What's the story?
Newly promoted I-League side Real Kashmir FC will send their youth team for a training stint at Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, the club announced in a statement on Thursday.
In case you didn't know...
Founded just three years back, Real Kashmir FC, took part in their first national competition in September 2016 when they played in the Durand Cup. In 2017, ahead of their campaign in the I-League 2nd Division, the club visited Scotland to play four friendly matches, thus becoming the first team from Jammu and Kashmir to take the field on foreign soil.
Last season, under former Rangers legend David Robertson, the Srinagar-base club scripted history when they edged out Hindustan FC 3-2 and secured a place in the 2018/19 I-League.
The heart of the matter
Riding on the euphoria that was created after they won the 2nd Division I-League and became the first club from Jammu & Kashmir to make it to the top-tier of Indian football, Real Kashmir are looking to expand their horizons and a training stint in Germany comes at just the right moment.
"We were the first team from Kashmir to play in Scotland. We are now the first youth team from Kashmir to visit Germany for a training camp," the club said in a statement.
"We also want to thank Borussia Dortmund for giving a small club like RKFC an opportunity to visit them and train at their football school. The boys will also visit the Signal Iduna Park as well as the Jammu and Kashmir's."
What's next?
It will be a terrific experience for the Real Kashmir FC youngsters. After all, Dortmund's youth setup is considered as one of the bests in the world, having produced talents like Marco Reus, Mario Gotze to name a few.
