Manchester United Interest In Indian Top Job

Sameer Pabari, who is the media director of English Premier League champions, Manchester United, has applied for the post of I-League’s CEO and has made the cut. The Manchester United official had earlier spent seven years with management consulting firm, OC &C Strategy Consultancy between 1997 -2004, following which he joined the red side of Manchester.

Pabari had visited the financial capital of India last year when Manchester United had tied-up with Jump Games and held a press briefing at the famous Lower Parel sports bar.

The other foreign face to be included in the elite five is former Motherwell FC CEO, Ian Stillie, who served the club for 14 months until November last year. Amongst the Indians in the fray are All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Director of Competitions, Anil Kamat, former Mahindra United coach, Harish Rao and Sunando Dhar, who is the only person to be in the probables list of general secretary and I-League’s CEO.

English football champions Manchester United are to open their first cafe in the western Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) later this year

The venture is the first of several the club plans for Indian cities.

Leading English football clubs are now poised to aggressively target India, where they see a huge untapped marketing opportunity.

Last month, a soccer academy in nearby Pune was opened with the backing of Liverpool Football Club.

Video screens

Manchester United, English Premier League champions and last season's UEFA Champions League finalists, have never visited India.

But they are the most popular foreign football club in the country.

In recent years, the club has strengthened its ties with India. Earlier this year, the country's telecoms giant, Bharti Airtel, became the first Indian company to strike a sponsorship deal with the club.

Now Manchester United Food and Beverage, the club's hospitality arm, has announced it is rolling out upmarket bar restaurants in several Indian cities. Mumbai's famed nightlife makes it the obvious first choice.

The cafes will feature large video screens on the walls to screen matches, and booths selling players' shirts and club memorabilia.

In cricket-crazy India, where the game is followed like a religion, football is making rapid in-roads.

Former Man Utd players such as Christiano Ronaldo and David Beckham have proved more popular among the youth than local cricketing heroes.

Replica shirts of the clubs and famous footballers are becoming a common sight on India's streets.

Commercial interests

While football mania is mostly seen during World Cups, club competitions, such as the English Premier League, also have a significant following on television, with an estimated weekly TV audience of more than 50 million.

English clubs look at India's billion-plus population as a huge potential fan base with massive marketing opportunities.

Last month, the opening of a football academy backed by Liverpool, marked the latest chapter in the quest by Premier League teams to gain a foothold in India.

However, India's national coach, Englishman Bob Houghton, has often said that European clubs are more interested in promoting their commercial interests than helping the game grow in India.

Manchester United Planning To Set Up Cafes In India

Premier League and European giants Manchester United have chosen India as their next market to make investments, according to reports in the Indian media.

Manchester United have arguably the biggest fanbase among European clubs in India and are planning to set up cafe bars in the country.

It's been reported that Manchester United Food & Beverage Asia have done a survey of the Indian market and have selected a certain number of cities to set up casual dining outlets.

Man United cafes are already in operation in Singapore, Seoul and Jakarta and have been quite successful. United are a hugely followed club in Asia and are arguably the most popular in India.

Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Delhi are the cities said to be where Manchester United would set up their cafes. Such cafes usualy have a huge video wall playing matches of the club, contain club memorabilia and host promotion events related to the club.