Six girls from Jharkhand have been selected for the under-18 India squad for the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship that will kick off in Jamshedpur on Tuesday.

Head coach Thomas Dennerby made the announcement on Saturday. “These girls pose a really bright future for women’s football in India,” he said.

Dennerby, who had successfully guided both the Swedish and Nigerian women’s teams to Olympics and FIFA World Cup, named 22 players, including three goalies.

The six Jharkhand girls who have found place in Dennerby’s list of players are defenders Astam Oraon and Purnima Kumari, midfielder Nitu Linda and forwards Anita Kumari, Amisha Baxla and Sunita Munda.

The tournament, which is scheduled to begin at JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on March 15, will witness participation of teams from only three countries, Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

The opening match on Tuesday will be played between India and Nepal. They will play again on March 21.

India will also face the defending champion Bangladesh, first on March 19 and then again on March 25.

Dennerby, 62, said that playing a tournament like this would give the girls the experience of playing under the pressure of competitive matches.

“The great thing about them (the girls) is that they have been properly educated about football from a young age,” he said in a statement, issued through the All India Football Federation, on Saturday.

“They need to keep training properly on a regular basis,” Dennerby advised and justified that by saying that he had “seen many players who are supremely talented at the age of 15-16, but then they disappear later on”.