Bold dreams- Rise of Bengaluru FC
Vijay Anand
Recent years of Indian soccer saw death of many
football clubs. Mafatlal fc, Mahindra fc, JCT and Palian Arrows are a few in
the litany. Presently, most of the clubs in the country are facing financial
crunch. Chit fund scam has affected investment in all the Kolkata clubs. Goan
clubs have reduced the budget. Mumbai fc is running on a shoe string budget. In
current depressing scene where football clubs are crying for fans and money,
the success story of Bengaluru fc presents a very different picture.
The club is Bangalore based. It opened it’s operations barely 6 months before. It got direct entry into I League (unlike the 2nd division promotion route) and promised to fulfill the expectations of AIFF in response. JSW group are the owner and sponsor of the club.
Within 7 days of the birth, club made some eyebrow raising signings. Ashley Westwood, who has worked as an assistant coach of Blackburn Rovers, was signed as a manager cum coach of the club. To give the club a pan Indian image, two good young Indian strickers (both from Delhi) were signed. Robin Singh is enjoying the weather of this southern city and Sunil Chetri has already scored 8 goals. In the forward line, they have their Rooney- ‘Sean Rooney’ who is following Chetri in goal race in I League. Young Salgaocar purchase Pawan Kumar is a regular under the bar.
When Westwood came to India, he knew that he has a tough job at hand. He walked extra mile and distributed pamphlets in shopping malls for the popularity of the club. To attract the youth, collages were approached and a few hoarding- ads did real work. It created a brand image and increased the awareness level of the people of the city about the club.
Club wears jersey with a crest which resembles Bangalore Palace. It is a sign of victory when native Wodeyars dynasty took back the palace from English troops. Picture of blue Gandaberunda, a mythical two headed bird with magical powers, is embedded in the middle of the crest. Incidentally, it was the symbol on the coat of arm of Karnataka state and presently is the symbol of state. It all gave public a sense of belongingness.
Club uses all sorts of social media tools to be in touch with the fans. 8000 strong crowd can often be seen during club’s home matches. Club has not disappointed them either and has won all I league games at home, except one. They are running for title in I League as well.
Soccer is growing exponentially in the country. CEO of Bengaluru fc Mustafa Ghouse shares the same views. He admits that soccer scene in the country is very positive. There are many football lovers who have been to Europe for long period of time. Others follow European Leagues and desires for the same soccer culture here in India.
The club also tied with a local pub to give the loyalist a feeling of enjoyment while watching soccer. It is the official pub of the club. Here matches of the club are shown on giant screen and loyalists cheer whole heartedly for them.
Club owns and maintains a stadium named ‘Bangalore football stadium’ in the heart of the city. It can accommodate a crowd of 15000. In addition to it, it has a VIP box and a press area.
Few years ago, Mumbai fc was also started with same zeal. It clearly has lost the steam and currently their home games are taking place in Pune. Example of rise and fall of India’s first professional football club fc Kochi can also be studied. Bengaluru fc has to be very cautious if they want to run a long race. May their bold dreams come true.
The club is Bangalore based. It opened it’s operations barely 6 months before. It got direct entry into I League (unlike the 2nd division promotion route) and promised to fulfill the expectations of AIFF in response. JSW group are the owner and sponsor of the club.
Within 7 days of the birth, club made some eyebrow raising signings. Ashley Westwood, who has worked as an assistant coach of Blackburn Rovers, was signed as a manager cum coach of the club. To give the club a pan Indian image, two good young Indian strickers (both from Delhi) were signed. Robin Singh is enjoying the weather of this southern city and Sunil Chetri has already scored 8 goals. In the forward line, they have their Rooney- ‘Sean Rooney’ who is following Chetri in goal race in I League. Young Salgaocar purchase Pawan Kumar is a regular under the bar.
When Westwood came to India, he knew that he has a tough job at hand. He walked extra mile and distributed pamphlets in shopping malls for the popularity of the club. To attract the youth, collages were approached and a few hoarding- ads did real work. It created a brand image and increased the awareness level of the people of the city about the club.
Club wears jersey with a crest which resembles Bangalore Palace. It is a sign of victory when native Wodeyars dynasty took back the palace from English troops. Picture of blue Gandaberunda, a mythical two headed bird with magical powers, is embedded in the middle of the crest. Incidentally, it was the symbol on the coat of arm of Karnataka state and presently is the symbol of state. It all gave public a sense of belongingness.
Club uses all sorts of social media tools to be in touch with the fans. 8000 strong crowd can often be seen during club’s home matches. Club has not disappointed them either and has won all I league games at home, except one. They are running for title in I League as well.
Soccer is growing exponentially in the country. CEO of Bengaluru fc Mustafa Ghouse shares the same views. He admits that soccer scene in the country is very positive. There are many football lovers who have been to Europe for long period of time. Others follow European Leagues and desires for the same soccer culture here in India.
The club also tied with a local pub to give the loyalist a feeling of enjoyment while watching soccer. It is the official pub of the club. Here matches of the club are shown on giant screen and loyalists cheer whole heartedly for them.
Club owns and maintains a stadium named ‘Bangalore football stadium’ in the heart of the city. It can accommodate a crowd of 15000. In addition to it, it has a VIP box and a press area.
Few years ago, Mumbai fc was also started with same zeal. It clearly has lost the steam and currently their home games are taking place in Pune. Example of rise and fall of India’s first professional football club fc Kochi can also be studied. Bengaluru fc has to be very cautious if they want to run a long race. May their bold dreams come true.
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