English football champions Manchester United
are to open their first cafe in the western Indian city of Mumbai
(Bombay) later this year.
The venture is the first of several the club plans for Indian
cities.
Leading English football clubs are now poised to aggressively
target India, where they see a huge untapped marketing
opportunity.
Last month, a soccer academy in nearby Pune was opened with the
backing of Liverpool Football Club.
<!-- E SF -->
Video screens
Manchester United, English Premier League champions and last
season's UEFA Champions League finalists, have never visited
India.
But they are the most popular foreign football club in the
country.
In recent years, the club has strengthened its ties with India.
Earlier this year, the country's telecoms giant, Bharti Airtel,
became the first Indian company to strike a sponsorship deal with
the club.
Now Manchester United Food and Beverage, the club's hospitality
arm, has announced it is rolling out upmarket bar restaurants in
several Indian cities. Mumbai's famed nightlife makes it the
obvious first choice.
The cafes will feature large video screens on the walls to
screen matches, and booths selling players' shirts and club
memorabilia.
In cricket-crazy India, where the game is followed like a
religion, football is making rapid in-roads.
Former Man Utd players such as Christiano Ronaldo and David
Beckham have proved more popular among the youth than local
cricketing heroes.
Replica shirts of the clubs and famous footballers are becoming
a common sight on India's streets.
Commercial interests
While football mania is mostly seen during World Cups, club
competitions, such as the English Premier League, also have a
significant following on television, with an estimated weekly TV
audience of more than 50 million.
English clubs look at India's billion-plus population as a huge
potential fan base with massive marketing opportunities.
Last month, the opening of a football academy backed by
Liverpool, marked the latest chapter in the quest by Premier League
teams to gain a foothold in India.
However, India's national coach, Englishman Bob Houghton, has
often said that European clubs are more interested in promoting
their commercial interests than helping the game grow in India.
bbc