Tie-up with German football opened doors, says Nicolai

 Nicolai Adam, India’s head coach for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup team, on <g data-gr-id="26">Friday</g> said that AIFF’s association with German Football Association (DFB) has opened the doors for country’s young talent.

“The co-operation with DFB has opened doors for us. One part of our plan for 2016 is, to play versus various youth Bundesliga teams in Germany. It will guarantee us highly competitive matches on top level <g data-gr-id="17">and</g> it will also be the best economically,” he said. Asked about his team’s clubbing with Iran, Bahrain and <g data-gr-id="12">Labanon</g> in AFC U-16 qualifiers, Nicolai said, “I have played a couple of matches against Iran. They are a good footballing nation and start as the favourites especially as they host it.” Praising the initiative taken by the AIFF to launch an U-15 League, he said there is also need to have U-13, U-11 and U-9 leagues in every single state to develop the game.