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In early 2021, Spanish football club Sevilla FC signed a five-year partnership with Bengaluru United FC, a club that is yet to compete in the I-League or ISL. Now with the COVID pandemic seemingly in our rear windows, Sevilla’s Business General Manager Jorge Paradela is confident that 2022 will be the year when the Sevilla x FCBU collaboration will truly kick-off.
Immediately on the horizon is a three-day ’Hackathon’ planned ideate around technology solutions in sports, followed by the Sevilla FC-FCBU Junior Cup.
In this exclusive interview, Sportskeeda’s Varun Pai & Ashwin Lonkar caught up with Mr Paradela for insights into the Sevilla FC x FC Bengaluru United association.
Sevilla x FC Bengaluru United Tie-up
Q. Sevilla was earlier in talks to tie up with an Indian Super League (ISL) club, a discussion which ended up falling through. While Bengaluru United is yet to compete in the I-League and the ISL in India, what was the vision and common goals between the two clubs that made Bengaluru United an attractive partner for Sevilla in India?
A. I think it’s the values that we share. The passion for innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit brings us together.
For us, the prospect of helping FC Bengaluru United build a lasting project, capable of competing in the I-League one day, anytime soon, is an important part of the equation. Similarly, the fact that FCBU’s founders are linked to technology, and the role that technology plays in our vision for the future is also a fundamental element of the partnership.
And then I would add to those elements, the interest of other stakeholders like La Liga and also Valvoline, one of our main sponsors, for the Indian market. So, for all these reasons, the partnership with FCBU was something that came almost as natural, and [is something] that we are really proud of.
Q. How has the partnership worked out so far from Sevilla’s perspective since being announced in early 2021 ?
A. For us, the Indian market is a strategic one. It is a market in which we have 26% of spontaneous brand awareness, in which, we are hitting the news quite often. We are the fourth [highest] Spanish team in terms of news related to our club which is published in India. So, there are many reasons to believe that this is a strategic market for us and that this partnership is already taking good shape.
I have to say that 2021, which is when we signed the partnership, was still an unusual year for the world, for obvious reasons. So, for us, it is this season, the year 2022, when plans are taking full shape. And we are working on all cylinders with our partners FCBU, on a really complete, comprehensive plan.
Q. Bengaluru is a major tech and startup hub in India, a fact that Sevilla has been open about wanting to leverage to evaluate their participation in innovative projects in the world of football. Could you elaborate on some of the efforts that have been made to leverage this tech and startup ecosystem that the city of Bengaluru brings to the table?
A. The fact that Bengaluru or Bangalore is a tech hub in India is hugely relevant for us. It is a tech hub that sparks admiration all over the world. As you know, many people consider it India’s Silicon Valley or Asia’s Silicon Valley. So, for us to be involved with them makes sense as we have a sheer passion for technology as well.
We are a club that is really technology savvy. We created an innovation centre a few years ago, and we also created, most importantly, a data department two years ago. We have our own data scientists and AI experts who work on different issues in different areas of the club. Initially in the sporting areas like scouting, but now also in the marketing area, in what we call, Artificial Intelligence applied to the fan journey.
So, this too is a crucial element of our partnership. We are bringing it to life by means of a series of Hackathons, where we will have technology experts, and amateurs in technology working simultaneously, globally. They will especially focus on India and Andalucía, in the south of Spain, on a number of topics and challenges that the club will bring to the table.
In these Hackathons, people will be working on challenges related to injury prediction, stadium attendance, market valuation, and also the potential transfer valuation for players.
Technology plays a fundamental role. In a way, [it is] the backbone of our partnership with FCBU.
Q. Sevilla FC and Bengaluru United received the WFS Best Internationalisation Strategy award in September 2021, a testament that the partnership is clearly working and making waves on the international stage. How does Sevilla FC go ahead from here hand in hand with Bengaluru United for the remainder of the five-year partnership?
A. Yes, we were so proud when we saw our partners from FCBU receive the award at the WFS summit in Madrid last year. We felt so incredibly proud. And where do we go from here? [What] we have now is a very open and continuous collaboration. So, we have regular meetings with the team in India and the team in Sevilla.
We meet on a very regular basis, I’d say at least twice a month. And what we have is a full action plan for the end of this season, which goes up until September.
It also includes the beginning of the next season in Spain. And that’s going to be a rolling plan. So, what I foresee is a joint plan that we will have every year, in which we will be going from strength to strength, implementing additional activities, and always combining online and offline.What we call online content is continuous content that is always on, with more traditional activities. We foresee a continuous collaboration, which is based every year on a joint plan that we put together.
