(Football news) The Indian clubs earned their spot in this thrilling battle by placing in the top 4 in the just finished RFDL National Championship. Each of the four visiting teams—West Ham United FC, Everton FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, and Stellenbosch FC—has a distinctive history and a tale of its own, and they are all striving to make a statement and demonstrate their mettle. Sunil Chhetri, the captain of the Indian national football team, has now also given them a large dose of encouragement.
“Last year, two of the teams from RFDL got a chance to go abroad and rub shoulders with the best ones. This year, Wolves, Stellenbosch, West Ham and Everton will fight it out with four teams: Sudeva, RFYC, ATK Mohun Bagan and BFC. I wish all of you all the very best,” Chhetri said.
He ensured that the players know that the footballing fraternity had their back and is keeping a close eye on their performances by adding, “To our four semi-finalists, who are going to rub shoulders with the best from Europe, all the best! Enjoy! Make sure that you give everything that you have got and yeah, we all will be watching
Chhetri gave a special message with the Bengaluru FC players before the finals to inspire them for their championship match against Sudeva Delhi FC. The players undoubtedly benefited greatly from Chhetri’s motivational speech as the Blues retained their composure to defeat the Delhi squad by a score of 4-3 in a nail-biting penalty shootout. During one of his post-match media appearances, Bengaluru’s star midfielder Huidrom Thoi Singh, who took home the RFDL Golden Ball, seconded the same. “Yeah, he (Chhetri) is a big example for the Indian players. It is great of him to say these words that encourage younger players like us,” Thoi said.
