Skip to main content

ISL: 'Manchester City keen to help Indian football grow'

"The interesting and compelling part of our proposition and the nature of our group is we have gathered and collected a lot of expertise not only in terms of the football environment but also the business and operational side so we have lots of sources of information and expertise that we have accumulated over the last several years by operating teams in Major League Soccer (MLS), A-League, China.

"So the ability to accumulate all that knowledge and expertise and share it now with our colleagues and the business here is something that we are really excited to deliver," Damian Willoughby, who took over as CEO of City Football Group India, told IANS in an interview on his first day at office.

English Premier League champions Manchester City's parent company, CFG, on Thursday announced that they have bought a majority stake (65 %) in Mumbai City, making it the eighth club in their stable worldwide.

Other clubs in the CFG network include New York City in the US, Melbourne City FC in Australia, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay, Girona FC in Spain and Sichuan Jiuniu FC in China.

Asked about the agenda which will be on top of his list after assuming office, Willoughby said: "The agenda is to listen and learn and understand the football environment in India. Then we formulate a plan to grow the club, the league overall in the long run and Indian national team hopefully."

He said the onus is to do the right thing for the long term and not the quick thing, like they have done with other clubs under their umbrella.

"We have patient board. Their onus is to do the right thing and not the quick thing. It will probably take us several months to get up to speed with the league, the club and the football dynamic and market, the fan base. That I'm sure medium to long term we can make positive changes.

"We will spend a lot of time evaluating the opportunity. Once we have done that we will be able to share the plans and aspirations we have moving forward," he explained.

Mumbai City have never laid their hands on the coveted ISL trophy, with a semi-final finish being their best so far.

Willoughby, who is Senior Vice President of Partnerships at CFG, will now move to Mumbai with his family, previously looking after the global partnership business from Singapore. With 20 years of football management experience, he has been part of CFG for seven years.

"I am the CEO of the City Football Group in India. This is similar to other burgeoning football markets that we have entered into," he said explaining his role.

"I am really excited to develop not only Mumbai City FC but the ISL and ultimately Indian football also," he concluded.



via Sify.com https://ift.tt/34vepdv
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Phoenix' Dhoni may rise from the ashes one last time!

In mythology, the phoenix is a bird which can rise from the dead repeatedly. In the Harry Potter series, the phoenix Fawkes stays in the background but keeps saving the day again and again. “They (phoenixes) can carry immensely heavy loads,” said Albus Dumbledore in the film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Now that already sounds like our good ole MS Dhoni who just stepped down as ODI and international T20 captain. Dhoni took over captaincy of all formats of the game in 2008. He held on to them for a good six odd years till 2014. During that period, he excelled simultaneously at the following roles… 1. Captain (remaining as cool as a cucumber under immense pressure). 2. Wicket-keeper (ever alert, effecting dismissals unthinkable for an average keeper). 3. Batsman (always saving the team at the last moment and many a time ending the match with a clean six). Of the Test team, ODI team, international T20 team and even the Chennai Super Kings! Count all the matc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Virat Kohli and co. leave for West Indies

The Virat Kohli led Indian team left for the West Indies for the four-Test series starting July 21st. The team was accompanied by its newly appointed head coach Anil Kumble and other support staff. The 16-member squad will play a tour game against the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on July 9 and 10. The journey begins. #TeamIndia leaves for the tour of West Indies. #WIvIND http://pic.twitter.com/ebK1jkoFiN -BCCI (@BCCI) July 5, 2016 That will be followed by a three-day warm-up fixture at the same venue from July 14 to 16. The first Test match will be held at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua from July 21 to 25. The other three Test matches will be held at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica (Jul 30-Aug 3), Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia (Aug 9-13) and Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad (Aug 18-22). When India last toured West Indies in 2011, the visitors won the series 1-0....
Post a Comment
Read more

India withdraw Smith protest as boards make peace in DRS row

India have withdrawn an official protest about the actions of Australia captain Steve Smith in the second test as the governing bodies of both countries moved to bring an end to the acrimony surrounding the ongoing four-match series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier registered a complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Smith looking to the dressing room for guidance on whether to review an lbw decision during the Bengaluru match. Despite the hosts winning the test to level the series at 1-1 on Tuesday, India skipper Virat Kohli alleged the tourists had indulged in the practice throughout the match, sparking a war of words in the media and a robust response from Australia. The boards released a joint statement on Friday saying the chief executives of both bodies had met in Mumbai on Thursday and agreed to try and bring the focus "back to the game" ahead of next week's third test in Ranchi. "India has always cherished a c...
Post a Comment
Read more