Jeakson Singh Thounaojam

Jeakson Singh Thounaojam (born 21 June 2001) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC and India under-20 national team. He is widely known for scoring India's first ever goal in a FIFA tournament, by scoring against Colombia in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[1]

Jeakson Singh Thounaojam
Personal information
Full name Jeakson Singh Thounaojam
Date of birth (2001-06-21) 21 June 2001
Place of birth Manipur, India
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Center back
Club information
Current team
 Kerala Blasters FC
Number 15
Youth career
2012–2016 Chandigarh Football Academy
2016-2017 Minerva Punjab
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Minerva Punjab 0 (0)
2017–2018 → Indian Arrows (loan) 8 (0)
2018–2019 Kerala Blasters Reserves 5 (0)
2018–2019 → Indian Arrows (loan) 1 (0)
2019– Kerala Blasters FC 26 (1)
National team‡
2017 India U17 5 (1)
2017– India U20 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 October 2017

Club career

Youth and early career: 2012–2018

Born in Manipur, to a family that loved football, Thounaojam's early introduction to the sport came from his father, who was a coach.[2] He was eleven years old when he left his hometown in Thoubal district to travel all the way to Chandigarh to join the Chandigarh football academy known as CFA.[3] After around five years at CFA, he later joined Minerva Punjab academy where he was the part of their youth team. He formed a crucial part of the club's academy team which would go on to win the AIFF U-15 & U-16 Youth League titles two years in a row. After the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Thounaojam was selected to play for the Indian Arrows, an All India Football Federation-owned team that would consist of India under-20 players to give them playing time, on loan from Minerva Punjab.[4][5] He made his first-ever professional debut for the side in the Arrows' first match of the season against Chennai City. He started and played 90 minutes as Indian Arrows won 3–0.[6]

Kerala Blasters reserves: 2018–2019

In October 2018 Kerala Blasters FC announced the signing of Thounaojam.[7] He was put on to the reserve side and made 5 appearances for the side in the I-League 2nd Division. After the season he was once again loaned to Indian Arrows to get some playing time.

Kerala Blasters: 2019–present

Thounaojam was promoted to the senior team by newly appointed Blasters coach Eelco Schattorie for the 2019–20 Indian Super League. He started in the opening game itself against ATK on 20 October 2019[8] becoming the second-youngest player for the Blasters, behind Dheeraj Singh. He played 82 minutes in the defensive midfield position before being substituted by Sahal Abdul Samad, as Kerala Blasters beat ATK 2–1 at home. He was later awarded the Emerging Player of the Match award. Despite the fact that the Blasters had a poor season, Thounaojam was one of their bright spots and ended up featuring in 13 games in his debut season for the senior side, playing mostly in his natural defensive midfielder position.[9]

On 12 December 2020, the Blasters announced that they have extended Thounaojam's contract till the end of 2023 season.[10] On 20 December, Thounaojam scored his first goal in the Indian Super League as well as for the Blasters by coming in as a substitute for Rohit Kumar in the 46th minute against East Bengal during the stoppage time, taking the game to a 1-1 draw.[11][12] On 27 December 2020, he had a good performance against Hyderabad FC, as Blasters registered their first win of the season by 2-0, where Thounaojam won the Man of the Match award.[13] In the South Indian Derby against Bengaluru FC on 20 January 2021, Thounaojam was deployed as a center-back for the first time in his career.[14]

International career

Thounaojam represented the India under-17 side which participated in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup which was hosted in India.[4] In India's second match of the tournament, on 9 October 2017 against Colombia, he scored India's first-ever goal in a FIFA tournament. His 82nd-minute header from a corner was the equaliser for India but the team conceded again a minute later, and went on to be defeated 2–1.[15] After a breakthrough season with Kerala Blasters in the 2019-20 season, he earned was named in the list of probables for India's World Cup Qualifier against Qatar, but didn't make the final squad.

Personal life

His cousin, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, is also a footballer. Both of them represented the Indian under-17 national team in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup India where Amarjit captained the side.[16] Amarjit currently plays for FC Goa.[17]

Career statistics
As of 28 December 2020[18]
Club Season League Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Indian Arrows 2017–18 I-League 800080
2018–19 I-League 100010
Kerala Blasters B 2018–19 I-League 2nd Division 50––50
Kerala Blasters FC 2019–20 Indian Super League 13000130
Kerala Blasters FC 2020-21 Indian Super League 10 1 - - 10 1
Career total 37100371

References
  1. "Who is Jeakson Singh - India's first ever goalscorer in a World Cup?". goal.com. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  2. "Jackson Singh - India U17 team's Manipuri midfield destroyer who croons in Punjabi | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. "Who is Jeakson Singh - India's first-ever goalscorer in a World Cup | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  4. "Matos Names 25-member Indian Arrows Squad for Hero I-league 2017-18". The All India Football Federation. 29 November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  5. "Minerva Punjab loaned players". Minerva Punjab (Twitter).
  6. "Indian Arrows 3-0 Chennai City". Soccerway.
  7. "Kerala Blasters sign India's FIFA U-17 hero Jeakson Singh". OnManorama. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  8. "Young Jeakson Singh is taking his chances at Kerala Blasters | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  9. "Nishu Kumar: Jeakson Singh is my favourite player at Kerala Blasters". Khel Now. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  10. "Jeakson Singh signs new multi-year contract extension at Kerala Blasters". khelnow.com. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  11. "Jeakson Singh heads in late equaliser for Kerala Blasters to secure a point against SC East Bengal". www.indiansuperleague.com. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  12. "Kerala Blasters FC vs SC East Bengal Live Score Update, Commentary, Scorecard, Minute by minute updates". www.indiansuperleague.com. 20 December 2020.
  13. "Kerala Blasters FC vs Hyderabad FC Live Score Update, Commentary, Scorecard, Minute by minute updates". www.indiansuperleague.com. 27 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  14. Kundu, Abhishek (21 January 2021). "Three points against Bengaluru FC was very important for us: Kerala Blasters coach Kibu Vicuna". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  15. "India U17 1-2 Colombia U17". Soccerway.
  16. "Under 17 World Cup: Amarjit Singh and Jeakson Singh - brothers in arms - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  17. "Amarjit Singh Kiyam". Indian Super League.
  18. Jeakson Singh Thounaojam at Soccerway
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