I-League side Chennai City FC ropes in Swiss club FC Basel as partner by selling 26% share

I-League leaders Chennai City FC Wednesday signed a deal with Swiss champions FC Basel, which has nurtured current Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, to sell 26 per cent of its share, becoming the first Indian side to do so with a foreign club.

Established in 1893, FC Basel has been Swiss national champions 20 times and have qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League more times than any other club of Switzerland. They made it to the Round of 16 in 2017-18 of the top-flight European club competition.

Both Chennai FC co-owner Rohit Ramesh and FC Basel President Bernhard Burgener refused to divulge the financial aspect of the deal but said the partnership will focus on co-operation for setting up of, among other things, a residential Youth Academy in Coimbatore and rolling out of football schools across Tamil Nadu in Phase-1.

"We ventured to make this move, so that our fans get a world class football club. Key parts of the deal entail transfer of knowledge in all departments including sporting, infrastructure and legal areas to support CCFC to make it sustainable," Rohit told a press conference after signing the deal.

"What else we want from a top European football club with such a rich heritage and record of producing world class players."
"At Coimbatore, the costs cuts down to half and since the city is in the middle of Tamil Nadu, it's convenient to reach out to fans of Tamil Nadu."
"We want to make the academy (at Coimbatore) a world class facility and produce coaches of high calibre. Our academy in FC Basel can help in doping that."
Asked why he chose an Indian club instead of one in China, he said, "In China, most of the academies have government control. It is not so in India."
All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das said:"This (26 per cent share) deal with a legacy club of Switzerland to provide capital and technical know-how is to mind the first ever in Indian football. I will all the success to both the clubs."