“Football is the future of Indian sports” – Jeje

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Jeje Lalpekhlua of Chennaiyin FC celebrates the goal during match 18 of the Hero Indian Super League between Chennaiyin FC and ATK held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai India on the 7th December 2017 Photo by: Deepak Malik / ISL / SPORTZPICS

Jeje Lalpekhelua, Chennaiyin FC forward, said that football is the future of all Indian sports. The forward from Mizoram said that India has always been crazy about the most popular sports in the world. He also believes India’s football consumption has changed since the Indian Super League (ISL) has come into effect in 2014. Since then, football grabbed the imagination of Indian fans. All big entities of India- Bollywood celebrities, cricketers and industrialists have thrown their weight behind the ISL.

Jeje
“Football is the future of Indian sports” – Jeje

The inception of ISL put India on football graph. Nowadays, football in India is being considered as the greatest weapon to woo the Indian masses.

“The foundation of the game and the quality has improved now. There is a lot of difference between the first season and last season of the ISL (in terms of quality of football),” said Lalpekhelua.

He is one of the big names of Indian football and won the ISL title in 2017 with the Chennai outfit.

“People have realized that football is going to be the future of sports in India. Indian football is on a high level and I would like to see more of it in the future,” he further added.

The striker also believed that India is blessed with flourishing young players. These players have been getting enough exposure that will let them horn their skills which letting them to fetch mighty deal from ISL clubs.

At the same time, the football tournament offers them a platform to play with overseas players which help them to improve their skills and become sharper footballers, a culture which is welcomed by all Indian footballers and clubs. Young players’ performances in ISL also put them in national selectors’ radar.

Lalpekhelua also expected that such atmosphere will bring out good performances from them during the season which will inspire Chennai based club to defend their title. “We have a lot of good Indian players in our squad. Last year Anirudh Thapa, Jerry Lalrinzuala and Germanpreet Singh did quite well in ISL and got a national call. This year we have Issac Vanmalsawma,” Lalpekhelua said.

“There is a good mix of seniors and juniors in our squad. They will become an important part in the course of the league and will help us retain the title,” Lalapekhelua signed off.