It will take some time for Indian clubs to reach a point where they make enough to break-even: Odisha FC president Raj Athwal

During the previous season of the Indian Super League (ISL), Bhubaneswar-based club Odisha FC decided to rope in experienced football management professional Raj Athwal. He is an Indian-origin man with a huge experience of working in the footballing eco-system in the United Kingdom.

From heading the commercials at Coventry City FC and Rangers FC, to being the commercial director at Watford FC, Raj came to India with a plethora of experience. We won’t find many professionals in India who, after working in the Premier League, want to work in the ISL.

Sportskeeda caught up with the president of Odisha FC in an exclusive interview to discuss more about the commercial aspect of football in India and in Europe, and to understand his perspective behind shifting from the Premier League to the Indian Super League.

Born and brought up in the United Kingdom, Raj is a British citizen with around 27 years of experience under his belt. One of the major reasons why Raj shifted to India was to gain some international experience.

Raj stated in a video call from the UK:

“I have followed the ISL since its inception, and when the opportunity arose to join Odisha FC, I gave no second thought. It’s a mutual benefit. I have been learning a whole lot of new things since I joined, I am slowly understanding how the ecosystem works, and to be honest, this has been a very positive experience.”

Speaking about the major differences in the footballing landscape of both nations, he explained:

“I think first and foremost is the structure. And, it’s impractical to compare ISL with clubs in Europe, as ISL is just eight seasons old. But, if we look in general, India doesn’t have a very good domestic/grassroots structure. If India wants to grow as a footballing nation, every club in India should have youth teams and academies starting from age six to seven.”

Raj added:

“Second is coach development. We do have good and qualified Indian coaches who need to be trusted and afforded the opportunities. Be it the playing part or the financial part of the game or the club, football in the UK is a holistic approach. Everything is inter-related here, which is not the case in India. There are various sources on how money is generated through football in the UK. India is a big market and that is why everyone is interested in investing here. It will take some time for Indian clubs to reach a point where they make enough to break-even."

Joining the club in the middle of ISL's seventh season and working remotely from the UK during his tenure so far has been a different experience for Raj. He explains this as a “rollercoaster ride” given the pandemic and the current COVID-19 situation which hasn’t allowed him to explore his new workplace in the eastern part of India.

Raj stated:

“If you talk about the pandemic, I had to deal with everything virtually. Starting from my staff, coaches, and everyone involved in the club, I haven’t been able to meet most of them in person, yet. It has been extremely challenging to work virtually, but yes, the whole world is functioning like that and we are no different. I am pleased we have successfully got through this phase.”

New investments and unique commercial initiatives by Odisha FC

Before the start of the eighth season of the ISL, which is being played inside the bio-bubble in Goa, Odisha FC made rapid strides and was on a sponsorship announcement spree.

However, these sponsors were not the main or the kit sponsors. Almost all these sponsors are from the United Kingdom and Raj played a vital role in bringing these UK-based small business establishments on-board.

Raj asserted:

“The idea of bringing in associate sponsors is new to India, but not new for me or for the footballing industry. As I have seen, focus on big partnerships that fetch them a lot of money. But we need to understand that even small sponsors can be of big help. And, in during pandemic, I tried to implement whatever I had learnt in my previous clubs, and luckily that worked.”

The former commercial director of Watford went on to add:

“Every player in England, in every football club, has his own kit sponsorship, and their logos would be displayed beneath the player’s profiles on every match day. Partnership isn’t only about bringing the sponsors’ onboard but it’s also about delivery. For the first time, we have managed to fill up all the spots of sponsors. Big or small, we have tried to acquire as many sponsors as we could for this season.”

Raj further explained:

“My whole idea is to expand the commercial part here in Odisha FC and bring in new initiatives that can help us succeed as a club, financially. I am very open and happy to speak to other football clubs in India and support them in anyway. For me, developing football in India is the key and for that we all need to join hands. We are not at a stage where clubs can compete against each other on financial aspect.”

You have to invest in people if you want to grow as a club: Raj Athwal

Odisha FC are yet to have an academy in the state despite moving from the national capital more than two years ago. However, Raj is of the opinion that the club are very much keen to have its own academy soon and apart from that it lays full emphasis on grassroots football development across the state of Odisha.

A hopeful Raj said:

“We do have an academy that unfortunately was hindered by the pandemic. The academy will be at full strength this year with the women's team also being developed. You need to have your own youth players who are beneficial for you in the future. They are the ones who can graduate and then represent the main team. Because, you can’t always get into a situation where you continuously buy players. And, that is what I intend to do in Odisha.”

