Mumbai: In great pomp and celebration, Mumbai City FC announced that City Football Group (CFG) had acquired a majority ownership stake in the club in 2019. CFG, which owns English football giant Manchester City, along with 11 other football clubs across Asia, the Americas and Australia, has entered the Indian market.
This association lasted for six years, and came to an abrupt end thanks to the crisis that Indian football has suffered over the past six months. The unprecedented delay in the new season (seasons generally start in September and October, but this time they started on February 14) has caused many clubs to stop working. Mumbai City has lost the experience of CFG, who led the team to each of their four major titles – the ISL Shield in 2020-21 and 2022-23, and the ISL Cup in 2020-21 and 2023-24.
“The way it was criticized was very unfortunate,” Mumbai City Chief Executive Kandarp Chandra told HT. “It was very valuable for us because when they came, we were a mid-table team. CFG brought in a lot of technology (technical analysis) to help us improve. What was happening before CFG is that we were changing coaches, and that is the nature of the Indian Super League and other football clubs as well, but we did not have a standard philosophy in terms of how we wanted to play.”
With CFG calling the shots and offering their expertise, Mumbai have become one of the most watched teams in the league. Playing attractive, attacking football, the team registered an unbeaten record in 18 matches on their way to winning the league title.
“We have changed three managers under CFG as well, but that consistency has remained,” Chandra said.
“Their biggest strength at Mumbai City was their football experience, how we were reading the game, how we were selecting players, how we were dealing with injuries, how we were testing players. I think most of that was in the back end of how you structure yourself as a football team.”
From being an underachieving team, CFG has transformed the club to become one of the leading lights in the current setup of Indian football. Then came the off-field chaos as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) failed to renew the master rights agreement with Reliance-owned Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) on time.
The delay in renewal caused the season to be postponed indefinitely, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs intervened to start the truncated 13-match season on February 14.
However, by December, CFG made the decision to end ties with the club, returning its 65 percent stake in the club to original owners Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh.
“City Football Group has taken this decision following a comprehensive commercial review and in light of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of the Indian Super League,” the club said in a statement posted on its website. “This move reflects CFG’s disciplined and strategic approach – ensuring its focus remains on the areas where it can have the greatest long-term impact.”
In other words, City Football Group has not seen any sustainable future in the way Indian football is run.
Asked if this was a blow not just to Mumbai City, but to Indian football in general, Chandra said: “It certainly is. They are pioneers in a multi-club system. With the departure of an important partner, not just Mumbai City, all the other clubs in the Indian Super League have been speaking very loudly. (Other clubs) have made it very clear that it is a big blow to Indian football.”
Mumbai City FC started their campaign with a 1-0 win over Chennaiyin FC at home on Thursday. The season started without the club’s biggest ever supporter. But what remains is a blueprint for how to win.
“It is very clear from the owners now, Bimal and Ranbir, that the club existed before CFG,” Chandra said.
“The club continues to exist after CFG in the current season. We hope to exist in the future as well, if Indian football and the I-League continue to exist. What the future looks like, we are still working on achieving that collectively with the AIFF, the clubs and everyone together.”
At present, Mumbai City and ISL are living in hope.
