"If Indian football really needs to succeed, the domestic league needs to improve" - Chirag Tanna

Pune FC has steadily built a name for itself in the I League and a few have tipped them with an outside chance this year. Currently fourth in the league with 30 points, they have won 9 of their 16 games. In a recent chat with Mr. Chirag Tanna, Head of Operations – Pune Football Club, we posed him a few questions regarding his work, the Pune FC youth squad and a little more. Here are a few excerpts.

How did you find yourself in one of the most promising clubs in Indian football? Why Pune FC?

I was working with Peninsula Land Limited (Ashok Piramal Group) when an opportunity arose for corporate investment in Indian football. I presented the opportunity to the promoters of the Ashok Piramal Group and in the next couple of months, Pune Football Club was launched. I was fortunate enough to set up the club for promoters who are extremely passionate about Indian football.

Pune FC is one of the few Indian clubs which are investing in the youth. Does the system include a decent number of Pune youngsters? How quickly can we actually match Asian standards if not European?

Chirag Tanna

We take a lot of pride in our youth set up. There are some talented young players from Pune in our u-19 team and some of the players from our u-17 and u-15 squad look like they can play at the highest levels. However, these players will have to work exceptionally hard if they want to become professional footballers. Unfortunately, in our current structure, we lose a lot of talented players. There aren’t enough youth competitions conducted for the younger age groups. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) should have more youth level competitions from which talent can be identified and nurtured. If India is to ever be competitive in Asia, we also need to have a strong domestic league.

What are the facilities that Pune FC provides it’s players with? Has the inclusion of a nutritionist and a psychologist become part of basic football hygiene or is it still some distance away?

Pune FC provides boarding and lodging for all the senior and u-19 players. A lot of attention is paid on our players’ fitness and diet. We have a nutritionist coming in from time to time to assess the player’s diet. However, we do not use a sports psychologist on a regular basis.

Pune has suddenly become a hot-spot for both football and cricket. So can we expect a packed Balewadi for a Pune FC home game?

Our marketing team works tirelessly to ensure that we receive a good turnout for our homes. I do believe that if IMG-Reliance and AIFF improve the marketing and broadcasting of the I-League, we will manage to pack Balewadi for our home games.

What’s your take on the AIFF-IMG fiasco? What, according to you, could be the repercussions on the nascent Indian league?

Although the money invested by the commercial partners has tripled – Zee was paying about Rs.12 crores per annum and IMG-Reliance is paying about Rs.36 crores – India’s ranking on the FIFA table has fallen from 144 in Jan 2011 to 164 in June 2012. Nothing has been done to improve the domestic league and even women’s tournaments have not been conducted this season.

With event agencies getting big European names to the country, would you dismiss this as a short-term commercial gimmick or a real effort to introduce the regular public to football superstars?

Big European names coming to India will help increase visibility of football in India. However, this will not have a substantial impact on Indian football. If Indian football really needs to succeed, the domestic league needs to improve.