He explained:

“I want our youth players to be our ambassadors. Youth team players can become embedded value if they make it to the first team. If we have surplus players, we can also sell them to other clubs who want them. That’s another source of income but for that the quality of players in your youth setup has to be of top-brass.”

Raj added:

“You have to invest in the people of that particular state. It’s their club after all. A club can never grow without the support of its locals and for that, community engagement is much needed. It will take a few years of time as in the UK, football is a universal language, but, in India, we need to create something magical to attract people to come to our club to support us and our players."

Not only in the footballing aspect, but Raj, who has written a book named “British Raj”, feels that grassroots plays an important role in the commercial aspect as well.

He mentioned:

“Many British companies not only try to be partners but trade within India. We use our grassroots tours as a tool to promote those companies. Many companies want to invest in India but they don’t know how to invest, where to invest and are unsure of the outcomes. So, with my contact in the UK, I already knew people who wanted to invest. It took some but I was able to convince them. Some invest from a charitable point of view and some from a business prospect. Some of them just want our projects to run successfully and help to grow football in India.”

Raj explained:

“We have to understand that the investment that Sky Sports has made for the Premier League is humungous. I mean that can’t even be compared with ISL. Definitely I can’t talk on behalf of ISL, but I think the major money for PL comes from broadcasting. They are receiving millions and millions of pounds from broadcasting rights and that alone has helped them not only invest in football but every other thing that helps the game grow, starting from the medical side to youth programs to everything. This is what has helped them to be world leaders. The best players will only come when there is money in the game. And as a result of Sky Sports, a lot of good things have happened. And, India is a potential country which can achieve all these.”

Perhaps ISL’s one of the most successful clubs financially, Bengaluru FC (BFC), which is run by one of India’s biggest firms, JSW Sports, has also failed to make profits. Last year, the owner of BFC, Parth Jindal, wrote a letter to Nita Ambani stating the huge losses they have been incurring year after year in the ISL. If this is the condition of a club that is one of the biggest, we can understand what other clubs would be going through.

Raj explained:

“I can say there are some ISL clubs that are doing extremely well. For me, to become self-sustainable broadcasting is an extremely important area that needs close focus. I look at Odisha. It’s a state that has around 45 million people. The Govt. is doing an absolutely great job promoting sports. I feel if we want to be self-sustainable, our academy and our community has to be very active. In Odisha, we have to grow them in such a way that they penetrate into all the districts and by doing that you are reaching millions of people. By this, first we are present in all districts of the state and second, we reach everyone’s heart and people know us by name, and that’s our biggest USP.”

The need for ISL clubs to become a global brands

Odisha FC started its own initiative – Global Football Alliance (GFA), and signed partnerships with Premier League side – Watford and Brazilian club – Avai FC before the start of the current ISL season. Speaking about the same, Raj mentioned:

“You also need to become a global club, and that’s why we have got partnerships with Avai Football Club and Watford. We want clubs who share the same vision as us, and I think we have got the best. You must have seen top clubs in the PL having numerous international club alliances. That helps them to increase their footprint all over the world.”

He added:

“Commercially, we want to make Odisha a global grand. We are not only targeting local companies, we are also targeting big national companies in India who will align with our mindset and goals. We already have different initiatives in mind to make these deals happen. It is an infrastructure that we need to improve and as I said before, we need to engage with our fans and create a community that can help us be a global brand. Continuity is the key here.”

Before Raj joined the club, the management at Odisha FC had taken a very important call in 2019 when they decided to shift the club from Delhi and thus, the name – Delhi Dynamos was changed to Odisha FC.

Raj credited the Naveen Patnaik-led government for promoting sports and games and also lauded the efforts of the Juggernauts, Odisha FC’s loyal fan army.

Raj said in this regard:

“They (the state government) give us the stadium and other benefits. I can’t disclose everything as it’s confidential. But Odisha is probably the most recognized football club outside India. There are one or two big managers who follow us as well. There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and Odisha has been extremely kind to us. We aim to work together to make good things happen soon. I just hope things return to normalcy and we get back to Odisha and meet our local companies, our fans and make things happen that are planned from long.”

The Odisha FC Club President concluded by saying:

“Juggernauts is an amazing fan base. They are very interactive, supportive and respect the club a lot. They have stood with us in our worst times and I thank them for that. I have been taken aback by what they have done for us. We haven’t had the opportunity to expand the Juggernauts. Until we are back in Odisha, it’s hard to engage with them regularly also."

"But I assure the fans that things will be better and we have big plans for them going forward. For me, personally, India is very close to my heart as my parents belong to India. I have dedicated my life for football and I will make sure to give my 200 percent to improve the footballing structure here. It’s just my way to give back to India, a place where my parents belong to. Hopefully, in the next few years everyone knows India because of football.”