CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When India-born Charleston resident Francis Saldanha decided to bring India's under-16 national soccer team to West Virginia for a 26-day training and exhibition tour, every attempt was made to give the visitors challenging opponents.

The India national team played its first international friendly against Metro FC of Columbus, Ohio, ranked 24th in the country by nationalsoccerrankings.com. India won 6-1, setting the tone for the next five matches in which the Indian team won each game handily by a combined margin of 44-2.

Gallery

[+] Enlarge

Saturday, July 26, 2008 - Prem Kumar (24) of the India under-16 national team looks for space as Collin Costello of the Reading (Pa.) Rage defends during a recent exhibition match at Schoenbaum Stadium. India's team put on an impressive display during a recent West Virginia tour.

Buy This Photo

"You can't underestimate the importance of winning soccer matches," said All India Football Federation technical director and under-16 boys coach Colm Toal. "That would be a disservice to our opponents and their opportunity to play against top-flight competition, if we were to not play our best for the full 90 minutes."

In its final exhibition, the Indian team played to a 2-2 draw with the Reading (Pa.) Rage SC, a four-time national championship tournament qualifier. The Rage will compete this November in the national championship tournament against a field of the top 16 teams in the country.

The Rage plays in the United Soccer League's Super Y league, which is designed to keep quality club teams together from their early teens through college in order to promote development.

The Indian U-16 side is a team with a lot of expectations. It qualified for the Asian Federation Cup, which will be played in Uzbekistan this October, and secured private sponsorship from Airtel, a major communications company in India. Many of the players are being groomed as heirs to the senior national team to make a run at the 2018 World Cup.

The team lives, trains and is privately schooled at a facility in Goa, India.

That country's economic boom during the past 20 years has allowed money that had been unavailable to trickle into sectors such as the national soccer program.

The All-India Football Federation has undergone a change in philosophy and direction with the newfound opportunities allowed by the economic surge.

The group allots 28 percent of its funding to youth development and 35 percent to infrastructure, which gives the burgeoning national side a chance to reach its full potential.

The exhibitions at Schoenbaum Stadium were a first for international competition in West Virginia.

Reach Nicholas Haynes at ontheroad1...@yahoo.com.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When India-born Charleston resident Francis Saldanha decided to bring India's under-16 national soccer team to West Virginia for a 26-day training and exhibition tour, every attempt was made to give the visitors challenging opponents.

The India national team played its first international friendly against Metro FC of Columbus, Ohio, ranked 24th in the country by nationalsoccerrankings.com. India won 6-1, setting the tone for the next five matches in which the Indian team won each game handily by a combined margin of 44-2.

Included in that stretch were two victories over the West Virginia Olympic Development Program team, 10-0 and 6-0.

"You can't underestimate the importance of winning soccer matches," said All India Football Federation technical director and under-16 boys coach Colm Toal. "That would be a disservice to our opponents and their opportunity to play against top-flight competition, if we were to not play our best for the full 90 minutes."

In its final exhibition, the Indian team played to a 2-2 draw with the Reading (Pa.) Rage SC, a four-time national championship tournament qualifier. The Rage will compete this November in the national championship tournament against a field of the top 16 teams in the country.

The Rage plays in the United Soccer League's Super Y league, which is designed to keep quality club teams together from their early teens through college in order to promote development.

The Indian U-16 side is a team with a lot of expectations. It qualified for the Asian Federation Cup, which will be played in Uzbekistan this October, and secured private sponsorship from Airtel, a major communications company in India. Many of the players are being groomed as heirs to the senior national team to make a run at the 2018 World Cup.

The team lives, trains and is privately schooled at a facility in Goa, India.

That country's economic boom during the past 20 years has allowed money that had been unavailable to trickle into sectors such as the national soccer program.

The All-India Football Federation has undergone a change in philosophy and direction with the newfound opportunities allowed by the economic surge.

The group allots 28 percent of its funding to youth development and 35 percent to infrastructure, which gives the burgeoning national side a chance to reach its full potential.

The exhibitions at Schoenbaum Stadium were a first for international competition in West Virginia.

Reach Nicholas Haynes at ontheroad1...@yahoo.com.