KUALA LUMPUR: The Piramals of Pune are Indian businessmen who believe in the huge potential of Indian football.
For the passionate Nandan Piramal, Indian football can achieve greater heights but the clubs need to shed their conservative mentality and play to their strengths.
"Indian football has got a lot of potential. I think the Indian clubs can play their part by setting up long-term targets and thinking broader,” the 28-year-old director of the newly-promoted Indian League club Pune FC told www.the-afc.com.
“They won’t improve if they opt to solely depend on the association's funding year after year. Indian football will also suffer as a result,"
Although this is easier said than done, Piramal is ready to take up the gauntlet. He wants Pune FC to set an example and act as a pioneer of Indian football’s “revolution”.
The youngest son's of the late Ashok Piramal, who owned the Ashok Piramal Group, Nandan co-founded Pune FC in August 2007 with his brothers Harsh, 36, and Rajeev, 33, and four other friends, who studied in Europe. The Mumbai-based company has vast interests in real estate, textiles, automobile and retail (Pyramid Retail).
"We have set a six-to seven-year plan for the club. We want to mount a serious challenge for the I-League title besides playing an influential part in changing the face and mentality of Indian clubs,” said Piramal.
"Football is a business nowadays. You need to run it like a business and need to be economically viable.
"We are rich but we are not throwing money away without purpose. You can always make money with anything, including football."
In a country steeped in age-old traditions, this is what Piramal has to say to the ancien regimen.
"With due respect to the old hands, we know what we are doing. We are young and passionate and we are trying to do something different in India to help improve Indian football.
“What we are going to implement in the future is not something new as Europe, especially England, where I and my brothers studied, has had a successful football system for everyone to see."
Pune FC is now using the Balwadi Sports Complex as its venue for I-League matches. The club has built its own training ground on the outskirts of Pune at an area called Mamurdi, near where the Mumbai-Pune Express Highway ends. The training ground has three pitches and high-class infrastructure, much to the envy of many I-League clubs.
The youngest club in the I-league, Pune FC from Maharashtra, is also one of the two top flight clubs (the other being Shillong Lajong), who sell their own tickets unlike the other clubs whose ticketing matters are run by their respective state associations.
"We also sell our merchandise and set up our own ticket kiosks. Almost everything is done by us. We want to have our own revenue."
"All our matches are played at 6.30 in the evening in floodlights as we don't think it is realistic to play under the sunlight. You lose spectators because of that. If possible, I would also like to play on the weekends unlike every weekday.
“If we want to be really professional, we cannot ignore even a single detail."
"In three to four year’s time, after we establish ourselves, we can start thinking about building our own stadium."
"We have on average 6,000-8,000 spectators for every game. Considering the fact that we are a new club and a full-house capacity of 12,000, this figure is very good.”
Piramal also outlined his own dream.
"Now, Pune FC’S principal sponsors is the Ashok Piramal Group's flagship company, Peninsula Land Limited and and co-sponsors Morarjee Textiles Ltd fund the club’s various activities at senior and youth level.
“When other corporations come to negotiate and fight to be our sponsor, I can say we have arrived.
"Trophies are important for the club but the bigger picture is the general improvement of Indian football. We must work together to make it better.”
For the passionate Nandan Piramal, Indian football can achieve greater heights but the clubs need to shed their conservative mentality and play to their strengths.
"Indian football has got a lot of potential. I think the Indian clubs can play their part by setting up long-term targets and thinking broader,” the 28-year-old director of the newly-promoted Indian League club Pune FC told www.the-afc.com.
“They won’t improve if they opt to solely depend on the association's funding year after year. Indian football will also suffer as a result,"
Although this is easier said than done, Piramal is ready to take up the gauntlet. He wants Pune FC to set an example and act as a pioneer of Indian football’s “revolution”.
The youngest son's of the late Ashok Piramal, who owned the Ashok Piramal Group, Nandan co-founded Pune FC in August 2007 with his brothers Harsh, 36, and Rajeev, 33, and four other friends, who studied in Europe. The Mumbai-based company has vast interests in real estate, textiles, automobile and retail (Pyramid Retail).
"We have set a six-to seven-year plan for the club. We want to mount a serious challenge for the I-League title besides playing an influential part in changing the face and mentality of Indian clubs,” said Piramal.
"Football is a business nowadays. You need to run it like a business and need to be economically viable.
"We are rich but we are not throwing money away without purpose. You can always make money with anything, including football."
In a country steeped in age-old traditions, this is what Piramal has to say to the ancien regimen.
"With due respect to the old hands, we know what we are doing. We are young and passionate and we are trying to do something different in India to help improve Indian football.
“What we are going to implement in the future is not something new as Europe, especially England, where I and my brothers studied, has had a successful football system for everyone to see."
Pune FC is now using the Balwadi Sports Complex as its venue for I-League matches. The club has built its own training ground on the outskirts of Pune at an area called Mamurdi, near where the Mumbai-Pune Express Highway ends. The training ground has three pitches and high-class infrastructure, much to the envy of many I-League clubs.
The youngest club in the I-league, Pune FC from Maharashtra, is also one of the two top flight clubs (the other being Shillong Lajong), who sell their own tickets unlike the other clubs whose ticketing matters are run by their respective state associations.
"We also sell our merchandise and set up our own ticket kiosks. Almost everything is done by us. We want to have our own revenue."
"All our matches are played at 6.30 in the evening in floodlights as we don't think it is realistic to play under the sunlight. You lose spectators because of that. If possible, I would also like to play on the weekends unlike every weekday.
“If we want to be really professional, we cannot ignore even a single detail."
"In three to four year’s time, after we establish ourselves, we can start thinking about building our own stadium."
"We have on average 6,000-8,000 spectators for every game. Considering the fact that we are a new club and a full-house capacity of 12,000, this figure is very good.”
Piramal also outlined his own dream.
"Now, Pune FC’S principal sponsors is the Ashok Piramal Group's flagship company, Peninsula Land Limited and and co-sponsors Morarjee Textiles Ltd fund the club’s various activities at senior and youth level.
“When other corporations come to negotiate and fight to be our sponsor, I can say we have arrived.
"Trophies are important for the club but the bigger picture is the general improvement of Indian football. We must work together to make it better.”
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