Roel de Vries was pleased with what he saw at the Mumbai Football Arena.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) for City Football Group, the world’s leading private owner and operator of football clubs with ownership of twelve clubs worldwide, was in India to see Mumbai City FC play at home for the first time.
Mumbai, as expected, ended up scoring a comfortable win. With 24 points at the end of the first leg – and the only unbeaten team – they are showing just why they are the favourites to regain the trophies they lost last season.
“The atmosphere was good which for me is important,” de Vries told TOI in an exclusive interaction. “We have many new fans coming to watch football games and it’s important when they come, that the experience is good, not just the game. On the pitch too, I was quite impressed.”
De Vries arrived at CFG to serve as chief operating officer in September 2020, just months after the group, that also owns Premier League champions Manchester City, decided to invest in Indian football. His trip to India has helped reinforce the belief that the group has put its money where its heart is.
League leaders Mumbai City FC are the only unbeaten team in ISL
“Our reason to be in India is to be part of the growth of the game. Even today, many people compare to cricket and the number of people who live in India. Of course, we have so much opportunity when you look at it that way.
“If you look at it the other way, around a million people watch a game live. Those are not bad numbers in the world of football. Live audience is a big number. This trip here gave me lot of confidence that this was the right choice to join Indian football,” said de Vries.
Mumbai City are among the newer acquisitions for the City group.
In their first season, Mumbai won a rare double, and in the second, even though they did not make it to the four-team playoffs, Des Buckingham’s side won two group games and finished second behind Saudi giants Al Shabab FC in the high-profile AFC Champions League.
“I am very confident (of progress). The quality is improving, stadiums are becoming more and more full. It means that the atmosphere is getting better, and with the atmosphere, the game gets better. If we keep building this, I think we can make it really big, which is our objective,” said de Vries.
Since 2013, when CFG was formed, the group teams have won leagues in six countries. In the last two seasons, there has been success in England, Australia, India, Japan and United States, besides Bolivia where CFG are partners with Club Bolivar.
De Vries, though, says the group does not set “strict goals” for any of their clubs.
“To have the double and be the first Indian club to do well at the AFC Champions League, we are very happy how things have gone so far. We are not so strict with goals. We don’t set targets of becoming one or two, but we want to compete for prizes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. But you definitely want to compete.
“We want to play our part in improving the game in India. If you have a few teams that do well, it also lifts the other teams. That’s our objective. The targets are very clear: play on the pitch, make sure we compete for the prizes at the top, but no firm target on a position or a prize. For the rest of the club, (it’s to) make sure that the number of fans grow, stadium atmosphere grows and that we are a positive player in the Indian world of football,” said de Vries.