The deal was sealed after Matos met the AIFF Advisory Committee which included representatives from Sports Authority of India (SAI). He first met SAI director general Injeti Srinivas on Monday before flying to Mumbai to meet with AIFF president Praful Patel.

“It’s nice to have Mr. Matos on board. His experience of handling youth teams will come in handy for the U-17 boys as we wish to leave no stone unturned to field a competitive team in the U-17 World Cup. I expect him to guide our boys to put up a strong performance in the World Cup,” Patel said.

Matos, whose great grandfather was born in Goa, was particularly pleased with becoming a part of such an important year for Indian football.

“My role will be to orchestrate everything wherein the players will be playing their part. I admire AIFF’s vision and the U-17 World Cup will act as a base for development of football in India. The players need to believe in themselves to do something special for the country,” he stated.

Feature image source:  AIFF