According to a top official, Germany’s premier football league, Bundesliga is looking to access the Indian football market by pushing clubs from the competition to establish a presence in India, similar to what some of them have in China, while actively connecting with supporters.
Bundesliga International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and in charge of driving the Bundesliga’s internationalization, is collaborating with its broadcast partner Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) to engage with fans on the ground, as well as bringing some of Germany’s top clubs to play against Indian clubs from the ISL or I League.
Bundesliga is one of the biggest and most-followed leagues in the world at the moment, and the number of fans keeps growing. It is also a lucrative league for betting, and fans can see football scores online to keep up with events from wherever they are. Vwin, arguably the biggest betting brand in Asia, is currently bringing matches for the Bundesliga, in addition to other leagues from across multiple continents.
Speaking about the potential of the Indian football market, Bundesliga International Chief Executive Officer Robert Klein said, “Football really has a big part to play in India. You’ve got cricket, number one for sure. You’ve got kabaddi, which is doing an incredible job but football is the third biggest sport behind that and growing rapidly and it’s so easy to play and so accessible.”
He went on to say,”So we want to grow the Bundesliga brand and we want you to know not just about (Borussia) Dortmund and Bayern (Munich) but we want you to know about (RB) Leipzig, which are doing incredible stuff, and (Bayer 04) Leverkusen —they’re having a great season. These are teams that are scoring more goals than any other league in the world. And we want to share that passion and also help build Indian football together.”
Mr. Klein stated that while the football markets of India and China are similar, where Bundesliga has been a partner with national broadcaster CCTV for over 23 years, “The Bundesliga image and our clubs are at a higher level currently in China than it is in India. We have six clubs present in China in terms of office spaces at the moment. We have clubs who are doing activities in India but not currently with offices. So this is the gap and this is where we need to be.”
He went on to say that the goal is to visit the grounds “because you need to be on the ground to be able to actively engage with the fans with your partners. That requires investment and time but in the end, it should be the goal with the market the size of India. It is a big market.”
Despite competition from the English Premier League (EPL), Mr. Klein is optimistic about the Indian football market “We know the EPL strength in India but from our research that we do regularly, including in India, we are the fastest growing league in terms of fan engagement. So in terms of growth, [although] we’re coming from a different base, we know that there is a fan base.”
He also stated that Bundesliga International is looking forward to collaborating closely with SPN, with whom it has inked a two-year deal for exclusive media rights to broadcast the German football league in India, not only for live matches but also for grassroots events.
“Our ambition, plans and discussions with Sony are to bring legends to India. That doesn’t mean just come and say hello, shake your hand. It’s actually to create some grassroots events around it, training programs for Indian football fans,” said Mr. Klein.
