DoB: 19 July 1996
Position: Left-Winger, Center Forward, Midfielder, Playmaker
District: Peren
About him
Ratobe N Poireng started his football career in Barak FC and within a few years, he was selected to join the State Football Team to represent Nagaland. Apart from being an active footballer, he has also worked towards developing the sport by working as a coordinator for a sports management company in the state. He was also once scouted to go for a tryout at Hannover 96 which turned out to be an unsuccessful nut that did not crush his spirit.
Represented Nagaland in: Santosh Trophy 2016
Achievements
NSF Trophy 2016 (Nagaland Police Football Club)
NSF Champion 2017 (Barak FC)
Spartan FC – Winners of Redbull Neymar Jr. Five Futsal tournaments in Dimapur, qualified for the all-India finals.
Himalayan SC Sikkim – Runner up for Sikkim Governors Gold Cup
Clubs
Guwahati Town Club FC – Playing for GSA Super Division League
Jaluguti Assam FC – Assam State League
State Boys Academy FC – Winner of Dimapur Football League
Fury FC – Runner up of Dimapur League
Kerala Premier League Qualifiers – played for Universal Soccer School
Peren District Team – Nagaland Football Championship
MTimes: How does it feel to be in the semi-finals?
Ratobe: Of course, I feel very happy to reach the semifinal and thanks to all my teammates for the hard work and team work till the final whistle.
MTimes: How confident are you for the semis?
Ratobe: I have a positive mind of winning and I believe that my teammates will do well and if we play like a team with a fighting spirit, I hope we will get good results in the semifinal.
MTimes: What got you into football in the first place?
Ratobe: Football has been my passion and I had always dreamt of becoming a professional footballer and of course football has given me everything, where I’m today and what I’m today it is all because of football.
MTimes: Given the opportunity to play in any club, which one would you choose?
Ratobe: I would like to choose Real Madrid because it is one the best and most popular clubs in the world.
MTimes: How has been your experience playing in Mokokchung so far?
Ratobe: I have played in Mokokchung before but to be honest this time, we have been facing some problems with the facilities for all players and this tournament is not the best experience but I hope everyone is having a good time playing and making new friends, getting some really good experience and so on.
MTimes: Which has been the best game you’ve played so far in the tournament?
Ratobe: Today was the best game so far as we all know we had a great opponent against us. Kohima is one of the best teams in this tournament so yeah, it was great playing against Kohima.
MTimes: What would you suggest Nagaland should do to improve their football?
Ratobe: I would like to suggest that we the Nagaland people should have a professional football league and of course we really need good football academies and with good football ground and professional coaches.