FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: Amarjit Singh Kiyam chosen as India's captain for showpiece event

What's the story?

India is hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup next month and as the host nation, the fans have huge hopes for the team and Amarjit Singh Kiyam, the young Manipuri midfielder, has been chosen to lead the Indian team for next month's showpiece event.

In case you didn't know...

India will host the FIFA U-17 World Cup next month and the team led by Amarjit will become the first ever Indian representative at a FIFA World Cup, in any age-group.

The heart of the matter

Indian coach Luis Norton de Matos conducted an internal voting among the 27 players to select their captain and Amarjit was unanimously chosen the captain by the players.

The coach had asked every member of the squad to write three preferred choices on a sheet of paper, the first name would get five points, 3 for the next and 1 for the final choice.

26 players out of 27 had Amarjit's name featuring on their list, with most of them selecting him as the first choice, four selecting him as the second choice and he was third in three players' list. But it was clear that he was the unanimous choice among the players and possibly Amarjit was the only one who didn't vote for himself.

Jitendra Singh finished second and will be the deputy to Amarjit, while Suresh Singh Wangjam, who led India at the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship, was third and defender Sanjeev Stalin finished fourth.

Coach Matos was delighted with the choice, although he was non-committal on votes that each player received. "I have four captains," Mateos was quoted as saying by TOI without revealing the names. "The players automatically know who their leader on the field is. The players who were chosen through a secret ballot are the same players who I wanted as captain," added the Portuguese coach.

What's next?

Amarjit is the unanimous choice of the players and had worn the armband for the U-17 team before and will lead the team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup next month. Jitendra Singh will deputize as the vice-captain. India kick-start their World Cup campaign against the USA on 6th October in New Delhi.

Author's take

The players have chosen their undisputed leader and will lend full support to Amarjit on the field. Amarjit has impressed us with his abilities in midfield, even scoring against Mexico in India's recent tour to the country. He has led the team before and is a natural leader on the field. With the backing of his teammates and his own performances, Amarjit can lead this bunch of Indian footballers to unprecedented heights.