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Kerala-based 2nd Division I-League side Eagles FC have signed eight IMG-Reliance contracted players on loan for the remainder of the 2013/14 season.
The eight players are goalkeeper Jagroop Singh; the defenders Ramandeep Singh Randhawa, Govin Moirangthem Singh and Biswajit Saha; the midfielders Lairenjam Bisheshwor Singh, Avinabo Bag and Bijendra Rai; besides striker Nadong Bhutia.
Additionally, IMG-Reliance and Eagles FC Kerala will facilitate a 2 to 6 week training season for the eight IMGR players with English Championship side Reading FC Academy. Known as ‘The Royals’, the Reading FC Academy is considered to be a good Academy in the UK with Category I Status. Only last season Reading FC was a Premier League club, but after only a year in the top tier they were relegated to the second tier Championship.
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Joining the eight IMGR players for the training stint at the Reading FC Academy would be four more players to be selected from the existing set of Eagles FC Kerala squad. Training of all the 12 players at Reading FC Academy is expected to be at the end of the current season.
This would be a historic training stint for Indian football, with a set of 12 players from India slated to attend training with a Category I status English Football Academy for the first time ever.
“Eagles FC Kerala is extremely happy to welcome the IMG-Reliance players to join the team. IMGR players would indeed strengthen the team considerably in the matches ahead and hopefully set us up for an entry in the I-League Premier Division next year,” said Siddeek Ahmed, Director, Eagles FC Kerala and Chairman & Managing Director, ERAM Group.
“We believe in the future of Indian football. We are committed to work with our Partner Eagles FC Kerala and IMG Reliance to build world class footballers from India over the next few years,” said Reading FC CEO Nigel Howe.
Eagles FC Kerala – promoted by four of Kerala’s top brands Eastern, Eram, Muthoot Pappachan (Fincorp) Group and Mather – is Kerala’s premier professional football club and has been in the 2nd Division I-League since 2010/11.
The team has Stanley Rozario as head coach, who began his coaching career as Coach of Services from 1994 to 2007. He served as the Assistant Coach of the Indian national football team from 2005 – 2008 before he went on to coach I-League clubs Mohun Bagan, Shillong Lajong FC, Salgaocar FC, East Bengal and United Sikkim FC.
