnghlut Lalchhanhima, Vibin Mohanan.

Forwards: Harsh Patre, Vanlalruatfela Thlacheu, Gurkirat Singh, Tapan Halder, Arya Gandharva, Vishva Shinde, Mohamed L Ahamed.