In what is a first-of-its-kind deal, Chennai City FC announced on Wednesday that Switzerland’s FC Basel will acquire 26 per cent share in the I-League club to promote youth development.
Co-owners of Chennai City Rohit Ramesh and R Krishnakumar announced in New Delhi on Wednesday that the investment is for the development of a residential youth academy in Coimbatore, and subsequently rolling out football schools throughout the state.
“There have been deals between Indian football clubs and international football clubs in the past but this is very different,” Rohit Ramesh said. “We want to have a good equation between the two clubs and more professionalism. We just want to focus only on infrastructure.”
The details of the tie-up, including the amount invested by FC Basel, however, were not revealed by the two clubs. Chennai City are one of the front-runners to win the I-League title despite latest entrants Real Kashmir taking a slender lead in the points table.
FC Basel president Bernhard Burgener hailed the partnership between the two clubs, saying that they liked Chennai’s philosophy. “We are looking for youth development and we see real potential in the country,” Burgener said. “It is historic for FC Basel as well as we become strategical, supportive and financially active for the first time in Asia.”
Basel has honed some of top footballers in the Europe including Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri as well as Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic. Burgener revealed that with most clubs going for China, they were also tempted to invest in the country but chose India because of the potential.
In only its third year of formation, Chennai City have shown tremendous progress. Now, they plan to reach to the youth by setting up academies throughout the state. For the Coimbatore academy, the club plans to provide free education and boarding facilities for players in the age-group of 10-18 years.
Ramesh also said that the partnership with Basel does not mean that the club was looking to leave I-League. “Absolutely not. We are not looking to be part of Indian Super League next season. I think we will play league one,” he said.