Bengaluru, Jun 13 (IANS): Bengaluru FC have signed a fresh three-year contract, till the 2023-24 season, with Naushad Moosa, who has been in-charge of the club's youth development programme but will now exclusively assist chief coach Marco Pezzaiuoli.

Moosa, an AFC Pro-Licensed coach who joined Bengaluru FC in 2017, said after signing the contract on Saturday that, "I'm glad to commit my future to Bengaluru FC for three more years. In the time I have spent here, we have seen many young players come through the ranks, and in the last year especially, many of them have knocked on the doors of the senior team. I am looking forward to now seeing them cement their place, and hopefully represent the national team as well".

"Last season I had the opportunity of leading the senior team as interim head coach and I don't think I've learned as much in five years as I have in those five months. I've also spent the last few months working very closely with Marco (Pezzaiuoli) and it has been an education that I am looking to further build upon with this role," he added.

A former footballer himself, Moosa has turned out for Air India, Churchill Brothers, East Bengal FC, Mahindra United and Mohammed Sporting in a career that spanned 12 years. As head coach of the Bengaluru FC reserve team, he guided the "Blue Colts" to back-to-back BDFA Super Division League title wins in 2019 and 2020.

Moosa, who took charge of the Bengaluru FC on an interim basis during the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign, worked alongside Pezzaiuoli during the club's most recent AFC Cup qualifying campaign.