Twenty-five players have been selected in the Vodafone Fiji under 17 Men’s Football squad to prepare for the  Oceania Football Qualifiers which will be held on February, 2017.

Head Coach Shalen Lal said the selection was very tough as there were a lot of capable players.

“It was very difficult for me as a coach to select the best 25 players from about 150 players,” he said.

“I did the selection looking at the performance of the players from the Ultimate Cup earlier this month.”

Lal also mentioned that players were selected from almost all the divisions.

“We have players from almost all the divisions but the majority of the players are from the North.

 “I hope these players will be given importance and will get support from the spectators.

“These same players might form our future U20 and U23 team therefore; it would be very supportive If they are encouraged from now.”

He further mentioned that he is looking forward to training these players and performing better come 2016 and 2017.

“I hope to train these players well so that they are able to master different techniques,” he said.

Players to camp one year

“Since these players will be in camp for one year, I as a coach would expect good performance during the Qualifiers.”

Lal said the early preparation of the team was to better their performance for 2017.

“The players will be moving to Suva soon and I will train them accordingly for the qualifiers.

“I will focussing on the technical capabilities and enhancing the basic of players. The squad would be attending the same school in Suva which would foster good relationship amongst the players.”

“Currently I am working at getting them enrolled in MGM High School in Vatuwaqa,” he said.