Mumbai City has become the eighth club under the umbrella of the City Football Group (CFG) which already owns seven other clubs in various part of the world.
After acquiring 65% of the Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City Fc’s share, City Football Group (CFG) CEO said that they are not here to import anything but unlash the footballing power of India.
“As I said we are not here to import anything. We are here to help unleash the power of Indian football. Maybe you don’t realise how much power is already there. There are good players and coaches and we will help them,” CFG CEO Ferran Soriano was quoted as saying by Goal.com.
He also added that there’s no difference between Indian and the European fans and sooner or later India will evolve as a major powerhouse in football in the upcoming years.
Advertisement
“There is a passion, there is talent. The fans that watch the game understand the game. They behave like fans from Europe. There is no doubt that India is going to be a football nation. The only question is if it is going to take 10 or five years,” Soriano added.
The CFG, which also owns English Premier League champions Manchester City, already had a total of seven clubs around the world under their name.
Mumbai City has become the eighth club under the umbrella of CFG which already shelters US club New York City FC, Australian side Melbourne City, Uruguay’s Club Atletico Torque and Chinese team Sichuan Jiuniu alongside English champions Manchester City.
The multi-billion-dollar sports franchise also holds a stake in Spain’s Girona and Japanese club Yokohama F Marinos. After the deal with Mumbai. a Daily Mail report suggests that the group will be looking to acquire business in Brazil and Mexico as well.
The official announcement of the tie-up between Mumbai City FC and CFG was made on Thursday in the presence of Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) chairperson Nita Ambani and chairman of CFG Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
“I am super-thrilled for this day. All of us at the Mumbai City FC, the ambition is to make it the best football club in Asia and today I am thrilled to announce City Football Group’s association with Mumbai City Football Club,” one of the co-owners of Mumbai City FC Ranbir Kapoor said in a video message during the event.
Advertisement
