Too much money spent, too few avenues of generating revenue,exhausting schedules, lack of financial backing by the All India FootballFederation (AIFF) are just some of the reasons why Indian Clubs are not too happywith their financial situation. With no merchandise sales, gate revenues,television rights and meagre financial rewards for fielding a squad under themarquee brand of the AIFF, the I-League, has left most Indian clubs teeteringon the brink of non-existence.
Whilst each I-League club spends upwards of Rs 2 crores aseason, some even up to Rs 10 crores, the prize money for winning the I-Leagueis a puny Rs 70 lakhs. So each club incurs a heavy loss each year, with noother source of income. The family run clubs, business tycoons, largeconsortium’s and the likes that fund an I-League club continue to sustain theselosses. The situation is so grim that teams like Mahindra United and JCT havehad to shut shop due to major sustainability issues.
Any club in a footballing advanced nation, be it in the toptier or a 3rd-4th Division club has access to world-class infrastructure. Theyhave mechanisms to endorse the brand with TV rights, gate sales and extensivemerchandise penetration amongst its faithful. They are also supported by theNational Football Body. The club reaches out to its supporters throughface-to-face interactions and online media which ensure that they have asustainable revenue model in place on the backing of their loyal fan-base. All thesemeasures ensure that all their games are played in front of a packed house.
There are few Indian clubs like Pune FC and Shillong Lajongthat reach out to spectators to ensure that they do come attend games and buythe club’s merchandise. They reach out extensively to the fan base with onlinemedia and have their own TV channel for the benefit of the fans. But most clubsdo not have the expertise or the will to exercise such measures and still runclubs in a pre-historic manner. Other than the Mohun Bagan - East Bengal gamethat attracts up to 80,000 fans on a game day to the stadium, this can be aslow as 50 people for smaller known teams.
To ensure the Indian clubs turn profitable, they have towork extra hard to get more people to the stadium and turn them into loyalsupporters. A club is what the fans make it and an increasing headcount,attracts more investors. The clubs have to give fans an access to its playerswith interactive sessions, gate sales to training sessions at a nominal fee,have an online mechanism to interact with the fans, run contests withattractive prizes and encourage them to indulge in the club’s merchandise.
India has a large population that watches football; just notIndian football. If the clubs do their homework and go out to the society andtarget these people in the right way, it won’t be long before we see Indianclubs play in front of packed stadia. The growth of a club lies in itssupporters. We could even see Indian clubs on par with the best clubs of Asia.
It is the combined responsibility of the AIFF, the clubs andthe fans to take the necessary measures and ensure that the buck doesn’t stophere. With the right steps taken, we can ensure that the Indian footballingJuggernaut, however insignificant it may seem at the moment, keeps moving inthe right direction.
