During the departure, CEO SFA, Waheed-Ur-Rahman Para interacted with the players and wished them luck for the upcoming league matches and flagged off the team for Chandigarh from TRC Turf Ground Srinagar on Sunday. President JKFA Zameer A Thakur was also present on the occasion.
The team is all set to play their first match likely on Wednesday, April 25 against Youngsters Football Club at the Minerva Training Ground, Chandigarh.
Moreover, SFA is kept in Group B, Rest of India (ROI) Zone comprising of total five teams including two State league teams viz. Real Kashmir FC and Minerva Punjab FC, United Punjab FC and Youngsters FC. The winner of the pool will qualify for the final round.
The team which comprises 20 members is led by head coach Mehrajuddin Wadoo, assistant coaches Tahir Hashmee and Sanjay Kumar besides team manager Salman Mir and team physio Dr. Saqib.
The U-18 Youth League is organised by the All India Football Federation and is known to be the top tier junior league of the country.