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Manchester City x Mumbai City FC: What it holds for the future of Indian Football?
Indian football has undergone some wholesale changes over the last few years, but nothing will probably come close to the one announced a week or so back. The City Football Group (CFG), known best for turning the Premier League outfit Manchester City from a middle-tier team to one that wins titles and plays some of the most exciting football in the world recently acquired a majority stake in Mumbai City FC, the Indian Super League franchise. It is a move that could have far-reaching implications for the sport in the country, and it could be worthwhile to examine why.
What are the CFG’s credentials?
Although Manchester City are their best-known property, the CFG own, in total 8 different football clubs across 4 continents. In many ways, they see themselves as football’s Vision Fund, set out with an idea to change the way the sport is run as a business and the clubs are run as entities. They have had remarkable success in the decade or so in which they have been active as well, and not just with Manchester City. Both New York City and Girona have been successful as well, and their portfolio only grows stronger as they enter the largely untapped Indian market. India is the third Asian country that CFG has now invested in, after China and Japan. Still, if invested correctly, it could potentially yield far better dividends than any other country.
As mentioned before, CFG has majority or minority stakes in New York City in the United States of America, Melbourne City in Australia, Yokohama F Marinos in Japan, Club Atlético Torque in Uruguay, Girona in Spain and Sichuan Jiuniu in China. Speaking about the investment, CFG’s chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, said: “We believe this investment will deliver transformative benefits to Mumbai City FC, to City Football Group and to Indian football as a whole.”
What can Indian sphere fans expect now?
While the news is certainly exciting and a positive sign about where Indian football is headed, there is no doubt that the CFG will be planning for long-term returns. So there will probably not be immediate changes but that could turn out to beneficial to a sport that has always suffered from knee-jerk reactions and inadequate planning. The Indian Super League, set to be India’s top-tier football league has always envisioned for longer-term benefits and that aligns with CFG’s goals. As such, the impetus will almost definitely be on revamping infrastructure, grass-root football, better camps and exposure opportunities for the Mumbai City FC footballers. This is where CFG’s global presence and considerable investment comes to play - there have been many instances of foreign interests and collaborations in Indian football but no one has ever really put their skin into the game like CFG has.
Currently valued at approximately 4.8 billion dollars, CFG is the single most valuable entity in football and this deal has been in the making for nearly 1 year. There is no doubt that CFG executives have made a thorough study about the existing hurdles and challenges that Indian football currently face and have laid down plans to overcome the same. Given that their aim is to be profitable, it is likely that CFG will be taking drastic steps to ensure a better breed of footballers develop from their stables in Mumbai.
Another exciting but often understated aspect of this investment could be the potential opening of the Pandora’s Box that is Indian football to more and more investment from European and American football groups. A domino effect can be potentially expected if CFG’s investments do yield results, so there is no doubt that Indian football has no reason but to be optimistic about the future.
The road is long but the belief is everything, after all!