FIFA U-17 World Cup: Why Namit Deshpande could be India's secret weapon vs USA in World Cup opener

Earlier this year in April, a young footballer by the name of Namit Deshpande was selected to play for the Indian Under-17 team that will participate in the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The surprising fact about Deshpande’s inclusion was that he became the first non-resident Indian (NRI) to play for the national team across any age-group.

His inclusion was a result of the All India Football Federation’s concept of starting an overseas scouting project to discover footballers across the world who are eligible to represent India at any level.

The chief scout of AIFF’s scouting programme, former India striker Abhishek Yadav, spoke to Sportskeeda earlier today, on the sidelines of a media interaction with India Colts head coach Luis Norton de Matos and two of his players, about the scouting project and how it might give India an advantage in the World Cup in the form of Deshpande.

“Yes, Namit impressed both Nicolai Adam [ex-India U-17s head coach] and the current head coach. That’s why he is in the team because he is at a good level. He has had proper grounding in the US, having played in top level developmental programmes out there and also with most of the players in the current US Under-17s team,” said Yadav.

India are set to play the USA, Colombia and Ghana in the group stage of the Under-17 World Cup set to be held in the country later this year, in October. With India's opening game of the tournament against the USA already gaining traction among football fanatics in India and across the world, India might have an ace up their sleeve in the form of Deshpande.

Abhishek Yadav (centre) with the Indian Under-17 team

Having played along with many of the current USA Under-17s players before he linked up with Norton de Matos’s team, Deshpande, a centre-back by trade, will be expected to share his know-how of India’s first opponents at the Under-17 World Cup and also keep the likes of Josh Sargent and Ayo Akinola in his pocket.

However, the overseas scouting programme initiated by the AIFF is not just a concept limited to the Under-17 World Cup. According to Yadav, the programme will continue to accept applications from NRI’s even after the completion of the World Cup since it is a continuous process.

Whether Deshpande’s presence in the Indian line-up amounts to any advantage for the Colts on the World Cup’s opening day remains to be seen, but the scouting project has the potential to benefit Indian football in the long run.