Guwahati: Former India striker Jeje Lalpekhlua is happy that the new generation of footballers is getting good game time right at the beginning of their careers and credited the advent of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) in his own backyard (Mizoram) for helping the youngsters take up the sport professionally.
The ‘Mizo Sniper’, who plied his trade for many clubs in the country like Pune FC, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Chennaiyin FC, Dempo FC and Pailan Arrows during his celebrated career, spoke highly of the Naupang League, a tournament jointly organised by the Mizoram Football Association (MFA) and the RFDL, and hoped to have many players emerging from the state in the coming days.
Mizoram has been a hotbed of Indian football and its ecosystem has recently been boosted with many grassroots and developmental leagues including the Naupang League.
Recalling his struggles during the initial phase of his illustrated career, which included 23 goals from 56 international games, Jeje said, “At this age, I didn’t have these types of games, training, facilities and everything. I want to see a lot of young boys from RFDL, represent our country in future.”
“In the last five to six years, I have seen football develop across the country, especially for youngsters. And, recently, I have noticed a lot of young kids coming up, wanting to become professional footballers, especially after RFDL has come to Mizoram,” he added.
Emphasising the importance of having more game time and good preparation for a more holistic growth of players, the 32-year-old said, “I think the boys need to have more game time and good preparation. From my experience, I would like to say that I had to struggle but these boys are lucky to get this opportunity to play in the league at the best grounds in Mizoram. So they need to keep using this experience for their growth and represent the country in future.”
“At this U-21 age, many boys don’t get the game time. When I was 21, I struggled for these kinds of facilities in many clubs. In our country, you don’t have young kids getting much time but now they have a good setup. I think with this league, a lot of boys are improving. I feel this is one of the most important age categories for the players to become professional footballers,” he added.
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With most of the players in Mizoram hailing from rural areas, Jeje believes these leagues will provide a lot of exposure to express themselves.
“In Mizoram, most of the boys who are playing in this league come from villages. As I said, they didn’t have any kind of opportunity to express themselves. I think this is the best chance for them to express themselves. The two top teams from this league will represent Mizoram and if they keep doing well, then they’re going to play against one of the best players in the world in the Next Gen Cup,” he said.
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