Mohammedan SC sign former Aizawl FC goalkeeper Zothanmawia

The shot-stopper played a major role in Aizawl's promotion to the I-League.

Mohammedan Sporting have signed 23-year-old goalkeeper Zothanmawia ahead of the 2021/22 I-League season. The youngster earned his reputation playing for Aizawl FC in the league a few years ago.

He will join the Black Panthers’ pre-season training immediately. The 23-year-old will mostly provide competition for the club’s other new goalkeeper for next season, Mithun Samanta.

Zothanmawia is a product of the Chandigarh Football Academy and spent many of his teenage years playing in the academy. He also helped them win the 56th National School Games at U-14 level and earned the 'Best Player' award at the tournament.

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After his stint in Chandigarh, Zothanmawia played for Dinthar Football club – a team based out of Aizawl – for a couple of years. The 23-year-old played for Dinthar’s academy and first-team, before getting the move to the biggest club in the Mizoram capital.

Zothanmawia actually played a major role in Aizawl’s promotion to the I-League. He delivered a few impressive performances and helped them earn promotion in 2015. The 23-year-old then went onto make five appearances for Aizawl in the 2015/16 season, in which they barely survive relegation.

The young goalkeeper was mostly used in the Mizoram Premier League (MPL) after that, having to work as a backup option. He then moved to another Mizoram side Chhinga Veng in 2019.

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Zothanmawia played in the Second Division League with the side and put in some impressive performances. In the 2018-19 Second Division League season, he kept six clean-sheets -  the most by any goalkeeper that season. However, he wasn’t able to inspire Chhinga Veng to win the title – as TRAU FC just narrowly edged them to it.

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing problems in Indian football last season, Zothanmawia wasn’t able to play in the Second Division. However, his impressive performances at a local level and MPL convinced the Black Panthers enough to sign him.

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After missing out on the title last season, Mohammedan look determined to win the I-League in the 2021/22 campaign. They’ve already made some big signings in former Gokulam Kerala star Marcus Joseph – who inspired their win last time around.

The Black Panthers have also signed talented domestic stars like former East Bengal defender Lalranchullova and former ATK midfielder Malsawmzuala. The I-League season is all set to begin in December and will take place in its entirety in Kolkata – just like last season.

Zothanmawia, for one, will hope to impress new Russian coach Andrey Chernyshov in training and pre-season games. He’ll be determined to make the goalkeeper’s position his own at Mohammedan next season.

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