A force to reckon with

Thiruvananthapuram-based AG’s Office is on cloud nine after winning the All India Indian Audits and Accounts Department football tournament held at Ranchi, Jharkhand recently. The team coached by Pahad PS has been winning the tournament consecutively for the past three years. The team had to overcome a tough AG Bengal team to clinch the victory in the finals. According to Pahad, the team had to tackle Arindham Bhattacharya who plays for Atletico De Kolkata in Indian Super League.

AG’s Office had qualified for the national-level tournament after bagging the first spot in the South zone qualifiers held in January 2019. The squad had to compete against teams from Benagaluru, Andhra Pradesh and Chennai in the qualifiers. Although the club has plenty of youngsters in its ranks, they are planning to add fresh faces to strengthen the team further. “At present we have 22 players in the squad, including youngsters and seniors.

Many of them also have the experience of playing for Kerala in Santosh Trophy,” said Pahad. One of the top teams from the state, AG’s Office won the Thiruvananthapuram District Super Division League in 2018. Two players, Noushad K and Asif K have also played for I-League teams such as Chennai city FC, Neroca FC, Mohammedan Sporting Club and Gokulam FC. Pahad credited former coach Najeeb N M for the team’s commendable performance. Practice matches with the Indian Navy team and training sessions focusing on fitness and game tactics have helped AG’s Office to shine.

The team had to opt out of playing an all-India tournament in Chhattisgarh and All India Civil Services football tournament (Goa) due to the COVID-19 scare.  Even though AG’S Office is based in the capital city, most of its players are from Malappuram and Kozhikode.