Soumo Ghosh
AIFF Media Team
NEW DELHI: In an age when success is measured by progression rate, Sporting Club Bengaluru are a side that have the intent to play the waiting game.
Sure, the club has risen meteorically since their inception, but what is remarkable about their growth thus far, is that all of it has come organically. Since the clubs inception in 2022, SC Bengaluru have done their bidding at every stage to ensure progression to the next tier.
Winning the BDFA Super Division in 2022-23 itself, SC Bengaluru then went on to earn promotion to I-League 3, where they finished in the top three, to make it to I-League 2. The Golden Tigers have since won the I-League 2 title, and are now prepared to enter the big stage of the I-League as they face Inter Kashi on November 22, 2024.
Club co-owner and CEO Kishore S. Reddy is a firm believer in organic growth that benefits the local footballers.
“Our idea is to grow in an organic manner, and we are here to show that it can be achieved if done properly. Our club was started in 2022, and we are already in the I-League in a few years,” said Reddy. “We are not a large conglomerate like some of the clubs out there. We don’t have the financial bandwidth to spend as much as some clubs do to ensure success. This is why we can attract local players and fans.”
The ultimate goal off the pitch for the club is to become a sustainable footballing entity.
“We started the club back in 2022, and have treated it as any other business. Right now, our primary plan is to become a sustainable club. With the investments that we have put in, we’ve come all the way to the I-League, where we are just a step away from the pinnacle of Indian football – the Indian Super League,” he said. “Having the club situated in Bengaluru was a strategy we employed, as in terms of attracting investments as a startup, this city made a lot of sense.”
While SC Bengaluru take the next leap into the fold of the I-League, the club owners are intent on maintaining their local identity. Head coach Chinta Chandrasekar Rao has been with the team through their journey, and the club management has shown the same level of trust in him and his wards in the I-League as well.
“Chinta Chandrasekar, our head coach, is from Karnataka, and has shown tremendous improvement. He’s been with us every step of the way, in the Super Division, I-League 3, and I-League 2,” said Reddy. “It doesn’t make any sense for us to go with someone else.
SC Bengaluru have eight local players in their squad, out of which four have been promoted from the reserve team, while they have signed seasoned campaigner Shankar Sampingiraj as well.
“We put a lot of trust in our local players, so much so that some of the boys who have just been brought in from the reserves will travel with the first team as well,” he said. “Promotion of the local players over the longer run is one of our objectives.
“The local players will have support from some foreign signings too, (Spanish winger) Jordan Lamela being one of them,” said Reddy.
The team have played a number of practice matches during the pre-season, and are looking forward to the challenges at this new level.
“It’s our first season, so we will take it one match at a time, learn everything about the opponents as well as ourselves, and move forward from there,” he said. “But there’s only one reason why we’re here, and that is to win this league and make it to the ISL.
“We’ve seen underdog stories everywhere, and we are certainly hoping for one ourselves. Be it Leicester City in England, or Aizawl FC in the I-League itself, we want to replicate such narratives.”
