Akhil Rawat
AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: Corbett FC have been taking big strides in 2024. They made the semi-finals of the AIFF U-17 Youth League, reached the play-off round of the AIFF Junior League, and have now stormed their way into the semi-finals of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship on their tournament debut.

Head coach Mohammad Rizwan was at the helm of Corbett FC's success at both the U-17 Youth League and the Futsal Club Championship. The AIFF 'B' License holder spoke to the-aiff.com after the 11-1 thrashing of Delhi FC on Wednesday which booked their semi-final berth.

"We've had a great experience in Gujarat so far. The players have been doing fantastic, they are understanding everything we discuss tactically and technically and are executing it in the match. Whatever mistakes we make, we try to rectify them in the next game. It's our first time here, so that's a big boost for Uttarakhand. Now we're into the semi-finals against Ambelim, who are a good side. It's going to be a fight, let's see," said Rizwan.

Corbett FC eased past every opponent to top Group A with four wins in as many games (9-0 vs Nyenshen FC, 6-2 vs Millat FC, 5-0 vs Sports Odisha and 8-6 vs Classic Football Academy). And their best showing came on Wednesday as they mauled former champions Delhi FC 11-1. Four quickfire goals meant the game was already done and dusted in the first 10 minutes.

It might be Corbett FC's first-ever foray into futsal, but there's no dearth of experience in their ranks. Rizwan has been coaching in futsal for quite some years now. He led Baroda Football Academy to the Gujarat State Futsal Club Championship title in 2021, and also coached them in the inaugural edition of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship that year, which is what he credits as a big learning experience in his career.

Corbett FC was founded as Amenity Sports Academy in 2013 and was rebranded to its current name in 2020. With its residential academy based in Rudrapur in the plains of Uttarakhand, the club aims to become a driving force of youth football development in the region. They hosted the group stage of the AIFF U-17 Youth League and the Junior League at their academy, and will also host the Blue Cubs League.

"Our director Subhash Arora is very passionate about developing football. He has supported and sponsored different teams. He is promoting the game in Uttarakhand and is focused on youth development. The Blue Cubs League is set to be hosted by Corbett FC in Rudrapur, which will have 500 to 600 kids participating," shared Rizwan.

Spreading their wings into the arena of futsal has been a positive decision for the club so far, and the early success might be a sign of even better things to come. But the work is far from done yet, affirmed Rizwan as they only have eyes for the trophy on Sunday.

"Futsal was new to our director as well, and we discussed how to create a competitive squad to get started. We needed different types of skilled players for futsal, ones who are technically good with the ball. So, we scouted players for the team and it's going well.

"Our target is to lift the trophy after winning the final. That's how we set up our team for the tournament. By God's grace, if we keep following our plans, we will be successful," Rizwan concluded.