IN what has turned out to be a pivotal month for global football, with virtually every powerhouse European professional club making multi-year, multiple million dollar/euro plays for star performers, and perennial underperformers like the United States shocking the world, and especially Spain in the Confederation Cup, Indian Football was in the news for very different reasons. Bharti recently announced a suspension of its Rs 1 billion soccer academy project in Goa, the project having been tailored to improving training/coaching facilities, with the ultimate objective of providing a solid platform for the Indian team to eventually make its foray into the Fifa World Cup. Interestingly, this decision was made merely a few weeks after Bharti became one of the first Indian corporates to officially sponsor an EPL team (Man U) when it inked a 5-year multi-million dollar deal.
Lost in the midst of the powerhouse transfers and the Bharti suspension however, was a development that holds the most promise for Indian Football: the June launch of Liverpool’s Football Development Centre in Pune, the first of many such planned initiatives in Indian Football, aimed at creating, developing, and strengthening India’s human capital infrastructure in the sport. The fact that an Indian corporate has missed a trick at home while a foreign entity has seized the opportunity is a recurring occurrence in Indian sport, and no fewer than five other powerhouse European clubs have professed some degree of interest in establishing an India presence.
Football is a global sport, watched in virtually every country in the world. That India presently has a Fifa world ranking of 145, rubbing shoulders with Yemen and Tajikistan, and jostling for position with the Dutch Antilles and the Maldives has done nothing to dissuade nearly 40 million Indians (unofficial estimates) from following the EPL and the Euro, 55 million Indians from avidly watching the Fifa World Cup, and closer to home, Kolkata, Goa, and Kerala routinely selling out stadiums for the local I-league matches. Factor in the fact that at least 8 teams in the I-league are owned by large corporate houses, and the future of Football may not be that dim.
Needless to say, the AIFF would also need to corporatise itself in order for the imminent evolution of Football to have a broad and sustainable impact. The I-league is set to undergo a massive revamp, and the decision to run it professionally with an independent committee consisting of a CEO, manager, and assistant manager as per the AFC guidelines, will go miles towards streamlining the league. The AIFF has also apparently brought in a reputed strategic sports advisory team in furtherance of the professionalising of the sport, and there could be no better news for Indian Football.
Get in recently retired global superstars
Unlike the IPL, the evolution of Football will be far more traditional, in concordance with international leagues. A good first step would be to popularise the league/sport beyond the traditional pockets: corporate team owners ought to invest in bringing recently retired superstars for brief but effective stints during the I-league season. Accompanying their presence/participation in India with a media blitz and branding collaterals would generate significant interest in these ‘events’, even if only for a two-three week window at a stretch. Gate receipts would increase exponentially, as would sponsorships, and the value-addition would be apparent when the demand for broadcasting rights skyrocket. More importantly, Football will generate national interest if players like Zidane, Barthez, Maldini, or Kahn participate in our league. The effort to bring the former superstars to our backyards, and have them play in our domestic league will make the world sit up and take notice, and will also raise the profile of the sport. Keeping in mind the building of relations between the European clubs and the AIFF, it is even conceivable that active superstars could be ‘borrowed’ for a few matches at a stretch for I-league clubs.
Collaborations the way to go
Concurrently, there needs to be further investment by Indian corporates for the development of facilities and coaching academies so as to make Indian Football a future force to be reckoned with. Collaborations with international Football clubs, global sports management firms such as IMG, Octagon, or even conceptualising Fifa-branded academies, would generate significant value, and also be tangible assets in and of themselves with assured revenue streams, even if they are extremely capital intensive.
Once the league has been professionalised, gate revenues and broadcasting rights revenues are steady, licensing and merchandising of equipment, apparel, or collateral products starts to evolve, and Indian Football starts to enter into the realm of the Football fan’s scheme of thinking, will come the next big step, and in this, Cricket and Football face a similar growth dilemma: construction/development of stadiums, and the associated costs, liabilities, revenues and opportunities that these would entail.
Teams need to own their stadiums
At present, the state of Indian stadiums is nothing short of abysmal. While in the short run both the BCCI and the AIFF would be wise to significantly improve the facilities in the existing stadiums (Chelsea supremo Kenyon has been credited with a less than flattering depiction of the state of Indian stadiums), there is no successful league in the world where the teams do not have some form of ownership of their own stadiums. From an asset, branding, and leverage stand-point, teams need to own their stadiums. In India, the nascence of the sports industry may in fact serve the corporates in good stead. With common ownership of Cricket and Football clubs likely – the UB Group is a prime example, with East Bengal, Mohun Bagan in Football, and the Royal Challengers in the IPL – the creation of a stadium and the associated costs, could be shared between two potentially profitable teams in different Professional leagues and sports.
These synergies could potentially be significant, and could propel the creation of stadiums at a much faster rate, as opposed to a single-team ownership structure. In the absence of common ownership, facilities-sharing agreements could be a way for teams to collaborate and hedge/bolster their growth models.
It would be a win-win for all concerned parties: the teams, the leagues, the sponsors, the broadcasters, and above all, the fans. With names such as Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern, and Arsenal routinely being tossed around, and an effort globalise Football by many clubs such as Man U, Barca and Real for their overseas matches, Football is ready to make the big jump. It wasn’t a fluke that Oliver Kahn’s farewell game with Bayern was in India, and it’s no coincidence that the protagonist of the ‘hand of God’, Diego Maradona, had a deity-like reception of his own during his recent trip. Football in India has immense potential and global appeal. If things go according to plan, we may not need to outsource our loyalties to international leagues and teams; as fans, or as sponsors. The Beautiful Game, indeed.
The author is a Sports Attorney with J. Sagar Associates.
(The views expressed here are personal)
