Premier League Next Generation Cup: A Sign of India’s Importance


When I first moved to India in 2009, I was pleasantly surprised with how much the younger generation in the country - especially in tier 1 cities - loved consuming the Premier League. Every youngster I would interact with back then would claim to be the ‘biggest Manchester United supporter on the planet’ or ‘love Didier Drogba more than anyone’ or…well you get the point. I remember a few years later at a Manchester United supporters event in Delhi, I was amazed by the number of people crying while watching Sir Alex Ferguson give his going away speech on the pitch at Old Trafford.  We were thousands of kilometers away from Manchester and most of the people crying had never even watched a Manchester United match live at the ground, yet they were balling like it was Sachin Tendulker’s testimonial. That’s the beauty of sport.

I used to think that it was a one-way relationship. That us Indians liked the Premier League much more than the Premier League liked us. That was until I met and became friends with a few wonderful people from the Premier League’s International Department and quickly understood the League’s strong feelings for the Indian subcontinent.  I learned that League officials had been visiting India for a number of years to deliver a coaching education program, Premier Skills, through a relationship with the British Council and a few I-League teams. I learned that they had also been actively exploring ways to work with their Broadcast partners, the Government of India as well as other stakeholders within the Indian football landscape to contribute to the growth of football in the country.

From 2013 onwards, the number of events and activities the Premier League delivered in India on an annual basis trumped all of the other leagues combined. Premier League Live took place in both Mumbai and Bangalore, match screenings were hosted across the country, ISL educational sessions were regularly organized, The Football Movement conference too place each year, there was ongoing engagement with PL Ambassador Ranveer Singh, etc….And while they regularly brought over League & Club management as well as legends such as Alan Shearer, Nemanja Vidić, Robbie Fowler and others, every Premier League consumer in India kept wondering the same thing, “When will they bring a team to play a match in our country?”

Those of us in the business understand the commercial, technical and logistical challenges that are associated with bringing a team to India to play a competitive match.  There are a number of people involved who would have to sign off on the trip and typically the technical team would only approve if there was guaranteed safety and quality of competition, facilities, etc...  While the commercial teams would typically only push for this if they had a sponsor obligation or the financials would justify the trip East.  Given this, it was not surprising that the conversation of bringing a Premier League team to play in India rarely ever came up in official interactions. 

Then the Premier League chose to do something brilliant. They took their decades worth of learnings about the Indian football industry and decided to channelize their efforts into the areas which are of most importance to our landscape: youth development, governance, commercial growth, administration and wider community development – with youth development at the core. This new focus manifested into a property aptly named 'Premier League Next Generation Cup' which brings together Premier League and ISL youth teams to compete in a week long tournament.  Surrounding the tournament are business meetings, refereeing workshops, coaching education programs, fan engagement activities, cultural experiences and stakeholder networking events.  

What's incredible is that the Premier League didn't just bring any youth teams over, they brought the U14 teams of Manchester United FC, Chelsea FC and Southampton FC. This is no easy task, it's almost easier to bring over the senior team than a group of 12-14 year olds given all of the safety concerns and anxious parents that come along with the trip.  Despite the obvious challenges, our friends at the Premier League persevered and organized one of the most exciting weeks in Indian football.  

Thanks to the fact that India On Track and the Global Institute of Sports Business work closely with the Premier League on many of their activities in India, we were able to help produce some of the events and get a first-hand experience of the entire week. In addition, all of our students were involved with the event operations providing them with invaluable sports industry exposure and enough photos to fill their instagram feeds until 2021.  

As I love lists, here are my top 5 highlights from Premier League Next Generation Cup 2020:

  • Watching our Indian youth players leave everything on the pitch against all 3 Premier League clubs - validates my belief that Indian talent can compete with anyone in the world at the U15 and below levels
  • Attending a private event at the SoHo house along with senior Indian football industry members, Premier League representatives, Premier League Legend Alan Shearer and Bollywood Stars Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor
  • Hosting Crystal Palace CEO, Phil Alexander, on campus who happens to be the longest serving Chief Executive of any English football club 
  • Seeing the looks on our students faces when Premier League's Head of International, Kate Hodgkinson, shared that the best presentation will earn hospitality passes to the Arsenal FC vs Brighton match during the international study trip
  • Hosting the Premier League trophy on campus
All in all, it was an unbelievable week that showcased how much the Premier League truly cares about India and the level of resources and efforts they are willing to invest to support the development of Indian football. 

I'm already excited about the 2021 edition of the Premier League Next Generation Cup










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