Sunil Chettri set to join Sporting Lisbon

New Delhi: Top Portuguese football club Sporting Lisbon may rope in India striker Sunil Chettri as their foreign recruit. The club is likely to make an announcement on Thursday.

All India Football Federation sources told a news agency that the club is planning to launch several development programmes in India, and Chettri will be a part of those activities as well. "It is a real pleasure for me and an exciting moment in my career to join a European giant like Sporting Lisbon. I have dreamt of this day and always believed that my time will come. It is now a reality. I will make it count for India," Chettri was quoted by a website, as saying. Sporting Lisbon`s move is being seen as a step to capture the 1.2 billion Indian market, which has become a lucrative field for European football clubs. Chettri, a former Kansas City striker, is at present a free agent after being released by Mohun Bagan. Chettri earlier had appeared for trials at Coventry, Queens Park Rangers and Glasgow Rangers without much success. IANS