NDTV VIDEO: Sunil Chhetri - My dream has come true

After the press conference yesterday evening Sunil Chhetri along with his agent Yogesh Joshee and Ashok Rajgopal from Football One visited the NDTV studios in New Delhi, where Sunil Chhetri described his going to Portugal to play as being in a different league altogether. Chhetri noted that joining Sporting Lisbon would be much more of an achievement than he had managed till now.

Indian Football Captain Sunil Chhetri joins Sporting Clube de Portugal!

In the biggest-ever transfer of an Indian footballer our national football team captain, Sunil Chhetri will be joining Sporting Clube de Portugal (also known as Sporting Lisbon and Sporting CP) this season. Football One, the football arm of new Wizcraft International Entertainment venture Sports One, will facilitate the transfer, giving Sunil Chhetri the opportunity to play in the Portuguese SuperLiga.

Sporting Clube de Portugal has partnered with Football One with the objective to develop football in the Indian market and help develop Indian football talent.

Sporting Club de Portugal is one of the top three clubs in Portugal besides FC Porto and Benfica Lisbon. With football players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Luis Figo among others who have come out of the clubs football academy, it is considered as one of top academies in the world today.

Luiz Godinho Lopes, Sporting Clube de Portugal president, said, "We are keen to support the development of football in India. We along with our partners Football One, are looking at ways in which we can leverage the technical knowledge and coaching expertise that resides within the club to support Indian football. We will align our efforts with that of AIFF and the vision of its President, to raise the level of the game here in India. We are here for the long term and our signing on Sunil Chhetri is the first of our initiatives."

Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri said, "It is a real pleasure for me and an exciting moment in my career to join a European giant like Sporting Lisbon. I have dreamt of this day and always believed that my time will come. It is now a reality. Sporting Lisbon, my agent Yogesh Joshee from Matchworld and Football One has made it possible for me and I will make it count for India. Thank you so much."

Ashok Rajgopal, Football One CEO, said, "Football One is partnering with Sporting Club de Portugal to support the development of football in India. Our first initiative in this partnership is to facilitate the movement of Sunil Chhetri to play at Sporting Clube de Portugal for the coming season. We are excited to have the Indian football captain playing for one of the top clubs in Portugal, one that has produced some of the top players in international football today."

Football is rapidly gaining interest in India and alongside the professionalism on field there is also a growing need for sports management to effectively administer sports programs, events and sporting associations. Football One will leverage on its network and skills to combine football and entertainment to create and support initiatives that will help popularize the game in India.


About Football One

Football One is a part of Sports One, which is brought together by a group that is passionate about sports. The initiative is promoted by the co-founders and directors of Wizcraft International Entertainment - Andre Timmins, Viraf Sarkari and Sabbas Joseph along with Ashok Rajgopal, former partner with Ernst & Young's media and sports consulting practice.

Sports One works in the areas of sports activation and sports marketing, it marks a confluence between entertainment and sport. The company seeks to establish a holistic 360 degree approach to sports marketing, brand activation, management of sports properties and lending its support to the ever growing sports industry in India. It will also work as a medium to promote Indian talent on an international platform as well as develop the quality of sports in India.

Opinion on Indian Football: Ashok Rajgopal (Football One)

At the Soccerex European Forum last week in Manchester Indian football was well represented with over 20 people there from federations, the government, institutions, agencies and clubs. I spoke to some of these people to get their views on Indian football and will run a series across the week with these very interesting different view points.

I continue the series with the views of Ashok Rajgopal (Football One, CEO), who comes out of the financial sector with years of experience.


Where do we stand with Indian football today?

I think we are at a point of inflection! You know when we did the Formula 1 in India it was very successful and some of the comments from the F1 guys who came from outside the country actually made the point that if you have to look at the organisation of Commonwealth Games and then Formula 1. The reason for its (F1) grand success was the fact that it was a private sector organised sporting event.

And I believe that its gonna be the (Indian) economic growth itself will get the private sector more involved (in sports) rather then the government. I think that that is one of the big paradime shifts that you need in football. The lesser reliance and dependance on the government and the administration, the private sector is allowed to play its part a little more freely, I think you will see the impact.

If you look at infrastructure in connection with the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup bid then you look at the levels of sophistication, the private sector is better equipped. But if you look at the Commonwealth Games they (the government) have actually created stadiums which are pretty good but then you have issues like maintanaince and bureaucracy that kind of surrounds it. Where as you gave it away to the private sector they would figure out not only how to maintain it but also figure out how to make money out of it.