Last year, Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore stated that social media was one of the barriers to retain youth interest in football but that is the way forward for many an established Premier League entity

Manchester City had wished its Indian fans a happy Republic Day last year. There is some kind of intrigue in an England based club which is majorly owned by a Sheikh acknowledging a date marking the sovereignty of Indians from their British colonial rulers. There is a multiculturalism at work here which is pointedly incentive based. The club will do what it can to follow the money.

Global entities

City realises that even in an age of Brexit and Trump, looking inwards will not help fill its coffers. Manchester City’s big transition is not just about moving its stadium from Maine Road to the Etihad Stadium, but about taking up as many fans as it can from across the world.

The cash-rich Manchester club also recognises the reality that the revenue it gets from the people who throng its stadium in Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches will be a minute factor compared to the merchandise earnings and the wallets of fans who can come see it as a part of its summer tours which often span multiple continents. Asia and North America have become obligatory visits for almost every travelling Premier League club in summer.

And there is another aspect here as well, Qatar may be hosting the 2022 World Cup but India is still running the social media circuits

The fact that the Middle Eastern country will be host to a FIFA World Cup does not make it a footballing nation, let alone a powerhouse in the sport. India is considerably far away from being a contender in the beautiful game but it does bear home to millions of people who follow the Premier League and its soap opera level of twists and turns.

How India rules the PL’s social media circuits

The team which came first last season is currently mired in a relegation dogfight and the team which came 10th last year is now sailing high with a nine point lead over its competitors. The fans who go beyond the upper middle class may not watch the Premier League through official forms of broadcasting. The default high definition versions are grudgingly being accepted now but pirated forms of streaming channels are still in vogue which can be a dent in the finances of the clubs. But the billion pound (note, not euro) television deals that the Premier League has in place with the likes of Sky and British Telecom should make up for that. The other sources of income will be via social media advertisements.

The advertisements these days take place in the form of connections that the clubs want to draw with the Indian fan who find a connection with the sporting heritage of the English. Cricket has been subsumed by the Indians to the point that the English regularly hop in bed with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to partake in its riches in spite of its sullied reputation. Football is the next great opportunity for widening their moolah.

How would you feel when you see Sourav Ganguly visiting Stamford Bridge, being featured as a part of Stamford Bridge’s official Facebook page? How would you feel when the likes of Tottenham Hotspur wish the students of the ICSE and ISC boards good luck?

There will be some which will shake their head at the cynical appropriation of Indian icons and events, but there will be many who feel a soft urge to prick up their chests at being acknowledged by such multi-million entities. They may not pay to watch matches live on TV or be able to go regularly to see matches live at English grounds yet (there have been talks raised of hosting Premier League matches in Asia in the near future) but they will pay through other ways.

We have come a long way from the time when the only form of Indian fandom in English football would be that ubiquitous Sikh gentleman sitting near the playing ground of Old Trafford. Trafford may be old but everything else around it has changed.