Marketing of MESSI MOMENT

The recent Messi mania did display that there was a huge market to be tapped for the benefit of Indian soccer, but will this really kick off football tourism in the country? M.S. Unnikrishnan 
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Lionel Messi mesmerised over 86,000 fans at the behemoth Salt Lake stadium with his magical soccer wizardry to emphasise the fact that fans are willing to shell out big bucks to watch a quality game. The Argentina versus Venezuela friendly match, sanctioned by the International Football Federation (FIFA), generated huge enthusiasm from spectators around the country, and the sports-crazy people of Kolkata made it an event to remember and cherish.

Football in India will have a brighter future only if young talent is nurtured at the grassroots level Photos: AFP

There was Messi mania everywhere, and the stands were packed with fans sporting the Argentina team colours. From the organisational and marketing point of view, the match was a huge success. There were also many firsts in the contest. Messi was making his debut as the Argentine captain, it was also baptism by fire for the new coach Alejandro Sabella, who replaced Sergio Batista following Argentina’s dismal show in the Copa America a couple of months ago.

Venezuela, the usual whipping boys of Latin American football, showed that they were not mere doormats anymore, with a semi-final finish in the Copa America, and the 0-1 defeat to Argentina did not much dent their recent reinvented image. And for Argentina, the match was also their first shot at their preparation for the World Cup, to be held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), three years from now.

Now that the dust has settled down at the Salt Lake stadium, it is time to take stock of the pluses and minuses of the match vis-`E0-vis Indian soccer. On a conservative estimate, the match cost upward of Rs 14-15 crore. The Bengal Government alone spent around Rs 11 crore to renovate the`A0Salt Lake stadium. And to the horror of soccer fans, the fine grass turf was replaced by an artificial turf. Both Argentina and Venezuela players found it tough to play on the synthetic surface, and the referee had to briefly halt the match for the players to recover their breath!

From the marketing point of view, the Messi event was a roaring success

Indian football players rarely attracted sponsorship till the debonair Baichung Bhutia emerged as a saleable brand

There are no synthetic turfs in Argentina or Venezuela, and it was trying for the players to adjust on the synthetic grass with erratic bounce and heavy movement. Why the people in charge of the renovation work at Salt Lake decided to replace the natural grass with synthetic ones is a mystery, and a retrograde step. And it’s certainly not going to benefit India, currently stagnating at the 153rd`A0position in FIFA ranking, in lifting their soccer profile.

For,`A0in India, neither there are adequate grass turfs for football, nor do the players have any experience of playing on synthetic grass!

If the idea of holding the match was to give a shot in the arm to Indian football, the purpose has not been entirely successful.

And in all this Messi mania, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was a mere`A0fringe player, as the match was organised and marketed by the Celebrity Management Group (CMG). The only solid gain the match seems to have gained for the hosts is that it was supervised by Indian officials, India-made Nivia balls were used for the contest, and it was beamed live to 157 countries. Also, a two-member FIFA Technical Committee team inspected the Pailan World School with the intention of providing technical expertise for an elite academy. (The Pailan Group had recently taken over the Indian Arrows I-League team, floated by the AIFF).

Thierry Regenass, director, member associations and development vision,`A0and Jean-Michel Benezet, technical director, were impressed with the facilities at the Pailan academy.

Kolkata is not new to such high-profile matches. In 1979, the legendary Pele-led American team Cosmos played at the Eden Gardens to a rapturous welcome. But after the euphoria of the match had waned, nothing happened to Indian football. The Messi mania, too, is set to peter out in a whimper if past experience, and the AIFF’s ineptness, are taken as the benchmark.

But the match did display that`A0there was a huge market out there to be exploited for the benefit of Indian football. The first thing the AIFF should act upon is to nurture talent at the grassroots level. For that, academies should be set up, workable infrastructure created, and the players exposed to regular playing experience against quality teams.

"`C4rgentina and Venezuela playing against each other in India is not going to benefit our players much", remarked a veteran player.

"We need to stress on the Youth Development Programme. The clubs can never escape that responsibility. Clubs around the world have their own grassroots programme. The Indian clubs need to take a leaf out of their book", observed former Indian captain Baichung Bhutia, who recently announced his retirement from international football.

Sadly, most I-League clubs do not have their own grounds, barring the top Kolkata teams. And very few clubs have their own youth development programme, with the exception of Pune FC, Salgaocar, Vasco, Tata Football Academy, the Sesa Academy and the Mohun Bagan-SAIL Academy.

That, in recent months, India lost the World Cup qualifiers to the United Arab Emirates on an aggregate score of 5-2, and the Olympic qualifiers on aggregate tally of 4-2 to Qatar, show where Indian football stands at present.

If watching top players on Indian soil could have taken the game to a different level, India should have been in the top bracket of the game by now, as the Nehru Gold Cup International Football Tournament had brought many top World Cup players to India.

