Mumbai, City Football Group and the prospects
City Football Group, currently the world’s largest and the most famous football sports group, owns 65% of Mumbai City FC, Mumbai’s very own Football Club. We know that, but what does it actually mean?
Financial Strength:
City Football Group, having a high financial muscle to their vocabulary, can easily utilise the football craze in Maharashtra.
The recent Santosh Trophy match between West Bengal and Maharastra in Kolhapur fetched a huge audience, a rarity for ISL in even Kolkata, the Mecca of Indian Football.
Given Mumbai City FC’s on-field success, and the football crazy audience in Kolhapur, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Mumbai City FC, either on it’s own or in partnership with the state’s football association, establish a connection with the people of Kolhapur.
With Viacom18 all set to take over the ISL Broadcasting Rights, ISL Franchises are looking towards profitability, given that the same group have recently shelled our enormous amounts for Men’s IPL Digital Rights and TV & Digital rights for the Women’s Premier League.
The time is ripe to connect with the state’s football audience.
Infrastructure in Mumbai
Mumbai is already gearing up for it’s own Football Stadium & Training Facilities. With Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC focusing on Academy development and infrastructure, Mumbai City FC might well on course be on the list.
City Football Group has Academies in Manchester, New York & Melbourne. While they also own the Etihad Stadium and are planning a stadium for New York City FC, Mumbai City FC, despite sold-out home matches, are unable to accommodate people due to limited seating capacity of the Mumbai Football Arena. Matchday revenue in a heavily populated city like Mumbai might form as the primary source of revenue, and CFG’s India head might be looking to capitalize on the same.
Talent Scouting:
One of the most prominent features of the CFG network is Talent Scouting, and while Mumbai City FC is yet to unearth proper talents owing to an entry-level grassroots program, the expertise by CFG across various clubs might form as a leading edge for Mumbai City FC to have talented playmakers, both fot their team and the Indian National Football Team.
