Manipur-based midfielder Amarjit Singh Kiyam was picked by his teammates to be the captain of the Indian team for the U-17 World Cup through a vote count. Coach Luis Norton de Matos had asked his 27-member squad to write down their choices and Amarjit’s name emerged as the unanimous choice to wear the captain’s armband for India’s first FIFA event, reported The Times of India. The Manipur player comes from the acclaimed Chandigarh Football Academy.

The report stated that the players could write three names with their first choice earning five points, the second name getting three points and the third choice, one. “From the 27 players who voted, Amarjit’s name featured on the list of 26 players. Most of them had him as their first choice. There were four who named him second choice and he was third on the list of three players. But, there was no doubt that he was the unanimous choice as captain,” a source in the team was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

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Jitendra Singh finished second in the vote count and is tipped to be named the vice-captain of the side. Another midfielder, Suresh Singh Wangjam, who captained the side for the AFC Under-16 championship last year, finished third on the list, ahead of defender Sanjeev Stalin.

Matos also confirmed the development. “I have four players as captains,” he said. “The players [now] automatically know who their leader on the field is. The players who were chosen through a secret ballot are the same players who I wanted as captain,” the Portuguese added.

Matos, who succeeded Nicolai Adam in March, quipped that he had instructed his players not to chose a goalkeeper. “I don’t want a goalkeeper as captain,” he said. “A captain should be one in the centre of the field. Whenever there is an issue, I don’t want the goalkeeper to run all the way from his goal to where the referee is located,” the 63-year-old added. Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem has been India’s first choice between the sticks.