Indian Arrows 2.0 on the cards?

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has reintroduced the idea of fielding a developmental squad to compete in the 2024-25 I-League season.

After a two-year hiatus of the Indian Arrows, a newly formed side will provide a platform for young players to gain valuable top-flight experience.

A move to elevate benched players

Noticing all the young players that were on the bench for the league games, the AIFF XI (later renamed to Indian Arrows) was formed under the recommendation of the then-Indian head coach Bob Houghton and All India Football Federation president Praful Patel.

Following the success of the U-17 World Cup, the AIFF looked to maintain squad tempo by fielding the team in the 2017-18 I-League, aiming to provide invaluable competitive experience for the young players. The side was also immune to relegation.

Even after receiving much support, the side finished in the last position in the first year and was placed 8th out of 11 teams in the subsequent years.

Citing challenges in meeting AFC licensing requirements, the AIFF, under the recommendation of the new technical committee decided to disband the Indian Arrows team in September 2022.

2 years later, the development program is now being resurrected with the main aim of giving the younger players more playing time in a competitive league format.

Also, the AIFF has decided to bear the expenses of maintaining the squad, and the logistics for playing in the league format and will now explore options for securing sponsorships.

The new name of the squad and the details regarding the staff have not yet been decided.

The Indian U-20 side is preparing under the guidance of Ranjan Chaudhary for the upcoming SAFF U-20 championship in Nepal from August 16-18.

The side will also face Mongolia, Laos, and Iran in the group stages of AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2025 qualifiers in Laos from September 21.

As the Indian Arrows project was a huge success in developing younger players, the new U-20 side will be aiming to follow in footsteps of the predecessors.