'Tied up in knots' could be an apt summation of the plethora of tie-ups that Indian football witnessed with top European clubs in recent years, partnerships that seemed to be driven primarily by commerce, if experts are to be believed. "These are all commercial ventures and has little impact on football development," says Shaji Prabhakaran, former FIFA regional development officer for South and Central Asia. Prabhakaran has been involvement with the game for more than two decades and had worked at the All India Football Federation and Asian Football Confederations (AFC) before being appointed regional development officer of FIFA. "It's a commercial partnership from our perspective but the fee is minimum, because they (European clubs) also look at burgeoning Indian market. "Most of the clubs are okay as they can generate revenue from the commercial Indian market, talent is not the first priority right now.

Source: dna August 13, 2017 08:03 UTC