KOCHI: There is no better recognition for a young footballer than getting noticed by one of the biggest clubs in the country. Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC have selected 11-year-old Cyrus Abhilash to be part of their academy. The aspiring footballer is part of the Kochi-based Future Football Academy.
He has been in fine form in the Baby League last year where he scored an impressive 28 goals for his team. Cyrus, who plays as a striker, was one of the highest goalscorers in the league last year.
This budding talent has also been consistently scoring in various tournaments and winning the player of the tournament awards in the last few years.
Recently, Bengaluru FC conducted selection trials in Malappuram and Cyrus impressed the selectors and cleared the two round trials. The club conducted the final trials at their residential academy in Bengaluru where youngsters selected from across the country participated.
Cyrus was selected from more than 150 kids who participated in the selection trials.
"His attributes such as exceptional ball control, dribbling skills and finishing abilities are what caught the attention of the selectors. We have high hopes for him. We believe he will soon be playing for the underage Indian teams," said Future Football Academy coach Walter Antony.
Cyrus has been training at the Kochi-based Future Football Academy for the last three years under Walter Antony, Pramod Kumar and the other coaches.
The training programme at the Bengaluru residential academy will start from June 17 and he will receive training there till the age of 18. The academy will take care of his education besides providing football training from some of the best coaches in the country. "He will develop well at BFC and it is great news for us. We are happy in contributing to his development," Antony said.
The youngster had aspired to get into the All India Football Federation Academy, but the move to BFC is as good as that. Cyrus is the son of Abhilash KT who is the former goalkeeper of FC Cochin and FACT team.