Beginner's luck

The JSW-funded Bengaluru FC, which has begun spectacularly by winning the I-League and Federation Cup titles in its maiden attempts, struggles like all others

At a time when corporate biggies like JCT and Mahindra have disbanded their football clubs and the vanguard of Indian football, the big clubs of Kolkata, are struggling, one of the biggest stories in Indian sport in 2014 was the emergence of Bengaluru Football Club (BFC). The new team won the I-League in its debut season and followed it up by winning the Federation Cup two weeks ago.

BFC's birth came in the pre-Indian Super League years when it was hard to imagine corporate investment in a football team. Two years ago, steel and power magnate

Sajjan Jindal asked his son, Parth, if he knew any Indian football player. The 24-year-old Parth struggled to come up with more than five names. "My father said, 'You are always watching football on TV and yet you don't know the names of Indian footballers," he says, reflecting the views of perhaps most football fans in India. While football fans will rattle off the names on the rosters of clubs playing in the English Premier League and the other European leagues, domestic clubs hardly have any takers.

The story goes that in 2013, the All India Football Federation, or AIFF, the organisation that runs football in India, was looking for a "corporate team" and AIFF President Praful Patel asked Jindal if he would like to invest in one. Of course, the Indian Super League has changed the picture now, but football, even till a couple of years ago, wasn't a hot proposition in India. However, after much deliberation, JSW decided to go ahead and form a team and base it in Bengaluru as it was closest to the group's business operations in Karnataka. "We had only two months to get everything sorted out and it was a challenge," recalls Jindal.

Mustafa Ghouse, a former Davis Cupper for India who was with JSW Sport, was roped in to help look after BFC. Mandar Tamhane, a former national football coach, also came on board as a consultant. The two recruited former Manchester United youth player Ashley Westwood as the head coach. It was an inspired decision. As Sunil Chhetri, Indian national team captain who also leads BFC, says, "For me, getting Westwood was the key." When Westwood took over, he had little idea of what he was getting into but soon changed the way football clubs operated in India. Jindal recalls having a conversation with Chhetri two months into the new season in which the striker told him that it was a pleasant surprise to find players being paid on time and being made to feel they were important cogs of a club.

The team after winning its maiden Federation Cup title

Westwood ensured that all the players lived together in an apartment block in the city. BFC hired Shyamal Vallabhji, a South African fitness specialist, who changed the day-to-day routine of players: what they ate was monitored, a heart-rate device was used for every player during training sessions, training became compulsory, and players were fined for coming late. Westwood also introduced British club-like discipline at BFC. "It [playing] is a full-time job and not something that you do for two-three hours a day," he was quoted as saying in an interview with The Guardian in May 2014.

For a new team, the awareness factor was a big concern. "Our biggest fear before the first game was that we wouldn't be able to draw more than a handful of people," says Ghouse, now the chief operating officer of the club. Social media played a big role in creating awareness about the new club, as did reports in newspapers. Then BFC tied up with schools and colleges - it didn't require much investment to hold coaching clinics in schools, and youngsters liked the idea. "We also tied up with a local pub for it to become our 'home pub'," says Ghouse. "We did the same with Cafe Coffee Day and sold tickets at its outlets so that people didn't have to struggle to get their hands on tickets." The club has now moved into its new home at Kanteerva Stadium, which has a capacity of 20,000, and expects to see more than 60 per cent tickets sold for most games. "Last year we made zilch from gate receipts," says Jindal. "This year though, if we sell out most games, we might just end up making some money."

Off the pitch, things haven't been all rosy for BFC. Every I-League club bleeds dry, rues Jindal, and it's not an easy task keeping the club afloat. "It costs us Rs 12-15 crore annually to run the club and there's literally no return on investment as of now." Globally, football clubs survive on three main revenue streams: TV rights, sponsorships and gate receipts. All three are non-existent in India. Ten Sports is the official broadcaster of the I-League, but it hardly markets the property. It could learn from Star Sports, which marketed the Indian Super League with aplomb. Sponsors stay away from football as there's no TV viewership and fans don't gather at stadiums in large numbers either.

Parth, who is studying business management at Harvard University, is in India for a short break. He is aware of the challenges that BFC faces, but remains optimistic. "I am hoping the I-League will get a broader viewership base in the next two years." He says that the club's fan base, which has increased tremendously in the last six months, gives him immense hope.

I-League clubs don't normally attract fans to the stands, but BFC, along with Goan clubs like Dempo, is an exception.

The cheapest ticket at BFC costs just Rs 30 when the average price everywhere else is Rs 400. A BFC van goes around the town days before a game selling tickets. Every fan irrespective of where he is sitting in the stadium gets a match-day programme - all UK clubs hand their fans such a sheet - along with an experience that matches the Indian Premier League jamboree, including a DJ in the stands and a half-time entertainment show. "It helps that the team has been doing exceptionally well," says Jindal. Arthur Papas, coach of Dempo FC, said last year after a game against BFC that their rivals had more fans in that away game than the home team could muster.

Both Jindal and Ghouse feel that the first year was like a fairytale for BFC and the real challenge begins now. "We have qualified for the Asian Champions League and we will see how we fare against really tough opposition," says Ghouse. Jindal says that if in the next five years, BFC players form half of India's national team, he would think they had done a decent job.

Making money from BFC, however, isn't on the agenda as of now - though it is kind of forced, says Jindal with a laugh. "We have had long talks with AIFF on having a better revenue model but somehow it hasn't happened till now," says Jindal. "We are willing to take a hit on the investment as long as we are doing something good for Indian football," he adds.

BFC has Puma as the kit sponsor and the parent company, JSW, as shirt sponsor. Apart from that, Jindal says it's a tough task convincing people to invest money in a domestic football club. "They ask us, 'Where is the viewership? Who is watching this?' I am confident though that in the next two years, things will change for the better," he says.