Shillong, Jan 18: Meghalaya teenager Phrangki Buam has been loaned by Shillong Lajong to FC Bengaluru United, a team that will take part in the Second Division League (the I-League qualifiers) this season.
He burst onto the national season with six goals in his maiden season of the I-League in 2018-19 (a club record for an Indian player and a new club record for a Meghalayan), scoring against Gokulam Kerala, Minerva Punjab, NEROCA and Mohun Bagan. He played in all 20 games last season, making 19 starts and one appearance as a substitute.
Buam’s feats have also been noticed in the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports football tournament, in which he represented Shillong College and for whom he scored a bundle of goals.
In 2019 Buam was the top scorer in both the Shillong Premier League (10 goals) and Meghalaya State League (13) and he played a vital role in his club’s twin triumphs.
Buam also played for the erstwhile Royal Wahingdoh’s junior sides, but followed youth coach Bobby Lyngdoh Nongbet to Lajong in 2017. He would go on to win the U-18 Youth League (now renamed Elite League) with SLFC in 2018.
Bengaluru United will play in Group C of the Second Division League, which will begin in the last week of January. Buam’s new club finished third in the Karnataka State Football Association Super Division 2019-20.
(TSR file photo)