• A 17-year-old Indian footballer named among the world's 60 best players

    Sports
    A 17-year-old Indian footballer named among the world's 60 best players
    The list includes athletes who play for premier European clubs as well as teams around the world, like Mathys Tel and Amadu Balde.

    Digital Desk: Suhail Ahmad Bhat, a 17-year-old from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, has been named to The Guardian's Next Generation 2022 list of the world's 60 top young football prospects.

    The list includes players such as Mathys Tel and Amadu Balde, who play for major European clubs as well as teams all around the world.

    Ahmed has excelled at the juvenile level and scored in his India Under-16 debut against the United Arab Emirates in 2021.

    Bhat was a member of the now-defunct Indian Arrows, a developmental project designed to offer aspiring Indian footballers more exposure and aid in their development. The club folded to focused on the future and direction of Indian football.

    Bhat was discovered by his coach Sajid Dar, the honorary technical director of the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council Football Academy, during one of the Sports Council's scouting sessions under 'Mission 22,' which involved scouting for talent in the then-22 districts of Jammu and Kashmir to unearth potential players.