Live India, Love Football

Many people around the world know the name Terry Phelan, but very few know how important he is to the future of Indian football.  Terry has an illustrious playing career which includes stints with Leeds United, Swansea City, Wimbledon, Manchester City, Everton, Chelsea FC, Crystal Palace, Fullham, Sheffield United, Charleston Battery and Otago United.  In addition, he won an FA Cup with Wimbledon, played 40 matches for the Irish National team and started every match for his country in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Needless to say, this man knows his football.  For the past 17 months he has been living in Goa serving as the Technical Director for Sesa Football Academy – a 65 player residential academy for top Goan players ages 16 – 23.  His responsibilities include building the overall technical plan for the Academy, coaching the coaches and introducing modern day football technology into the training and evaluation of the players.   Since Sesa Football A...

I was in Pune last week and met the founders of a company called Hot Fut.  They have done well what so many others have been trying to do in the country for years. They were able to lease land from the government and set up small 5v5 artificial turf pitches for public use. I enjoyed meeting this group because they were young, intelligent and passionate about the development of the sport. For them, setting up these pitches has nothing to do with making money. It is all about addressing a need for quality football playing environments for people of all ages.  With this attitude and approach, I was not surprised to see a wide range of individuals and groups enjoying their pitches on a Saturday morning including Manchester United Soccer School coaches, Happy Feet football schools and youth representing many countries around the world.  With Hot Fut founders (far right and second to left) I wish Hot Fut well as they look to perfect their maiden facility...

About 5 years ago while I was with MLS we came up with this idea for a reality TV show called Sueno MLS (MLS Dream). The premise was to identify the best undiscovered Hispanic soccer player in the US and give him the opportunity to play on an MLS club.  Thankfully, the entire team who was working on the project agreed to ensure the program focused on finding talent first and marketing second.  Inside of doing this, Sueno MLS become a massive success the first year and we were able to discover a player named Jorge Flores who is now a consistent starter for Chivas USA and who has went on to represent the US National Team multiple times at the youth level.  Sueno MLS is now in its 6 th season and continues to find quality talent in the US while being watched by millions of viewers around the world.  Since that program, I’ve fallen in love with tying the concept of “Dream” into grassroot football programs and have always explored new ways to do so. Thanks to Panasonic ...

Back in Delhi now taking solace from the powerful monsoon flooding the land outside of my room.  There are massive power cuts in North India, smells emanating from the wet trash which line the streets and animals running in all directions. I’m well aware that at this moment I can be sitting with my friends in my favorite brunch spot in Brooklyn washing down a scrumptious Greek omelet with ice cold mimosas, yet I’m so happy to be back in India, back home.  When I share this, most people say that I’m being fake or somewhat suppressing the truth but the reality is that there is nowhere else in the world that I would rather be living than in India. And the interesting thing is that the more productive and fun my US trips are, the more true this statement is for me.  Guess the trips to the US just show me that my US community is not going anywhere and it is my time to be in India now doing exactly what I’m doing.      The US trip was really incredible. 5 da...