I-League 2020-21: Aizawl FC 'determined' to win tournament for homebound supporters, says Princewill Emeka

Princewill Emeka, the newest Aizawl FC foreign recruit, feels the Reds will miss their vocal supporters at the forthcoming I-League campaign, something that has made them more “determined” to win the trophy for their fans. Instead of the traditional home and away format, the entire I-League 2020-21 will be held across three venues in Kolkata owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Aizawl FC supporters have been the real backbone of the club and they stay very vocal on match days. They are the real 12th man of Aizawl FC. But, if you are playing against them, they make your life tougher,” Emeka told i-league.org. “We’ll miss the drumbeats, constant cheering from the stands this time. Obviously, we are sad but we are determined to win the trophy for them,” he added.

Another one! We've completed the signing of Nigerian Forward - Princewill Wmeka Olariche. Welcome #Princewill.#WeAreAFC #LetsDoThis #AizawlFC #ThePeoplesClub pic.twitter.com/FtZZAQ1Ee0

— Aizawl FC (@AizawlFC) August 27, 2020

The latest edition of the I-League is scheduled to kick off on 9 January, 2021 and Aizawl FC will be looking to win the competition for the second time, after being crowned champions in the 2016-17 edition. Princewill scored three goals in 15 outings for debutants TRAU FC in the last edition of the I-League. Prior to that, he played an instrumental role in helping the Manipur-based outfit triumph the second division league in 2018-19 and earn promotion. The Nigerian mentioned that Aizawl FC coach Stanley Rozario played a crucial role in convincing him to sign for the former champions. “I had a long discussion with coach (Stanley Rozario) before signing here. He followed my game since long and he was convinced about my ability. Now, the onus is on me to repay and score more goals. “If we can play to our true potential, we can win the Hero I-League once again,” the 28-year-old forward elaborated. Meanwhile, he feels the new format of I-League will require the teams to be on “their toes” over the course of the competition. “No team will get the home advantage and the new format is going to be challenging for all of us. We will need to get in on the act quickly as adopting to the conditions will be important. We will have to be on our toes throughout and treat every match as a final.” All teams will face each other once in the first leg of the league before they are divided into two different groups. The top six teams, according to the points table, will face each other once again to decide the winner whereas the other five teams will play against each other in a one-leg league format. The team with maximum points (cumulative points collected from all 15 matches) will be the winner of Hero I-League 2020-21.