MUMBAI: Borussia Dortmund’s plan to send a legends team to India has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting overseas travel restrictions.
The development comes as no surprise as BVB had in any case already scrapped plans to send their first squad on a three-nation tour of China, Japan and Singapore. The Bundesliga side will instead be conducting a virtual tour later this month of Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo ― the first heavyweight European football team to announce such a plan.
“Yes, we were due to play the legends game (in India), but due to the coronavirus pandemic, no one’s allowed to travel. But we will fulfil that obligation of bringing a team to India (in the future) because football is ever-growing in India,” Suresh Letchmanan, Borussia Dortmund’s managing director for Asia-Pacific, told Firstpost on Thursday.
Dortmund’s legends team has previously played in Asian countries like Hong Kong (against Liverpool legends team in June last year) and Thailand (against the legends team of Buriram United in 2018).
“Due to the constraints and restrictions of travelling, we have to be extremely focused in the markets we want to be present in. But India are definitely a market we are always trying to grow (in) and be present in. India are one of the most important markets for us. As soon as we get clearances, we will start planning for an opportunity for the legends team to be present in India,” Letchmanan added.
While BVB already have local partners in India in the form of W1 Sports to look at grassroots, the club was also looking at partnering with an Indian Super League or an I-League team in India. COO of BVB, Carsten Cramer, had told Firstpost in August that the club was not particularly concerned with whether the team was playing in the ISL or the I-League.
Scholz added that club is planning tailor-made activities for fans in India when the situation is more conducive. “We’re closely following the local leagues, both leagues, actually. We’re dedicated and committed to reach out more and exchange more with Indians.”
