Last weekend at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium there was boisterous chanting, in both English and Kannada, the language of the Indian state of Karnataka. Banners were held proudly aloft, faces were painted blue and white, and there were overlapping renditions of “When the Blues go marching in” – a distinctly European borrowing. Further down the road from the home of Bengaluru FC, near the ticket booth, there was a scene more indigenous to the subcontinent – a hopeful queue stretching several metres, with people trying to butt in amid utter cacophony.
The 2016-17 I-League was all set for kick-off, and Bengaluru, the defending champions, were facing Shillong Lajong. The crowd was cheerful despite the struggle – the chaotic queues, dusty plastic seats and stone bleachers, and preposterously priced popcorn. A habit has been formed in the three years since the club were conceived. For the first time in India, a fan culture now exists that resembles the English Premier League .
Bengaluru’s rise has been meteoric, winning three trophies in as many years. They stormed to the I-League title in their maiden season in 2013-14. In charge was an Englishman, Ashley Westwood, Manchester United Academy graduate and Premier League journeyman. Bengaluru then won the title again in 2015-16 after Mohun Bagan claimed it in the interim. Bengaluru won India’s Federation Cup in 2014-15 and they created history in 2016 by becoming the first Indian side to reach the final of the Asian Football Confederation Cup, with Albert Roca, a former assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona, now the manager.
However, along with the rest of the Indian football fraternity, Bengaluru face an uncertain future. Founded exactly a decade ago – in 2007 – the I-League’s 2016-17 season could be its last. For some time the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been attempting to restructure the game in India. The idea is to merge the I-League and the Indian Super League, a separate three-month tournament, to form a new elite competition, with up to 10 teams playing in a league lasting six to nine months, with subsidiary divisions involving promotion and relegation.
While the AIFF’s attempts are long overdue, it is, in many ways, a revolution sparked by Bengaluru. In 2013, when the AIFF invited tenders and JSW, one of the largest business conglomerates in India, got involved, they recognised the need to replicate the professionalism of the European leagues. “There was an intent to do something for the betterment of Indian football. We wanted to do things differently, in the right way, the way it was done internationally,” says Mustafa Ghouse, Bengaluru FC’s chief operating officer. “We wanted to learn from the best. From the way the team crest was designed to the type of communication that went out to the fans, every aspect was about how to do it to an international standard.”
Bengaluru set about ensuring a high level of professionalism, from legally drafted contracts for players – “You hear stories in India about players being signed very loosely, on pieces of paper. Not us,” says Ghouse – to renting apartments for those based outside the city. There is an emphasis on fitness, use of technology, and strict diets.
“In India, players used to eat dal-chaval [rice and pulses], and whatever else they felt like. Now, our guys know if they come back overweight, they are fined,” Ghouse explains. “Most of the players didn’t know all this before they joined us. It’s all very professionally executed, and they are seeing the benefits of it. They have bought into it.”
So much so that John Johnson, the former Middlesbrough and Northampton Town defender and one of the first overseas players to be signed by Bengaluru, was pleasantly surprised when he arrived on the subcontinent. “When I first came to India, I didn’t expect the facilities, the training, the infrastructure, and the standard to be as good as it was in the UK,” he says. “But we had everything in place, from the training ground to a restaurant on base.
“The training was just the same because we had an English coach [Westwood] and the mentality he brought into the club was the same as in the UK. The standard wasn’t as good, but it improved quickly. Players got fitter and stronger, and started to be smarter and more intelligent. It’s been an enjoyable journey.”
Importantly, the players now reach out to fans via social media in a manner new to Indian football clubs. Tickets are reasonably priced – the most expensive priced at 1,200 rupee (£14) and the cheapest just 40 rupee – making the sport widely accessible. And crucially, chanting is encouraged – a trip to the Kanteerava Stadium, fondly rechristened The Fortress, is one of the more challenging undertaken by I-League sides.
During the AFC Cup semi-final against Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim, defending champions at the time, the official attendance was 21,379 – a significant number for Indian football, especially given the match took place outside the sport’s strongholds of Kolkata, Goa and Kerala. “We always wanted a professional club we could support. We grew up watching European football, we saw how supporters of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona backed their teams,” says one of the more active fans, who asked to remain anonymous as he believed no one fan should stand out. “We wanted to do that for a local club. We had a lot of clubs but there wasn’t much of a connect between us. But when BFC was founded, they changed that, they reached out to us. And we responded. It’s a symbiotic relationship. Watching the fan culture in Europe inspired us in a big way. I don’t think we would have chanted the way we do now had we not got that exposure.”
Such a response from their supporters has meant Bengaluru are now in a position to issue public awareness messages. Against Lajong, the team wore bright pink jerseys, in response to the mass molestation of women in Bangalore on New Year’s Eve. At half-time, Sunil Chhetri – the Bengaluru and India captain – Johnson and Daniel Lalhlimpuia appeared in a video on the big screen championing #WeforWomen.
The AIFF will do well to take note of Bengaluru’s professionalism and their evident bond with their fans, especially given that their proposed restructuring involves plenty of logistical challenges. Contractually, all eight of the ISL teams can expect to be part of the top flight of the restructured league, leaving room only for two I-League teams in a 10-team competition. Bengaluru are assured a place as reigning champions but what of historically strong sides such as Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, each with huge fan bases in Kolkata? Unhappy with the AIFF’s plans, two sides from the state of Goa – Sporting Clube de Goa and Salgaocar – pulled out of the 2016-17 I-League season.
“There are big teams in the I-League – Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Bengaluru, teams from the north east, Goa,” says Sunando Dhar, the I-League CEO. “The idea is to get all the big teams involved in the big league. Obviously, money is a factor, but you can’t ignore history and legacy of the big teams. It’s a fine balance, but we’re trying to work it out.”
Then there is a crucial question: who gets the players? Chhetri is Bengaluru’s captain but is also the leading striker for the ISL side Mumbai FC’s. He is one of many Indian players dividing their time between ISL and I-League. Does the decision rest with the players? And how will the financial gap between ISL and I-League sides be plugged? Too many questions with too few answers.
The restructured league was initially expected to be unveiled in 2017, but Praful Patel, the AIFF president, recently said that would be difficult to achieve. Football officials in India are hesitant about committing to a timeline. “It’s like a marriage,” says Dhar, employing a distinctly Indian metaphor. “When two families get married, there are compromises to be made, both sides have to be happy. It’s easier said than done. We’re working on it. We don’t want to put a timeframe and put pressure on ourselves.”
At this point, Bengaluru do not really mind. They play an AFC Champions League qualifier against the Jordanian side al-Wehdat on 31 January and their priority is to qualify for the tournament proper. There is too much uncertainty about the game’s future in India to be bogged down by it. “There are still too many loose ends from whatever information we have,” says Ghouse. “We are eagerly awaiting some idea on how it would be structured. Depending on what is proposed, we’ll know where we stand.”
Regardless of what happens to the structure of the game, Bengaluru have made a change for the better by providing a city with an authentic football experience, something the fans will forever be grateful for. Yet it remains to be seen how the unique marriage of European footballing culture with subcontinental aspiration evolves in an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the game’s future in India.
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