Chennai City FC appoint Mohammad Akbar Bin Abdul Nawas as coach, Barcelona's Jordi Villa named assistant

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Chennai: I-League side Chennai City FC has appointed Singapore's Mohammad Akbar Bin Abdul Nawas as the team's head coach and Barcelona's Jordi Villa as assistant coach and director of the team's youth development programme.

Akbar, who was the technical consultant, takes over as the head coach from V Soundararajan.

The team had finished eighth in the recently concluded I-League.

The 43-year-old Akbar, an AFC Pro Diploma Licence coach, is already guiding the team in the Super Cup.

A former S-League and Singapore youth team player, Akbar has been active in coaching for the last seven years.

He coached the national team's junior sides in various age groups and also managed multipletop-flightt clubs in Singapore and the Philippines.

"We expect them (Akbar and Villa) to help in building the club," club owner Rohit Ramesh said.