AIFF appoints de Matos as India U-17 coach

New Delhi March 1 (IANS) The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Wednesday appointed Luis Norton de Matos as the head coach of the Indian squad for the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Matos who met the AIFF advisory committee including representatives from Sports Authority of India (SAI) flew to Mumbai on Tuesday to meet AIFF President Praful Patel.

It s nice to have Mr. Matos on board. His experience of handling youth Teams will come in handy for the U-17 boys as we wish to leave no stone unturned to field a competitive team in the U-17 World Cup AIFF President Patel said in a statement.

I expect him to guide our boys to put up a strong performance in the World Cup.

De Matos has worked as a manager with several clubs in his native Portugal and was also the head coach of the Guinea-Bissau national team from 2010 to 2012.

My role will be to orchestrate everything wherein the players will be playing their part. I admire the AIFF s vision and the U-17 World Cup will act as a base for development of Football in India. The players need to believe in themselves to do something special for the country the 63-year old said.

I do have an Indian connection as my great grandfather was born in Goa. I will retain the positives of the last two years as we move forward.

--IANS
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