Cricket-mad India, home to 1.3 billion people, is a massive underachiever as far as football is concerned and the country has yet to make a single appearance at the World Cup finals. Barcelona have opened three centres in the country and Camps said they could prove a win-win for the La Liga side and India. Described as a sleeping giant by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, India launched a programme in 2016 to engage more than 11 million children in soccer-related activities in the leadup to hosting the U-17 World Cup. Barcelona have been in India with the Barca Academy since 2013 and say they have trained more than 25,000 young footballers through various programs. It has been rated as the top academy in India by the All India Football Federation.

Source: The Express Tribune January 07, 2019 14:56 UTC