One of the most prolific clubs in European football, Spanish giant FC Barcelona announced the launch of its official football school FCBEscola in India, with the first centre slated to come up in Delhi NCR. It?s being set up in association with Conscient Football, FC Barcelona?s partner in India.
While there is no confirmation of the proposed timeline of operations, the school will certainly be in operation within this calendar year, according to a Conscient Football spokesperson. The school will have a capacity of 300-360 players in the age group of 6-14 and will have permanent FC Barcelona staff stationed in the Capital to run the operations. While the details are being worked out, the programme is expected to be based on the globally-run programmes by FCBEscola, which are intensive and regular after-school programmes.
??We are committed to work in the same way as we work in the FCBEscola in Barcelona. We believe we have the best strategy and systems in place to make football work and grow in India. We have had football camps in India over the last few months and have a fair idea of the talent that we expect to nurture. We have the very best support staff in place for the Delhi centre,?? said Xevi Marce, director FCBEscola.
While Conscient Football and FC Barcelona have been quick to announce the partnership, modalities are still being worked out on the structure and model of the programme, its composition, and even revenue sharing. ??We are still working on the technicalities including investments required for the project to kick start. What I can say as of now is that financial investments will be made by Conscient while Barcelona will bring its expertise and global standards in talent development. There will be a lot of long term investment from our end in areas like physical infrastructure and training infrastructure,?? said Tarun Chaudhry, COO, Conscient Football.
Considered a ??sleeping giant?? in global football, India has generated quite a bit of interest among big European clubs looking to expand their footprint globally. Clubs which have shown keen interest in India, and the huge market it offers given its young population, include the English biggies like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. However, Barcelona, with this announcement, becomes the first European club to set up its official soccer school in India. There are further plans to open similar centres in major cities in the near future, and then moving into smaller towns and cities, from where the majority of India’s footballing talent comes from.