India, with its rising population is a country where nearly 50% of the population are below the age of 25 and more than 60% are below the age of 25 which clearly indicates a rising vibrant population in the days to come. At present almost 350 million Indians are under 15 years of age which provides adequate prospects for growth and development of various sectors. Football is the second most popular sport in the country. With the taking place of the Indian Super League (ISL), the youth of the country on a broader context started developing a genuine interest about Indian Football. Reliance Foundation one of the largest business conglomerates of the country initiated their investments in football since then and it kept on changing tracks both at premiere and grassroots level. According to TAM viewership data during the FIFA World Cup 2010, a whopping 20 Million viewers watched the global football tournament in India, which was a 35% rise from FIFA World Cup viewership in 2006. You...
FIFA’s Director of Marketing Division, Thierry Weil, believes India is a “sleeping giant” for the growth of football, and that the country is also an important emerging market for the sport commercially. Weil is on an India visit to meet with prospective commercial partners as the country is gearing up to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup next year. Research indicates that the commercial power is now shifting to Asia, and India and China are the key powerhouses…India is a sleeping giant for football. The Indian companies already understand that football is growing very fast in India. But there is a difference between china and ISL, while china is attracting big names at their prime stages of 24-25years, ISL pulled of players who were at the later stages of their career. Even in EPL during 1990’s small steps were taken which are giving fruits today. Football is a business, that’s the way you have to look at it. From football club to others, everyone wants to make money. Th...