Punjab FC youngsters clinched the Reliance Foundation Development League title this year under the guidance of the coach Sankar Lal Chakraborty. 

Punjab FC, unbeaten in the RFDL championship will compete in the Next Gen Cup in the UK, and all eyes are on coach Chakraborty and his young, dynamic squad. 

Scheduled from 1st to 4th August, the Next Gen Cup will see teams from England, India, and South Africa and the competition will be hosted by the Premier League.

Commenting on the team’s unbeaten run in the RFDL title Sankar said, “The credit goes to the players. In the RFDL tournament, we played 16 matches and finished unbeaten. That is the quality of players; yes, the coach, supporting staff, and management- all of us can only provide support. I feel proud in my playing career or even in my minor coaching career, as a team, 16 matches going unbeaten.”

When asked about his preparation for the Next Gen Cup, Sankar Lal revealed plans were started last month. “There are so many Bengali communities in the UK, we have received some news regarding Aston Villa, Everton, and Tottenham youth teams. Secondly, we are searching YouTube for videos. We also saw this Kerala Blasters -Aston Villa match. So, from there, we are taking inputs. 

The coach also praised the competition like RFDL concluding, "Earlier, there was no All-India tournament like this. This is a huge opportunity for our players to showcase their skills and perform, and not only in India. If they played well, they might get chances in any European club or our ISL tournament. So, for them, they can build their careers from this.”