Former India player Shukla Dutta was on Saturday appointed the country's U19 women's football team coach ahead of the SAFF Championships in February next year. Dutta, a former India U17 women's team coach, will be assisted by ex-India international Sradhanjali Samantaray, and goalkeeping coach Lourembam Ronibala Chanu in an all-women support staff team. The India team will begin its preparations for the SAFF Championships early next month in Goa. "The Under-19 SAFF for women is an important tournament for us. This tournament is a stepping stone for talented players to move to the next level, which is the seniors," said All India Football Federation acting secretary-general M Satyanarayan in a statement.