Ahead of the Indian women team's opening match against Sri Lanka in the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship, head coach Alex Ambrose on Sunday said that he wants to give his players equal opportunities in this tournament, set to be played here."We will be giving all players the opportunity to play and experience the importance of development through tournaments like these. All teams are equally competitive and we need to work hard to make a good mark in the tournament," said coach Ambrose on the eve of the match."There is absolutely no pressure on the players. We just want them to perform well, enjoy their football and have a good championship," he added.
Looking forward to a competitive tournament, the coach said, "We have a very young squad and there are eleven players in this squad who were in the U-15 team that won the SAFF U-15 Championship".Ambrose also expressed his views on developing the youth structure in the game of football and how important it is for the players and said, "Developing the players is more important in youth tournaments than winning the match."With the AFC Asian Cup 2022 knocking at the door, the coach wants football to grow."India is hosting the AFC Asian Cup in 2022 and the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and we want football to grow in this part of the region so that matches are competitive and more spectators come to the stadium," he concluded.