Manchester City CEO: India have talent but need quality coaches

Following the addition of La Liga side Girona to their stable, the emerging City Football Group are now expected to buy a club in China soon. They already have a bunch of elite clubs under their umbrella like Manchester City, Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC, Australian A-League outfit Melbourne City FC, Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos and Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay. And recent developments show that the group is now eyeing a major takeover in India as well. After the massive success of U-17 World Cup that saw large turnouts across the country, India have definitely put themselves on the world football map. 

Soriano, CEO of CFG, was given a tour of the JRD Tata Sports Complex Stadium by Jamshedpur FC manager Steve Coppell on Friday, who has previously managed Manchester City, and Sunil Bhaskaran, a vice president at Tata Steel and chairman of the Tata Football Academy.

“This is spectacular. Atmosphere is great and we saw some very good football. I am very impressed. I think this is a land of opportunity. There is enough evidence that India has talent and they can be coached to get to the top. For Indian talent to grow, coaching is very important. You need good coaches to come to India who can also coach other coaches here,” said Soriano.

The former Economy Vice President of Barcelona was all praise for the stronghold that CFG has created all over the world in their aim to maximize commercial avenues and develop football. The plan is likely to involve more than one club per continent.

“We think India is a major opportunity for football because there is talent and passion and we are very positive about the development of football in the country. That’s why we are here. We want to watch some ISL games, meet people and want to see players,” Soriano added.

Apart from the above-mentioned takeovers, the CFG also have partnerships with the likes of NAC Breda, and Atletico Venezuela in Holland and Venezuela respectively and along with another partnership with an academy in Ghana. Countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and South Africa are also on the radar of the group.