THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

EPL giants Liverpool FC hosts Indian Soccerex delegation

Liverpool FC hosts Indian Soccerex delegation

Liverpool FC hosts Indian Soccerex delegation

English Premier League giants Liverpool Football Club played hosts to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)-Libero Sports Indian delegation on the sidelines of the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester on Sunday, September 7.

The group led by the All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das, Project Officer – Sports Authority of India, P.C. Makholia, I-League CEO Sunando Dhar and others were shown around Melwood, which serves as the Liverpool FC first team training ground followed by an exclusive tour of Anfield, the spiritual and football home of The Reds.

Thereafter Liverpool FC’s Andrew Markham, Head of Global Partnership Sales and Paul Rogers, Head of Content presented the club’s strategy when it comes to choosing partners across the world and how they have localized their digital content for the Indian taste.

The example of the highly successful Liverpool International Football Academy DSK-Shivajians, Pune was brought up for discussion and the academy’s president, Shirish Kulkarni said, “Liverpool FC has always been in my heart and to become part of the club’s global family now is very special. We, at Liverpool International Football Academy DSK-Shivajians, are trying to inculcate the ‘Liverpool Way’ amongst Indian youth.”

With a growing interest in the Indian market from English Premier League clubs, Kushal Das praised the efforts of Liverpool FC in their commitment to develop a deep and meaningful relationship with the Indian football community.

“It’s good that so many clubs are showing an interest in India and Liverpool FC have already taken a giant step forward by establishing a state of the art academy in the country. The more international academies are set up in India like the Liverpool International Football Academy – DSK Shivajians, we, at the AIFF, welcome it. We are happy to support their efforts,” he said.

Rajpal Singh, Director of FICCI, the apex business organization in India, was pleased with the interactive sessions held at Anfield which enhanced the knowledge of the traveling delegates.

“FICCI would like to thank Liverpool Football Club for their wonderful hospitality and educating our representatives from India on their global and Indian initiatives,” Singh stated.

Sukhvinder Singh, Managing Director of Libero Sports – the exclusive marketing partners for Soccerex in India, stressed on how gatherings as the one conducted at Anfield produces tangible results in the long term and helps broaden the horizons of key stakeholders within the Indian football industry.

“The seeds for the Liverpool International Football Academy-DSK Shivajians were sown at the 2013 edition of Soccerex which provides the perfect platform to bring the industry closer together.

“We hope that a similar successful idea is borne out of the 2014 convention which shall play a pivotal role in helping develop Indian football.”