Away from the giant shadow of Bengaluru FC and their glory in the Indian Super League (ISL) sits another up and coming club in FC Bengaluru United that plays in the I-League second division.
Found in 2018, FCBU have grown and developed quickly. They were crowned BDFA Super Division League Champions in 2021, defended it this year and made the Durand Cup semi-finals last year.
And it was only in May that Khalid Jamil, who has previously managed Northeast United and led Aizawl to the I-League title, was announced as the club manager.
In 2021, Bengaluru United finalised a partnership with Spain's LaLiga club Sevilla. Disclosing details of the deal on Wednesday, Sevilla hope to expand their brand internationally and make their presence felt in the Indian market.
During a press conference in Bengaluru, leadership of both clubs announced the way forward, with Gaurav Manchanda, FCBU owner, giving an insight on what’s to be launched in the upcoming days.
Look who’s here! 🔥
Pleased to welcome our partners, Sevilla FC, to Namma Bengaluru! 🙌🏻#FCBU #WeAreUnited #SevillaFC #SevillaIndiaVisit #IndiaVisit2022 pic.twitter.com/RKcwX7xbqB
— FC Bengaluru United (@bengaluruunited) June 7, 2022
Gaurav claims FCBU’s desire was to reach the pinnacle of the Indian football and qualify for competitions like the AFC Cup.
“We are a young club here. As part of the journey over the last four years, we do look at our partners for the expertise. We’re certainly in a hurry to learn the best global practices, learn from our partners, and make sure we do climb the ladder and we do represent India at the national stage, at the AFC Cups.” Manchanda told journalists at a press conference in Bengaluru.
The owner of FCBU also added how important winning an award at the World Football Summit was for the club.
“In January 2021, where we formalised our partnership for five years, and over the short span so far we’ve had some success, we’ve had some events that we’ve hosted in India. We’ve had some match parties and with the successes we have also won an award at the World Football Summit where we won the Best International Strategy at the WFS," said Manchanda.
"It was because of this partnership that it was all possible. FC Bengaluru United became the first Indian team to win an award at the WFS. We’ve already started to have some great success as we go along this journey and we’re still in the start of this wonderful partnership,” he added.
Apart from launching a Sevilla fan club in India and the Sevilla FC Junior Cup, Gaurav added there would be a Hackathon — a platform where data science would be used effectively for professional football scouting and player performance analysis.
‘India a market where football is growing so fast’
Jorge Paradella, Sevilla's Business General Manager, stressed on the need for the club to invest in India.
“India is a market where football is growing so fast. Football is considered to be the second best sport in India and that is wonderful. We want to continue with the support of LaLiga to continue building that market. We really believe in this market, the foundations are laid. For us, it’s an absolute pleasure to be in this journey with FCBU,” Paradella said.
Sevilla are six-time Europa League winners but have never won the Champions League, despite making the tournament proper on multiple occasions.
“All of you can imagine how difficult, how demanding it is to achieve things in competitions. LaLiga has some of the most powerful teams in the World. In the last three seasons, we have been consecutively in the Champions League. Only Real Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona have achieved this, but we want much more. We know Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have more resources than us. It’s important to keep our focus on the Champions League. These cannot be just words or desires, for these kind of goals, in these kinds of business, we have to invest," said Sevilla president Jose Castro Carmona.
The president also lauded FCBU on launching a women’s team. “In addition, we are going to focus on women’s football as well. We have five female teams, the most important being in the Spanish female first division. Taking into account our ambition, challenges, goals, we want to congratulate FCBU for launching of the football team. Most of the females who are interested in football should be given the right to practice,” Castro said.
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