Yohaan Benjamin set to become first Indian to play in UEFA Youth League

The 18-year-old made a move from Shillong Lajong to Slovenia.

Yohaan Benjamin earned the headlines earlier in the 2025-26 season with his decision to make a move to Slovenian club NK Bravo’s youth academy in the summer. The 18-year-old winger began to attract serious interest from major clubs after impressing for Shillong Lajong’s youth team.

The Maharashtra-born winger joined Shillong Lajong’s famed academy at a very young age, earning the ideal platform to start proving his quality. Benjamin would go on to shine for Shillong Lajong at the youth scene, playing for their under-17 and also their under-21 sides.

Benjamin had a memorable stint at Shillong Lajong. He scored nine goals in 13 games for their under-17 sides, which included six goals in the U17 Youth League. He also made four appearances for the India under-19 side in the 2025 SAFF U-19 championship, helping the Blue Colts defeat Bangladesh U19 to win the championship.

Benjamin in NK Bravo’s UEFA Youth League squad

Soon after impressing at the international level for India, Benjamin received an offer from the Slovenian club NK Bravo to make a move and join their youth development program.

The 18-year-old opted to make the brave move to leave Indian football, at least for the time being, and make a move to a European country to polish up his qualities as a potential top-quality player.

Benjamin has since started playing for NK Bravo’s under-19 team since joining them. He has made four appearances for them in the NextGen Liga, the top-most youth league in Slovenian football.

During that period, the teenager has been able to score two goals for, making an instant impact and for the Slovenian side.

Well, it appears that more good things are in the offing for Yohaan Benjamin in the near future. That is because the 18-year-old looks set to become the first-ever Indian footballer to feature in the UEFA Youth League later in October (2025).

NK Bravo have qualified for the second round in the UEFA Youth League, which they did after being able to win the Slovenian Youth League last season.

Benjamin joins an illustrious list

As a result, NK Bravo U19 have been drawn to play against FC Porto’s under-19 team in their upcoming second round clash in the UEFA Youth League. Considering how Yohaan Benjamin seems to have become a key player for the team, he is poised to make his debut in the UEFA Youth League for NK Bravo in the upcoming two-legged encounter against Porto.

Bravo will be scripting history for Indian football by making an appearance in the clash against Porto. So far, there have only been a few Indian footballers to have taken part in UEFA competitions.

Manisha Kalyan became the first Indian female footballer to play in the UEFA Women’s Champions League with PAOK recently. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, obviously, played in the UEFA Europa League during his time at Stabaek in Norway.

Now, it appears that Yohaan will become the latest Indian footballer to create history in the UEFA Youth League. Benjamin will need to be at his sharpest to produce his best performance against UEFA Youth League and potentially be decisive in helping NK Bravo defeat the Portuguese heavyweights.

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