But the AIFF has failed to market the game or beef up its coffers, despite getting many chances. That the I-League did not have a broadcast partner last year showed the AIFF in dismal light. When the I-League was launched, giants like Phillips and Coca-Cola came forward to sponsor it. But the AIFF did nothing to market the game or promote the sponsoring the brands. As a result, the sponsors pulled out from the subsequent editions. Later, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), one of the Navratna Companies of India, was roped in for sponsoring by former president Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, using his clout as a powerful Union Minister, but the ONGC was like a milch cow, which, too, pulled out after the federation squeezed it dry, without providing anything in return, mileage-wise.

The business of football, as it exists now in the country, is such a losing`A0proposition that a big business group like the Thapars decided to disband their famous club, JCT, after being in existence for 40 years.

But some AIFF officials see a silver lining, as they feel that the`A0Argentina-Venezuela match would give a great fillip to the game in the country. AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta feels that this match will kick off "football tourism" in India.

"Football tourism is till unheard of. This match will kick off such a venture, which will bring many foreign tourists to India", he maintained.

"This match will give an extra fillip to Indian football. Budding players will be motivated and encouraged to take football as their career", AIFF secretary-general Kushal Das added.

Stars, soccer & sponsors The Ambanis reportedly emerged as key bidders for English Premier League club Chelsea Photo: PTI Salman Khan was appointed the brand ambassador of Indian football two years ago, but he pulled out later Hindi film icon Salman Khan was appointed the brand ambassador of Indian football with much fanfare at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi two years ago, after India lifted the Nehru Cup for the second consecutive time, defeating Syria again. Thereafter, little was heard about Salman’s contribution to the development or the promotion of the game in the country. When last heard,`A0Salman had pulled out as the brand ambassador. A few years ago, Mithun Chakraborty, too, was keen to promote the game, but nothing seemed to have happened on this front, either. Not many high-profile people want to get associated with football, as the game is still a poor man’s — or the middle class’ — pastime. Since footballers come from a humble background, they are not easily taken in as buddies by the biggies, the way the cricket stars are. Football is still`A0a lesser man’s sport in India, despite the Messi mania witnessed recently. While big business houses like the Ambanis of Reliance and Subroto Roy of the Sahara Group have lapped up IPL T20 teams at astronomical sums, and films stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty et al have`A0invested heavily for becoming`A0IPL franchisees (or are they mere fronts for unknown investors?), they have done little for football. There were also reports of`A0Mukesh Ambani and Subroto Roy emerging as key bidders`A0to acquire`A0English Premier League`A0club Chelsea. There have been big announcements for the sponsorship`A0of Indian football, time and again. But in virtual terms, very little has come to the coffers of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). A few months ago, the AIFF had signed a deal worth 47.5 million with Japanese electronic giants Panasonic, for the sponsorship of the Indian team’s jersey. But the deal had a rider, as Panasonic wanted the Indian team to play at least a`A0minimum of six international friendly matches abroad. And the AIFF has been struggling to meet this simple`A0requirement.`A0Indian football players`A0rarely attracted sponsorship till the debonair Baichung Bhutia came on the scene. Bhutia hailed from the North-East, could speak English, and carried himself well for the sponsors to make him a saleable brand, as he had a niche constituency of supporters. But the federation and the team management created many a`A0hurdle to discourage him from becoming high profile. Also, I. M.Vijayan was the most talented player to come out of the Indian football stable in`A0 recent years, but his humble background kept him grounded, though he has acted in a couple of Malayalam movies with much acclaim. Zee TV had entered into very lucrative telecasting arrangements with the AIFF, but eventually it fell through as the AIFF failed to market the game to attract the eyeballs of television viewers. The IMG-RIL combo had agreed to sponsor a 16-member Under-15 team of India, but nothing much seems to have moved on this front. A few weeks ago, representatives of English club Liverpool announced in Delhi that they would launch a “world class centre” in Delhi/NCR (National Capital Region) by October this year. If this venture takes off successfully, they have promised to open similar centres in Mumbai, Goa, North-East and the South. With England international and Liverpool legend Steve McMahon as the head, the academy will be set up at the sprawling complex of the Genesis Global School in Noida. “The academy is aimed at not only providing world-class training but also getting today’s children to get off the chaise longue and introduce them to some fantastic exercise, encouraging them to lead healthy and active lifestyles”, McMahon had announced grandly in Delhi. These are all promises to be kept, and till they materialise, Indian soccer can live only on hope — of a better morrow. The International Football Federation (FIFA), through its Asian arm, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), has been asking the AIFF to revamp its soccer set-up at the state and national levels for it to implement its various promotional activities, but much of these promises have not fructified due to the inability and inaction of the AIFF, the clubs and the State Soccer Associations to act. — MU

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