Q. Both clubs have been open about wanting to learn more about the respective footballing cultures, with Sevilla having previously stated that the club wants to know more about Indian football first and not just start an initiative immediately that may not last beyond a few months. With Bengaluru United owner Gaurav Manchanda recently visiting Sevilla FC in March 2022 to better understand the workings of the club, would a similar visit from Sevilla FC to India be on the horizon to learn more first hand about their Indian counterpart and the Indian market?
A. Yes, we were really happy and pleased to host our partners from FCBU here in Sevilla FC. It’s always a pleasure when we have online engagements, but it was especially motivating to have them here with us for a few days in Sevilla FC. We had Gaurav Manchanda and Debu Chaudhury, and we had a number of activities. They got to know the club behind the scenes, they got to know my team face to face, and of course, they also watched a match with us, against Real Sociedad. I remember. And yes, conversely, the answer is that we are visiting India soon and we are very much looking forward to that.
We are putting together a comprehensive program that will include many things-many elements and things related to our joint plan. Like the Junior Cup - the Valvoline Junior Sevilla FC Cup that FCBU is organising and hosting for us - that’s going to be the hallmark of our visit, along with a number of exchanges with different stakeholders. We are looking forward to our return visit to India.
Q. Other major European clubs that are looking to expand their presence in India have also tied up with various teams and properties, with some clubs such as Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, etc. having previously sent their youth teams for an India tour. Would Sevilla FC be looking to have a similar approach in the near future for their India strategy?
A. Yes, we were really happy and pleased to host our partners from FCBU. We tend to do things our own way, the way we feel fits best with our strategy and our long-term vision. And not so much to compare ourselves with other clubs.
I would say the partnership between Sevilla FC and FCBU goes beyond the pitch. As I explained before, technology plays a fundamental role in what we want to build together.
We are building something for the future; we’re building something together that will last, and that will result in a joint annual plan. Maybe in the future, we will have Sevilla FC junior teams visiting India.
Q. Sevilla FC in association with Bengaluru United organised the first joint event in India in the form of a Match Party in late 2021 for Sevilla’s LaLiga match against Villarreal CF. What kind of other collaborative events can fans look forward to from this partnership in the near future?
A. Yes, we’re very pleased that we’ve already done a few match parties with the occasions of La Liga matches that fitted well with the schedule. As you know, the schedule in La Liga changes from one week to the other. There are games which are played in the afternoon or evening, so not every one of them fits time-wise properly with the activities in India.
But we’ve already done a few of them, and we’re very happy with the results. This is something that we will continue implementing, together with new activities.
The next hallmark will be two-fold. On the one hand, we are pleased to organise, together with FCBU and our partner Valvoline, a junior cup. What we call Sevilla FC-FCBU Junior Cup sponsored by Valvoline. That is going to happen in June, and we will, for sure, disclose more details very soon.
And the second thing is the Hackathons we discussed earlier. As an online Hackathon should be, this is going to be a global event. But we will put more emphasis on sparking that collaboration in Bangalore and in Andalucía, Spain.
La Liga in India
Q. LaLiga as a whole is increasing in popularity in India. While Sevilla FC is already working with LaLiga for the LaLiga Football Schools in India, are there any additional plans to work with LaLiga to grow in India in the near future?
A. Yes, as we have described before, we have our own plans together with FCBU, with our partners. And those plans include new elements.
But of course, La Liga is a key stakeholder for us and we are so happy that they have strong delegates in India and strong plans for India, which is such a promising football market, and more specifically for La Liga.
So, in this case, yes, we will support the La Liga football school in Pune, and we will happily collaborate with them in the promotion of Spanish football whenever they think it is wise to do so. For example, the promotion of the grand derby is becoming more and more prominent. And La Liga, I’m sure, will continue to do activities around this match in the coming future.
Q. Could you elaborate on the long-term vision for the Bengaluru United partnership and the wider Indian football market from Sevilla FC’s perspective?
A. Yes. So whenever we speak to the team in FCBU, led by Gaurav Manchanda, we have the conviction that we are working on something which is built to last.
For us it would be a pleasure to see FCBU continue growing sports-wise, as they have a sensational track record in the last six years. And we are convinced that, not so far from now, they will be entering the I-League.
From our side, what we can see is that FCBU and their partners, their founders, and their team are people from whom we can learn a lot.
As we said before, technology is the DNA of Bangalore, and technology is also at the heart of our collaboration with FCBU. So Sevilla FC has also a lot to learn from this collaboration.
And this is something that will be evolving every year, based on the joint plan that we will shape together. Incorporating new ingredients, doubling down on things that worked well, learning from mistakes, but building something which is stronger every year. That’s our ambition. That’s what we dream about.
