BlueinBosnia wrote:cityfan india wrote:I'm from India where it is still widely believed that manchester has only one club ( the rags).
Welcome!
Out of interest, what proportion of 'typical' Indian football fans watch the Premier League? Is it seen by most as more or less important than the Champions' League? Also, how many Premier League clubs would the average 'typical fan' be able to name? Are football followers aware of the Venky's/Blackburn fiasco, and, if so, what do they think of it?
Sorry for so many questions, but I'm genuinely interested; India is such a big country, but people never really think of it in footballing terms (at least not until Argentina played a friendly over there a couple of years ago).
Hi the awareness of pl and cl has increased big time over the last few years..this can be attributed to the fact the game has been marketed well and also for the fact that our domestic league has not developed that much..with regards to the fan following, they mostly follow the old top 4 ( would be glad that the rags would be out of that this season)..the rags have set up their cafes and merchandise stores in few cities.venkys was a disaster and failed to create a buzz..the major help has come from the broadcast partners who are giving good coverage..man city tv along with other club channels are being aired currently..even championship matches are being broadcasted live..also there are some events which set a platform for a brighter future in football for us..india would be hosting the u-17 wc in 2017, which has been a major boost for getting better infrastructure..also a new india super league wud be starting in 2014,which is likely to see participation by old players like michael owen,saha,pires,crespo etc..all these would definately increase the base of the sport here..there is a big pool of talent as football tournaments are held across different levels of school and college..the only concern is that it would take some time to get noticed on the global stage as football is under the huge shadow of cricket..city need to focus in building their base in india as there is lot of potential available..