In a bid to provide more international exposure to the country's budding football talent, the All India Football Federation will organise the first JRD Tata football tournament, which will involve Uzbekistan, Iran and Bangladesh, in September.
The Indian under-18 and under-19 players, who began training at Goa on Tuesday, under the supervision of chief coach Stephen Constantine, will be pitted against the above-metioned national teams in the Tata-sponsored tournament, in Jamshedpur.
"We have decided to groom these young boys for the big events like the Olympics and Asian Games. For this we are trying to provide them necessary exposure to international soccer," AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco said from Goa.
The under-18 team will also be sent to the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland, in July, where they will face junior squads of top club sides, like Manchester United, River Plate, Dinamo Kiev and others, he added.
The AIFF, which had earlier announced 'Project 2004' and 'Project 2006', focussing on the next Olympics and World Cup, has selected 72 players for the first phase of the camp while another 22 boys would join the camp on May 27-28, Colaco said.
