FC Bengaluru United owner Gaurav Manchanda on Sevilla partnership, ISL aims and BDFA win

FC Bengaluru United have been making the right noise in their short history so far and has received a lot of plaudits in the Indian football circuit since their launch. Regarded as one of the ongoing big football projects in the country, the club have impressed in the I-League second division and the BDFA Super division, winning the latter title in March. The curve is only heading upward and onward for the club, who also joined hands with LaLiga giants Sevilla FC, formalising a five-year deal to exchange resources. And while things are looking rosy, FC Bengaluru United owner Gaurav Manchanda has laid down his ambitions for the club, the partnership with Sevilla and future aims of playing in the ISL in an exclusive interview with Republic World. 

Gaurav Manchanda interview: Starting at the BDFA Super Division and winning the title was an important step for the club 

FC Bengaluru United clinched the BDFA Super Division title in March, beating FC Deccan during the season finale for their first title. While the Super Division has little standing in Indian football, team owner Gaurav Manchanda believes that winning the competition is an important step in the team's long-term approach. Manchanda adds that the intent of the club was to start locally and build on their way up, and the BDFA Super Division provided them with the platform to do so. He reckons that the success is an indication that the work they have put in has paid off to an extent as they did not jump the gun and make any short-term moves. 

The intent of the club was to truly work our from the local division to the highest level of football, so starting at the local division was an important step for us. We did not want to take a short term approach to make any sort of climb like getting expensive marquee players. The long term approach is set as a foundation for developing talent at the club, who sit well within our ecosystem and culture. Cohesion is an important aspect of a winning team and bringing that was certainly important for us, and that is something we cannot manufacture within a few weeks or months. We approached the season with the same long term approach and thankfully things have paid and we're at the end of the season.

- Gaurav Manchanda on BDFA Super Division triumph and how it fits the club's long-term approach 

"Sevilla FC believe in the Indian football story and have faith in our approach" 

Sevilla and FC Bengaluru United officially announced a five-year association in March with the objective of reinforcing the former's presence in the Indian market, regarded as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. Talks of an agreement had been in place for more than a year, but those plans were halted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, those plans came to fruition and Gaurav Manchanda believes that the clubs shared the same ideas which made the deal possible. He looks at the partnership as an opportunity to learn from a European powerhouse that have similar ideals to that of FC Bengaluru United. 

Conversations with Sevilla started just before the first lockdown in March. Despite the pandemic, we continued our discussions virtually and that's how we developed the key tenets of the partnership. Overall, Sevilla as a club believe in the Indian football story and have faith in our vision and how we are approaching the building of our club from the ground up. The key areas of focus in our partnership are that we could certainly lean on them for things like player selection, talent development, game analysis as in how to combine the art and science of it. One of our key tenets of the partnership is the ability to scout and identify key technologies especially with Bangalore being a talent hub when it comes to technology and engineering.

-FC Bengaluru United owner on the team's partnership with LaLiga giants Sevilla 

Gaurav Manchanda interview: We will put up a good fight in I-League second division this year

The pandemic also meant that the I-League second division was halted midway through the tournament. In their debut campaign, FC Bengaluru United won a lot of plaudits for their young, high performing team and had a shot at promotion to the I-League, before the stoppage due to the pandemic. The competition did resume months later with the I-League Qualifiers 2020, where FCBU fell short, and Mohammedan SC clinched promotion. Manchanda felt that the stoppage broke their momentum, and the team will come back stronger from their experience next season. 

It was our first shot at I-League second division and were certainly keen on giving our best shot for promotion. But unfortunately, it was a circumstance for all clubs and the sport as a whole was grappling and things had come to a standstill and certainly was a challenge. A stoppage of any sort certainly throws off the momentum and we were doing reasonably well and were in a position to make the playoffs. The break meant that a few players were churned out and we had to bring in some fresh faces. With that in mind, we still gave our best effort, we certainly put in a respectable performance. We were quite ambitious in our campaign but all credit to Mohammedan for their promotion. Despite that, I do believe that we have the foundation ready and with the experience of the second division last year, we will put up a good fight this season.

- Gaurav Manchanda on FCBU's debut I-League second division campaign 

"Our immediate goal is to break into the I-League till the ISL becomes an option"

When quizzed on the club's aims on getting into the ISL, Gaurav Manchanda said that the option only opens up for them in 2023/24 according to the Indian football roadmap. The FCBU owner said that the club's immediate goal is to reach and compete in the I-League and are taking all possible measures to achieve that competitiveness. Manchanda believes that the club has the blocks in place to remain competitive in the I-League till the option to compete in the Indian Super League opens up. 

We certainly do have a goal and ambition in mind. Our immediate goal is to break into the I-League and bring the club into a stable national competition. The ISL only becomes an option after 2024/25, so I-League remains the key focus and we are going to give our best effort for that. Overall, we have the blocks in place to make that happen and be competitive in the I-League. Just to give you an example, I think what we're doing at a local level, there's a high focus on game and player strategy and technology. In the local leagues, we're one of the only clubs to use GPS units, heart rate monitors, AI-enabled cameras. We have a high level of technology and data analysis even at the lower leagues, which sets the stone for us to be very competitive at the highest level.

- Gaurav Manchanda on the club's immediate goals and ISL aims

"All great cities have had multiple clubs and Bengaluru shouldn't be any different"

Bengaluru is a passionate football city and that can be seen with West Block Blues and their support for Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League. While building a new club in the shadow of a team that hosts the Indian football captain can be difficult, Gaurav Manchanda feels that it is all for the benefit of the fans and the football ecosystem of the city. Furthermore, he believes Bengaluru has the capacity to have multiple clubs competing at the local and national leagues. 

Building from the ground up certainly helps build an organic fanbase as people feel connected to the club, its story, right from the local divisions to the climb up. Bangalore is a huge city of more than 10 million people and it is certainly important for the fans to have that high level of competition and have rivalries at the local leagues and the national stages. It was always good to have more options to choose from and having a more passionate fanbase and have more and more clubs and is all for the benefit of the ecosystem. All great cities have had multiple clubs and I don’t think Bengaluru should be any different and there’s certainly scope to develop not only a second or third, but a fourth or a fifth club from the city.

- Gaurav Manchanda on Bengaluru FC and building a fanbase for FCBU

"It's a show of immense validation": FCBU owner on foreign investments in Indian football 

Before FCBu, a host of Indian clubs have signed deals with European clubs in a bid to boost their quality and know-how of the game. While Mumbai City FC was taken over by the City Football Group, the likes of FC Goa and Hyderabad FC have had partnerships with RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. Manchanda believes foreign interest in the Indian football scene is only beneficial for the stakeholders and the ecosystem and expects more such deals to happen in the next few years. 

I think it is a show of immense validation and it is a great sign that more and more people, whether Indian or foreign, want to participate in the ecosystem. I think it helps with investments, knowledge transfer and know-how, while it also opens doors for many Indian players to participate in the global playing field. The ecosystem in India is thriving. We are getting more and more international players looking at India as a place to be and participate in the leagues, irrespective of the ISL or the I-League.  I can only see the positives and I hope more and more such deals happen over the next few years.

- Gaurav Manchanda on foreign investments in Indian football 

(Image Courtesy: Gaurav Manchanda, FC Bengaluru United Twitter)