LUCKNOW, May 10 -- It's official now that state capital is going to have Uttar Pradesh's third professional football set up after Inter Kashi in Varanasi and Ghaziabad Football Club at Ghaziabad as the Lucknow Falcons Football Club has begun the process to play in the qualifiers of the third division professional league known as I-League 3 of the All India Football Federation. In fact, the I-League 3, a platform for state champions and nominated teams to compete, is acting as a qualifier for the I-League 2. It's the fourth tier in the Indian football league system. This league was introduced by the AIFF in 2023 to act as qualifiers for the I-League 2. It comprises 25 clubs nominated by member associations based on their state league performances. The 25 teams are divided into five groups of five each. The top teams in the I-League 3 qualify for the I-League 2, which is the third tier of the Indian football pyramid, and the I-League 2 has relegation to the I-League 3. The Lucknow Falcons Football Club is owned by the Ekana Sportz City and is being headed by its managing director Udai Sinah, who promises to take up the LFFC to new heights in Uttar Pradesh as well as in India. "We have already started working on our mission for the uplift of the football standard in Lucknow as well as in Uttar Pradesh. Trials of young talents will soon be done and for now we have got affiliation from the Lucknow District Football Association as well as Uttar Pradesh Football Sangh," said Udai Sinha on Friday. It is learnt that the Ekana Sportz City, which houses two cricket stadiums, multipurpose hall, international standard tennis courts as well as a table tennis academy, has football stadium as well as residential facilities for the inmates of different disciplines. "I always believe in top-quality work in all disciplines and taking football to new heights is one of my biggest dreams. In fact, I was waiting for the right opportunity to start our new set up for the welfare of the game as well of footballers," said Sinha, adding, "We have already hired a good coach Chandan B Rathod and in days to come, you will see many more things in the discipline." Recently, the Lucknow Falcons Football Club conducted trials for U-13, U-15, and U-17 categories, attracting over 140 aspiring players. The initiative is aimed to nurture young talent and provide them with structured training and competitive exposure. With this effort, the club is setting a strong foundation for the future of football in the region. LFFC's chief coach Rathod, who possesses AFC's A diploma certificate and hails from Mumbai, hoped that things will fall in place soon as the idea as well as efforts of people behind this set up is very positive. "Though we are starting from the scratch, we aren't short of talent in Lucknow. My first objective is to groom local players instead of hiring players from outside. My focus is on more of ground level, foundation basis and in the new season we're coming up with the third division I-League and then women's also as well," said Rathod on Friday. "We will be aiming to win the local tournament this year and thereafter the state championship and qualifier for the I-League 3. If we could do this, we will be able to qualify for the I-League 2," said Chandan, who admired the support of LFFC's secretary Ritwik Sinha in running the show with enthusiasm. "We have the biggest set up for the game here in Lucknow and I am sure that our team would be ready for the I-league 3 in future. I am getting good support from club secretary Ritwik, who has good experience of playing football in USA during his studies," he added....