ITANAGAR, 14 Nov: Former Indian Junior Goalkeeper Gumpe Rime is among the 12 Indian coaches, who had cleared Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Pro Licence Diploma Course after the completion of the Module 5 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Pro diploma is the highest football coaching license.
Rime is the first from Arunachal to achieve this feat.
The twelve candidates underwent five modules that began in August 2023. While the Module 1 started in Chandigarh, the other modules were held in Kolkata (Module 2), Chennai (Module 3), and Bangalore (Module 4).
The candidates, besides Gumpe Rime are Priya PV, Arata Azumi, Caetano Infacio de Souza Pinho, Gourmangi Singh, Raman Vijayan, Sajid Yousuf Dhar, Shameel Chembakath, Shuvendu Panda, Steven Benedic Dias, Thekkathara Gopalkrishnan Purushotha-man and Yan Cheng Law. The course culminated with a foreign exposure and study trip to Saudi Arabia in October this year.
Rime had also been nominated once again to attend the AFC Goalkeeping tutors course in Malaysia that was held from 5 to 8 November in Kuala Lumpur.
Rime started his professional career with Mahindra United and then went on to play for reputable clubs like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited S.C, Salgaocar, Vasco and Shillong Lajong.
The Aalo native is now one of the leading Coach Educators in the country and currently serves as the Head of Goalkeeping at the Reliance Foundation Young Champs in Mumbai.
The Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) on Thursday congratulated Gumpe Rime for the achievement.
“An inspiring milestone to achieve! It’s a huge day for the entire football fraternity of the state. Gumpe’s achievement is the epitome of his dedication and love for the sport. Becoming the first from the state and the first former goalkeeper from the country to be conferred the AFC Pro License is something truly special. We extend our heartiest congratulations to him and wish him continued success in the years to come,” the APFA stated in a release.
