“The younger guys in the club meet up regularly and play informal tournaments,” says Shalin. “I wrote a letter to the two telling them about our club in Mumbai and when we managed to meet Scholes later, he said that he’d been looking for us,” an excited Sunil reminisces.Initially, it was rather difficult to find venues, and we’d have to get at least 35 people attending the screening to make up for the cost of the place. “My dad was associated with Arsenal back in the ’60s and I’ve studied in England. So, we started this club, and thanks to my association with the parent club, we were made official in what I think is a record time of two months.
Popular amongst these fan clubs are the Big Four English football teams — Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool — with every metropolitan city and major tier 2 city housing official fan clubs dedicated to the grand old clubs. I’m certain in the next few years, even a huge club like Manchester United will come down for a pre-season match — this would not have been possible four years ago.”. Arpan Peter of Chelsea Football Club (CFC) Bengaluru recalls his first exposure to the Premiere League only happened in 2001, after his tenth board exams.”The seal of approval from the parent club is what most fan clubs aim to gain. United has its own soccer schools, Liverpool and Chelsea too indulge with students, as does Arsenal. The fan clubs are a great way for the parent clubs to feel the pulse of the crowd and we benefit too when legends of the game come down and interact with fans here. “I want to run this club and make it a long lasting thing.