Manchester United, India and the English Premier League
When David Gill was asked whether Manchester United planned to go to India for a preseason tour in the future, he told us what we already knew:
That the market in India was huge, that they’d had offers to come play there, that Manchester United needed to conquer that final frontier before any other football club did and that there was a very good chance that a Premier League club would go play in India in the next few years.
East Asia, North America, the Middle East and Africa have already been conquered. South America doesn’t have the same sort of financial stake as North America and the Middle East, nor the available support for European teams like East Asia, nor the socio-political significance of Africa. A combination of distance and lack of numbers rules out Australia.
The next big target for the English Premier League is India: a billion-plus population, a growing economy and a country that is flush with the economical success of the IPL. Where sports are concerned, India knows as well as those in England or the US about the value of a TV audience, and their strength in numbers allows them to present a very attractive proposition to any club or league thinking of playing a friendly or two in the region.
So far teams have stayed away because there isn’t as much money in going to India as there is in going to, say, Hong Kong. This is likely to change in the future; once the balance of power shifts in India’s favor you’ll see a Premier League team visiting the region every summer (and if the people in charge of football are as business-savvy as those for cricket, you’ll see several clubs from Europe playing a preseason tournament in India every season).
As potential destinations for pre-season profiteering preparations increase, we might even see clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool send out two teams each preseason (maybe not at the same time) and make the most of their squad depth and the opportunities to create closer ties with international communities.
When do you think the first English Premier League club will play a friendly in India? Let us know in the comments.
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Discussion - 19 Responses
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I hope ManUtd cross that border and come to my country, Pakistan.
comment removed by moderator - off-topic and offensive to other readers.
Great … they never think of doing so for the first 22 years of my life. Now that I come to the US, United think of visiting India … absolutely bollocks !
I think it’s a much harder nut to crack than some other countries. I have worked with a number of Indians and cricket completely dominates sport there. There is little interest in football and big problems with infrastructure, organisation etc.
I’m sure the time will come but it may be a few years yet.
Surely Chelsea will be the first team to go…..Cowboys v Indians anbd all that!!
Great….red devils have a huge following here……cant wait 2 see my country painted red……don”t bother BD chelsea can’t attract full houses down at the bridge let alone india
BD Condell’s view about football and its popularity in India is a bit skewed. There is a huge support for football especially the European leagues, it is an irony that a football supporter in India might not know the names of players in Indian National team . This buzz is created because, when Oliver Kahn visited india for his match a whopping 1,20,000 thronged in to the stadium. In different pockets, there is quite a huge following for football in India. It will defenitely take some time for football to grow as what cricket is now in India, but there is a 30% growth that is registered in Indian football.
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There is huge support for football in India. But there is also a huge following for cricket that has deep historical roots as well. The 1998, 2002 & 2006 World Cups were huge events for the urban youth in the sub-continent. But then the support dives back into the underground because of the lack of coverage for club football. That’s changed in the last few years where you can get every major European League being covered by ESPN, Star Sports etc. Last year when i was home i was watching a friggin Dutch League match between Feyenoord & some piss-ant team who’s name i can’t remember.
English football is arriving in India, its just taking its own sweet time getting there.
Wish Arsenal were as interested
Indians are interested in football as well. Its just that cricket has eclipsed everything else. But I can say that the Indian youth are beginning to get bored of cricket. IPL was a success but my college hostel TV rooms were deserted during IPL but was always houseful during EPL, UCL matches and during Euro’s. But with the infrastructure and grounds we’ve got I wonder if some big club would play their pre-season matches in India anytime soon. Stadiums like Salt Lake(the 2nd largest football stadium in the world) are there but then the ground condition must improve to European standards. I-League is not interesting when you have EPL and LaLiga unless the remote is out of reach.
@Ashwin:
Don’t worry. India will never be painted red. Agree that there’s a huge following.
Well i for one hope man utd come to india sooner rather than later coz We have about 12 million united supporters in india plus there is a social networking blog called orkut which is famous only in india and brazil but i have about four to five communities in the network itself each having around 35000 fans or so,I really believe we culd sell some merchandise here in india and probably change indian football as well
Indians are interested in football and it would be nice to see Man Utd come and play here. But lets hope they get more teams. By more teams, I not only mean Chelsea and Real Madrid, but Portsmouth and Getafe.
hey will someone help me post at the football triva hot topics area?
which team won the European Cup with only home grown players?
Celtic’s Lisbon Lions of 1967. All players were local lads and came through the youth system, if i remember correctly they were born within 30km.
Well..India’s Already painted red………..well the meagre chelsea n arsenal fans grown after they won the League…will be REDS sooner r later……..buy sorry guys………..not invited…….
In any case, Gill was never going to say something like “Oh no, we are not at all interested in visiting India.”
Someone in his position cannot afford to not say yes to these questions.
Man United aim to conquer India while Barcelona make a move on Uzbekistan. Big difference in the market
India is obviously a massive market and if Man U are the first to exploit this they certainly won’t be the last.
Mann they should really come to pakistan. People are crazy about the red devils here….
i hope manutd do come to india i am desperate to watch them play my lifelong dream being going to old trafford. There are many many manutd fans out here.