"In football there's nothing," says Dempo SC owner Shrinivas Dempo

Mr. Shrinivas Dempo opens up about the recent situation of Indian football

Recently speaking to TOI, Dempo SC’s club owner and president Mr. Shrinivas Dempo shared that the journey to return to the top of Indian football will not come at a cost of financial stability.

After heavily investing in the past, Mr. Shrinivas now believes that clubs must grow organically by developing young local talents and have a clear roadmap before just spending big money.

Mr. Shrinivas opened up about the club’s ambition, the importance of local Goan players, the challenges surrounding Indian football and why just spending money is not the key.

In this article we take a look at the key takeaways from Mr. Shrinivas’ conversation with TOI.

Questions the sustainability of Indian football’s financial model

Dempo SC believe that a club needs a clear commercial idea before committing to just spending a heavy amount of money.

Talking about Jamshedpur FC’s exit, Mr. Shrinivas Dempo questioned the current financial model of Indian football, by taking example of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) where Dempo owns the Goa based franchise.

Mr. Shrinivas Dempo said, “Corporates have shut football teams in the past. I remember when Mahindra (United) closed down, I phoned (executive director) Alan Durante and told him if Mahindra shuts shop, how can Dempo survive? He said the message from the promoters was clear: money must be put to good use.”

“For Tatas, what they spend on the football team is not big money, but where is it taking them? They do so much of philanthropy and perhaps that kind of philanthropy gives them more goodwill equity than just putting money in football, bringing in foreigners and paying them.”

“There should be a roadmap. I’ll spend money, I’m willing to lose money for the next two or three years, but does the roadmap show that I’ll ever gain? In Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT, where Dempo owns the Goa franchise), I get confidence from the fact that I will break even in two or three years. In football, there is nothing.”

Mr. Shrinivas remains hopeful about the future of Indian football despite financial challenge

Mr. Shrinivas while talking to TOI, said that his continued investment in Indian football is mostly driven by the hope of producing talented local players from the academy.

He admits that the rising costs of running a club in India have made things difficult and cited the importance of a sustainable model.

“We always feel there’s hope. Through the academy, we want players to emerge. We want the number to increase. Otherwise, with the kind of figures that were discussed at the last IFL (general council) meeting, I am seriously concerned whether I will be able to continue.”

“The model must be sustainable; the model has to eventually give you some commercial advantage. Maybe not profits now, but if you just tell me to spend money for the sake of it, you have to really evaluate whether that money is well spent.”

Positive signs in terms of an academy despite challenges

Mr. Shrinivas admitted that there are questions over the long-term sustainability of the academy, however, he does seem encouraging signs with several players paying significant fees and their parents showing their willingness as well.

“We are spending a lot on the academy. Apart from philanthropy, which I enjoy, there are question marks if the academy model remains viable.”

“The good news is that, at the academy, this time we are getting about six to seven players who are paying us over Rs 5 lakh. Somewhere down the line, parents are willing to take that risk. I also heard from our secretary Lector (Mascarenhas) that two parents came to the academy and asked if their boys could just train. They were willing to pay Rs 2 lakh, just to practice with the team.”

“That is some light at the end of the tunnel. But we need volumes, and the volume is now there right now in Dempo,” he further added.

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