'I hope to help India win World Cup': Nine-year-old Urban Negi on signing up with Everton’s academy

Urban Negi was born and grew up in London and started his football journey at the age of 5!

Have you heard of Urban Negi? Just nine years old and still at the very start of his journey, his emergence comes at a time when Indian football is grappling with one of its most turbulent phases. The national team has hit a new low, failing to live up to expectations on the pitch.

Disappointment on the international stage has been compounded by administrative chaos at home, with domestic leagues postponed indefinitely amid an ongoing power struggle within the federation. To add to this, the uncertainty surrounding the game has only deepened with the retirement of Sunil Chhetri, raising pressing questions about who will shoulder the weight of the nation’s expectations in an already fragile setup.

In response to the growing crisis, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has moved to open the doors for Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) players to represent the Blue Tigers. The decision reflects both necessity and a broader search for direction as Indian football struggles to steady itself.

Who is Urban Negi?

Against this bleak backdrop, Urban Negi stands out as a rare ray of optimism from afar. The London-born nine-year-old was signed by Everton Football Club recently. This marks a remarkable milestone for a player of Indian origin, offering a flicker of hope in an otherwise uncertain chapter for the sport back home.

While Urban Negi has a long way to go, initial glimpses of his brilliance have been exciting to see. The nine-year-old has impressed with his dribbling skills, and the exciting prospect is that he can only get better from here.

Urban, who is dreaming of winning the FIFA World Cup with India one day, spoke to News18 in a short interview about his journey, ambitions, and belief in a brighter future for Indian football. Here is what the Everton prodigy said…

Life in Everton’s football academy…

To start off, Urban Negi was asked about how he feels to be a part of Everton Football Club’s academy. The nine-year-old said, “I felt good that I got into the team, and I also felt excited and happy that I was a part of Everton Academy.”

When asked about how he got involved with the sport, Urban Negi added, “I started playing football at 5 years of age, and then I just fell in love with it, and now it’s my favourite game to play. I play it every day.

The Everton academy player was also asked about his experience at the Merseyside club. Replying to this, he said, “I was born in London, and I played for Crystal Palace in London. The changes I initially felt were that it’s going to be harder because I was on trial for Everton, so I had to work my hardest.”

“Also, the changes were that the players here have very different abilities from the ones in London. So sometimes in London, players are very dribbly, and they dribble loads. But the players here, they do like one-twos, passes and tiki-taka.”

Is Urban Negi an up-and-coming attacker?

There are videos of Urban Negi’s dribbles on the internet that show how high the ceiling is for the young Everton prodigy. In the interview, he was also asked if he liked dribbling, shooting, or passing more.

Urban Negi instantly replied, saying, “My favourite is probably shooting. I like scoring goals, and I like dribbling, though, to beat defenders and send them to the shops. But probably shooting because I like scoring goals and doing celebrations.”

Urban’s aspirations to win India the FIFA World Cup!

The child prodigy was also asked about his aspirations and where he saw himself in the next ten years. To this, Urban Negi replied by saying, “I want to play for India and make them win the World Cup.”

When asked how he is going to go about his dream, the youngster said, “I think I just have to keep on working hard and then my dream will probably come true. Then I can hopefully help India win the World Cup and then idolise more young football players to also play for India.”

Who are the youngsters’ idols?

When asked about who has inspired the young Urban Negi, the up-and-coming footballer said, “I aspire to become like Ronaldinho and have shooting like Cristiano Ronaldo.” He also added that he also likes Lionel Messi and his dribbling ability as well.

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