Manchester United Soccer Schools India - If you build it they will eventually come


Since moving to India 3 years ago, 2 of the biggest clubs in the world have set up shop in the country. One I was actively in involved with (FCBarcelona) and the other I just watched from a far (Manchester United). I had only read stories and seen pictures of the work Manchester United and the Western India Football Association were doing to help Manchester United Soccer Schools set up a permanent base in India, however a few weeks ago I got to live the MUSS experience firsthand. 

I was in Mumbai for my colleague’s wedding but made sure that I didn’t leave the city without making a trip to visit Cooperage in lower Mumbai.  So on a warm Monday afternoon I took a wild taxi ride from Bandra to Cooperage and spent a few hours with the MUSS administrative staff and coaches.
I must say that I was extremely impressed with the professionalism I experienced while speaking with the personnel and walking through the facility. Pure class tucked away in one of the most chaotic cities in the world. 

If this same set up existed in most other countries, I’m certain that all footballers young (and old) would be coming out of the woodworks to learn to play "the Manchester United Way" in this world class environment. In India it will take some time though as clubs like Manchester United and FCBarcelona are essentially creating a culture where young footballers get comfortable with paying a premium price for premium quality coaching. It’s slowly happening and I know that with the type of staff, facilities and potential which exists in lower Mumbai, Cooperage is going be buzzing with thousands of young players entering the MUSS Mumbai pitch recognizing that it is their first step to achieving their dream of one day playing for the mighty Red Devils. 









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 Cities, 3 Football Academies

Image
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few of the top youth football Academies in India.  It’s always interesting to see first-hand some of the blood, sweat and tears football administrators are investing into the future of the sport in the country.  Not to mention, I love experiencing different cultures, norms and idiosyncrasies in each place I visit (there are many).  I won't get too deep into my personal adventures and challenges of traveling through West Bengal and Punjab in the insanely hot month of May.  I'll need to save those for another blog.   I've included the places I’ve visited with some pictures. Pailan World School (Kolkata) http://www.pailanworldschool.com/ Workers putting in artificial turf for the new FIFA Youth Academy Chandigarh Football Academy http://chandigarh.gov.in/dept_sports7.htm The hostel where the CFA players live YFC Rurka Kalan (Rurka Kalan, Punjab) http://yfcrurka
Read more

Liverpool International Football Academy Coaches – Ray Curtis and Michael Rice

Image
The last half of 2013 was one ongoing conversation about the proposed partnership between Liverpool Football Club and our client DSK Group.  We all knew that only good could come out of this relationship, however we also knew that the level of good would be contingent on the coaches which Liverpool FC selected to represent the Academy in India.  This point couldn’t be hammered home any harder as I’ve seen countless projects fail in India due to the international club’s inability to identify the right type of coaches to make the trip to India. It’s not that these coaches lacked technical expertise or coaching ability, actually that’s never the case, it’s that they lacked a positive attitude and patience.  I actually wrote a post about this which can be found a few months back.  The coaches selected to run the Liverpool International Football Academy DSK Shivajians, Ray and Michael, were handpicked by a trusted member of the Liverpool FC international programming staff.  He had alr
Read more

Dreams Do Come True - International Book Tour

Image
It was March 2020 when I started writing a book about my eventful career journey and the philosophy I chose to apply as I made decisions along my professional pathway. It was the early days of the pandemic, and my wife and I were staying at a friend’s beautiful farmhouse in Lonavala – a quaint hill station two hours’ drive from Mumbai. During those days, I would wake up early, exercise, chant while walking in nature, make a cup of coffee, sit in one of the comfy chairs facing a nearby mountain, pull out my laptop, put on my headphones, turn on my favourite tunes and start typing.  I relished the process of taking the memories, beliefs, insights and lived wisdom that resided in my head and heart and excitedly placing them onto the Microsoft Word document. It was therapeutic, exhilarating and addicting – creating something that did not exist before. Thanks to the online Masterclass course on how to write non-fiction led by renown author Malcolm Gladwell that my wife purchased for me for
Read more