NEW DELHI: Barcelona see India as a key part of their global expansion plans, the LaLiga giants’ Asia Pacific director general Jordi Camps has told Reuters.
Camps’ latest buttresses optimism expressed last month that India would be part of the Catalan club’s pre-season plans before its talisman Lionel Messi brings the curtains down on his glorious career.
“Everything that we do we do for the international market and we have also chosen 10 strategic markets, one of which is India. Our main focus is the US and China but in the second tier is India,” Camps had said.
In November, top officials from 18 Spanish La Liga clubs got together in the capital, ramping up their activities in the country.
“The growth of the Indian Super League and the success of the under-17 World Cup held in India in 2017 have been absolutely vital for the development of the sport in the country,” Camps said in an interview to the international news agency.
“Not only did it garner global coverage and engage young people of India, it also helped develop infrastructure, upskill personnel and transfer knowledge to a range of governmental organisations and businesses to help stage major footballing events.
“We feel that we have a part to play in the growth of football in the country too.”
Barcelona will host the Barca Academy Asia Pacific Cup 2019 at their Delhi facility, featuring over 500 players from six countries with ages ranging from under-nine to under-15, and Camps said they were always looking to grow the game in India.
“India is a key strategic market for FC Barcelona and we’re constantly looking at opportunities to further engage and interact with our fanbase – whether that’s through our academies, digital content or a first team tour,” he added.
“In 2019, we’ll be in China and Japan and beyond that, let’s see.”
Barcelona have opened three centres in the country and Camps said they could prove a win-win for the Spanish club and India.
Barcelona have been in India with the Barca Academy since 2013 and say they have trained more than 25,000 young footballers through various programs. It has been rated as the top academy in India by the All India Football Federation.
“There seems to be a real interest and investment happening in grassroots football – with the AIFF grassroots program launch in October 2012,” Camps said.
“This isn’t quite as ambitious as the growth proposed by President Xi (Jinping) in China, for example – but it’s certainly a strong initiative for increasing the popularity of the sport.
“Still, 95 per cent of children taking up the sport still do so at the local football centre or ground – with unqualified coaches. With our Barca Academies, this is what we are aiming to change – structured, consistent and well defined programmes that promote the club’s working philosophy.”
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