Bengaluru United sign Goan custodian Melroy Fernandes

The 28-year-old custodian has been a regular part of the Goa Santosh Trophy squad since 2016.

FC Bengaluru United seem quite busy in the transfer market right now. This time, the Bengaluru-based club have signed tall and strong Goan goalkeeper Melroy Fernandes for the upcoming I-League Qualifiers 2021. Melroy was a part of Dempo SC’s Goa Professional League (GPL) squad last season, where he showed a great deal of consistency with his performances.

Bengaluru United had previously signed Goan midfielder Denil Rebello from Vasco SC and defender George D’Souza from Indian Super League (ISL) side Odisha FC on a short-term loan deal. They also have the Goan trio of Hayden Fernandes, Ronaldo Oliveira and Jason Vaz from last season. Melroy Fernandes will hence be the sixth Goan addition for FCBU.

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Before making the move to the Golden Eagles, Melroy was a part of last season’s ARA FC squad in the I-League Qualifiers 2020. He started his career with Goan outfit Salgaocar FC. He spent three seasons there before moving to Sporting Clube de Goa. After spending a year with them, he moved to Churchill Brothers. The custodian joined Sporting Goa once again three seasons later and represented them for the next seven seasons.

Melroy Fernandes made 11 appearances for Dempo last season and managed to keep five clean-sheets for the Goan club in the Goa Pro League. The 28-year-old custodian has also been a regular part of the Goa Santosh Trophy squad since 2016.

I-League Qualifiers

Earlier, Khel Now revealed that the AIFF has asked for ₹2.5 lakhs in the name of a Participation Fee from teams nominated for the I-League Qualifiers. The decision has understandably created unrest among some clubs and a few state football associations had also written to the federation informing their respective stances.

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However, the AIFF defended their decision, saying that they will be bearing all the expenses with the clubs having to pay nothing else apart from the fee. 

“The I-League Qualifiers will take place inside a bio-bubble in Bengaluru, in September. As a result, there is absolutely no possibility of allowing more than 10 teams. The All India Football Federation will be paying for all costs,” AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said. A total of 29 teams have been nominated from all across the country for the competition. However, only 10 teams will qualify in the end.

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