Indian football has seen it's share of ups and downs in the past and in modern day, it is still in it's earlier stages of development in comparison to the countries who consider football as their primary sport.
However, there has never been a doubt that this region has incredible potential to succeed, due to which clubs from Europe have already formed alliances with local clubs in India in order to start building a strong base for the sport's future in the country.
Today we take a look at five such Indian clubs who are in a partnership with European football clubs:
1. Mumbai City FC and City Football Group
Manchester City owners the City Football Group's acquisition of Mumbai City FC was a huge moment in Indian club football history.
CFG bought a 65% stake in the club to add them to their umbrella of other major clubs around the world including Premier League giants Manchester City, New York City in the MLS, Melbourne City in Australia and more.
The Islanders benefited a lot from their takeover as players like Hugo Boumos, Mourtada Fall, Bartholomew Ogbeche and others joined them and led them to their maiden Indian Super League title in the 2020/21 season.
2. Bengaluru FC and Rangers FC
Scottish Premiership club Rangers and ISL side Bengaluru FC entered into a partnership in 2019 in a two-year deal.
The partnership's agenda was for Rangers to set up soccer schools and holding training camps in Bengaluru to help them grow their presence in markets outside of Europe.
Bengaluru FC then also assisted Indian women's footballer Bala Devi to garner a move to Rangers where she excelled in the 2020-21 season.
3. FC Goa and RB Leipzig
Leipzig signed a three year deal with Indian Super League side FC Goa at the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
The German side will offer their facilities to develop Indian players and also grow their own presence in the country.
4. Chennai City and FC Basel
FC Basel is the first ever European club to buy a stake in an Indian football club Chennai City FC in February 2019.
The Swiss club invested around €20m in the Indian club for the development of the youth setup and infrastructure, including setting up an academy in Tamil Nadu and football schools throughout the state.
5. Hyderabad FC and Borussia Dortmund
German giants BVB signed a partnership with ISL club and Hyderabad FC in 2020.
The partnership was of two years with the possibility of extending until 2025. The deal consists of Dortmund helping HFC in terms of coach education and enhancement of the academy.
Well, we're sure their efforts paid off as Hyderabad FC are the reigning ISL champions.
Source : 90min