Hyderabad FC's Varun Tripuraneni explains importance of focusing on grassroots
The co-owner of the Nizams touched upon the need to develop local talent in the state and provide them with a platform to showcase their skills.
Hyderabad FC’s exploits have been one of the major talking points of the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season. Their band of young players has proved that they aren’t just ready to settle as fillers in the squad and will only get better by the day. That brings us to understand the club’s vision, the culture they are developing and the examples they are setting for the local talents. Their co-owner Varun Tripuraneni, who recently appeared on Khel Now’s Beyond The Scores podcast, touched upon the club’s plans to expand locally.
“It is a long way to go. We’ve got to focus at the grassroots level. We need to build our own scouting and talent base, need to have the right set of coaches in the city,” he began.
“Whatever best talent is available in the state, we want them to be part of HFC. We will give them the best coaching and exposure possible.”
For someone who has worked closely at the local level, Varun Tripuraneni knows the functioning of the state leagues, the improvements that can be made and the challenges that come along. He also had a short stint as the president of the Chennai Football Association before the inaugural season of ISL.
“The biggest challenge I would say is the mindset of people. The sport has evolved in the country with the emergence of ISL. New teams have been added to the I-League as well. But, I would say there is bit of lack of motivation to see the local teams in I-League or ISL.”
He explained how he learned from his time at the association that it is not very difficult to develop a calendar of football activities throughout the year. He also believes in the fact that there are corporate players in the market who are keen to invest in sports, which solves the need to attain sponsorships.
“The Chennai league was really a platform for players like Nandha (Kumar Sekar) and Soosairaj (Michael) to flourish their skills,” he recalled. He further explained how the need for local players to be seen in the professional leagues was felt, with the ISL getting into the groove.
This is where the state football associations come into the picture and have a vital role to play. They need to ensure that local players have a platform to showcase their talent and make a case for recruitment in the senior leagues.
“For us in Hyderabad, the first thing we noticed is that we need to work with the federation to ensure that the (local) league is professional and how it can be much better. It is important for a club like us that there is a really good state league. It’s important that there are competitive matches for these players to be part of.
“Once the opportunities are there, then we’ll know how good these players are. There are a lot more Edwins (Vanspaul) and Nandhas in the Chennai league alone, who would do well if given the platform,” he quoted.
Taking a leaf out of his Chennai chapter, the former Kerala Blasters CEO demonstrated how it is also important for a club to grow the local players right from the grassroots level and see them grasp the opportunities to shine at the senior level in future. It is always good to know that the club intend to have local players coming through the ranks of their own youth setup. Players who will represent their home state at the highest level in Indian football. Hyderabad FC’s vision is based on this very thought process, explains Varun Tripuraneni.
Here, their international partnerships with Borussia Dortmund and Marbella FC have a major role to play. After all, state-of-the-art facilities supported by the right quality of coaching will do a world of good to the youngsters.
That said, setting up an academy is the need of the hour. Not just for Hyderabad FC, but for every football club that plies its trade in the top level of Indian football. An academy of their own will tick all the boxes to fulfill their criteria for youth development. On that note, Varun Tripuraneni made some exciting revelation for the football fans across the state.
“In the next couple of months or maybe before the ISL season finishes, we are hopeful of announcing our yearly grassroots calendar which would also include our academy plans,” he quoted.
He further revealed some of the key objectives that the club have set to achieve in the coming months. “The important thing now is to setup our own youth teams, something we did not focus on last season because we hardly had any time. This year also, we don’t have much happening at the youth level.
“Having the league taking place in one venue has actually given us time to think of things outside the pitch as well. The most important thing is to focus on grassroots. The limited success we’ve achieved so far with the young players in the squad, we don’t want to deviate from that philosophy. That is one of the most important points to focus on off-the-field,” he added.
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