A goal too far?

 When he’s not telling brands how to behave themselves in the marketplace, creative thinking trainer and brand consultant Vinay Kanchan heads to Juhu Beach to play the beautiful game. As the patron saint of Juhu Beach United, a football club he co-founded 14 years ago, Kanchan has been a fan since he saw the World Cup telecast in 1982, and believes that football is the fastest emerging game in India after cricket. 

Kanchan, who thinks India’s interest in football cannot be borne out by statistics even in the next many years, says “marketing has come in only now.” Those cat.a.lyst spoke to say the telecast of foreign league matches, English Premier League, La Liga, and Champions League, has fuelled the interest in the game, which can take at least ten years to reach as many audiences as cricket.

Boria Majumdar, sports commentator and author of A Social History of Indian Football , says it’s symbiotic, with marketers and broadcasters harnessing the passion for their benefit. 

 The interest in football has also manifested itself in the establishment of football academies and clinics supported by clubs such as Manchester United and Chelsea and corporate support for grassroots tournaments. In the new Indian Super League, set to kick off in September, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly as well as some Bollywood stars have bought teams.

In media terms, the FIFA World Cup is a marquee event. Not only are people watching the games in the wee hours of the day, newspapers are allotting it 4-6 special pages. “When people would be watching it on TV and know what’s going on anyway, they are still willing to, and want to, read this,” observes Majumdar.

 Prasana Krishna, MSM Executive VP and Business Head, Sony SIX, official telecaster, says the growth in Indian viewership is promising. It now comes from outside the East, North-East and Kerala, the country’s traditional markets for football. In 2010, FIFA WC received 65 million viewers in India and a viewership rating close to 3. “It provides marketers a different audience base, an urban and a young one. As for advertisers, it’s a low-inventory sport with fewer accessories and brands making them, the ones that advertise get clutter-free visibility.”

Numbers or hunches?  Sports goods maker Nike’s Avinash Pant, Head – Marketing, India, says, “We ourselves organise a grassroots-level tournament in India, and there’s real interest. There’s a lot more coverage and excitement and kids are seeing some of the best players in the world play.” Nike is associated with 10 World Cup teams. A Coca-Cola India spokesperson says the sport is gaining momentum from initiatives like the U-15 tournament where it partners with the All India Football Federation to nurture young talent. Rajesh Kumar Maini, GM (Corp Communications), McDonald’s India (North & East), says there were over 30,000 entries for their Player Escort Program which puts a child in close proximity with the players. “This is a significant number for this kind of programme. We are not that focused on financials as it’s the first time we’ve launched it,” he says.

 Is it solid numbers or sheer gut feel that makes marketers latch on to football?

Sunjae Sharma, Area Director and GM of Chennai’s Hyatt Regency, where there is a dugout with an interactive screen, says fans coming out late at night to watch TV with their friends, wearing T-shirts, jerseys and celebrating not just goals but good moves, is an indicator of bona fide interest. Amreet RK, a 23-year-old sports enthusiast, says owning the teams’ merchandise and watching the game as part of a crowd “gives me a sense of belonging”.

Arun Chandramohan, co-founder-CEO of e-commerce firm Jabong, says much of the merchandise being bought is the exact stuff that heavyweight footballers are wearing. Jabong is also selling Nike’s Magista shoes, whose prices start above ₹3,400 for the kids’ version. The sustained supply of football on TV will have it make commercial sense for marketers later, if not now. The demand for jerseys and sports shoes being seen in those tournaments offers a steady market, he says. 

 Brand consultant Kanchan says the EPL alone lasts for nine months, from August to mid-May, after which comes the Champions League. “There’s a season to follow, more regular than before. Of course, there’s cricket too, but there are gaps between tournaments, and shows like the IPL last for just 45 days.” Amreet adds that the short 90-minute duration of a game is also a reason why he watches it.

Where’s the beauty?  The observers note that there are few takers for the cricket tournaments that are on currently, be it in terms of viewers or broadcasters. So what is it about football that is attractive to Indians?

“Any new generation wants its own set of passions, like music. And football filled that role,” says Kanchan. India is not going to be a player on the Asian stage, forget world stage, for long, but Messi is closer to Indian hearts than Bhaichung Bhutia or Sunil Chhetri who are rarely seen, says Kanchan, who calls it a “people’s game, you just need a ball to kick around.”

Making cricket of football  Anil K Nair, CEO & Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, says Indian football needs to find its “1983 moment”, the year India won the cricket world cup. “I feel football is ready to become a challenger sport to cricket in the next few years. The most critical factor for that will be the success of the first ISL.”

 Football needs nationalism, says Majumdar. “We have been able to do that for cricket. One can aspire to be an MS Dhoni in India … We need to be a more active consumer in terms of playing the sport at a competitive level internationally.”

Inviting India’s Prime Minister to attend the finals in Brazil is a step in the right direction, as is India’s hosting the Fifa WC under 17 and the ISL. “Having said that, football needs India, we are one of the largest consuming markets for the sport,” he says.