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Two-time I-League winners (2013-14, 2015-16), two-time Federation Cup champions (2015, 2017), Super Cup holders and the ISL runners-up in their debut season - Bengaluru FC, ever since its inception, has never looked like a team which had to grow through a transition period to settle itself in the big league of Indian football.
With the presence of India stars like Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Udanta Singh and a great bunch of foreign talent like Miku, John Johnson, Alvaro Rubio to name a few, Bengaluru FC have managed to capture the imagination of the people of the city, with their style of play and successes over the years.
When Bengaluru FC was set up in 2013, owner Parth Jindal betted on the privatisation of footballing structure and taking ownership of the game in the country, and it came especially after the continuous failure of AIFF to break into the football markets in India.
As a result, Bengaluru aimed at a couple of things:
A) To conquer Asia on the pitch
B) To unite people under the BFC flag
Both tasks looked equally challenging and came with its own set of difficulties. However, the latter had no clear way of its execution and required significant effort to break through the Bengaluru crowd which had a significant inclination towards the European clubs.
Now, into their fifth year, Bengaluru have managed to not only walk through its set visions, but also bring in a fresh air of fan engagement with a number of initiatives and associations.
Here are five reasons which make Bengaluru FC the cool club of Indian Football:
#5 Smart Brand Acquisitions
At a critical juncture of the Indian Super League, when not only the clubs but also the league is finding it tough to add new sponsors, Bengaluru FC seem to ride on a totally different tangent altogether.
Starting from the shirt sponsor, they were acquired by one of the best-recognised brands in Puma, who also sponsor the likes of Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund. It’s also critical, as in this season of the league when Puma pulled out of the league’s official kit sponsorship, BFC’s ties with the kit manufacturer further strengthened.
BFC will also get credit on the fact that other teams in the ISL have had renowned sponsors like Adidas and Umbro in the past, but none could retain thus far. To be attached with a brand like Puma shows a matter of great credibility for the club and also the league on a whole.
Keeping Puma aside, BFC have also secured a partnership of KIA Motors this season along with other renowed brands like Nissin, Jockey, Wrogn, Cure Fit among others. Not to forget the support lended to the LGBT community, where the players displayed their flair by turning up for the matches in suits - a "first" in Indian football
#4 The BFC Soccer schools
Among the many initiatives taken by the BFC administration, the BFC soccer schools are one of the well-managed youth academies in the country. Started in 2014 with just one centre, the soccer school expanded to five centers within a year. The aim of the program is to reach out to each and every child in the city so that the deserving ones do not miss out on the opportunity to train in the academy.
They also opened their first residential academy where the shortlisted players from the grassroots are provided with accommodation, education and nutrition at no cost, with this fully-funded youth development program
The BFC academies have been active in their functioning and have a number of their graduates playing at the junior and sub-junior level. Another thing which separates the BFC Soccer school from any other academy in the country, is how they reach out to the community. The soccer school has regular activities in the community and its own website. Further, regular updates are posted from the Bengaluru FC social media handle on its functioning. The soccer school has created bridge a between the community and the club, which BFC has executed really well.
#3 Digital Presence and Match Day Activities
Another space where BFC has managed to capture the imagination of the audience has been through social media. BFC has put together some amazing content using creative graphics and fan footage.
They have been in-line with the kind of content being shared in the European setup and accordingly, have managed to match that same level, drawing maximum engagement across all platforms. BFC is the first club this season to introduce an anchor for their Instagram stories, following the trend of clubs like FC Barcelona and Manchester City where the anchor interacts with the crowd before and during the match, gives his inputs and also gives behind-the-scenes scoop. This works really well to grab the eyeballs of a people who couldn’t visit the stadium.
BFC also includes the likes of Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and other players from time to time to create personalised posts, which have been received really well by the masses. The game changer for BFC is the fact that all this content is projected in such a way that the club fan page is not any other sports page which gives match-related updates, something that they have been able to decode really well.
Also, their match-day activities in association with sponsors like Jockey and Kingfisher have also done wonders to make the crowds visit the stadium to enjoy a good evening, and not just to watch an ISL match.
#2 BFC CARE initiative
The BFC CARE initiative has been an integral program to help the fans be a part of the club. The BFC CARE is a social responsibility program of the club which has worked across various fields and communities to provide a positive impact on the society.
Before the start of this season of the Indian Super League, the club invited local volunteers to come for a cleanliness drive in order to clean the area around their home ground, Sree Kanteerva stadium. On another day, they also went on and painted certain areas outside the stadium in collaboration with the fans who volunteered for the job. There are different programmes that the fans can volunteer themselves for, to work closely with the club to provide a positive impact on the society.
Apart from this, BFC has also collaborated with various organisations and NGOs to provide underprivileged children in Bangalore a chance to play football, by organising training camps and gifting them footballs and jerseys.
BFC has also received good responses from the players, who most often make themselves available for these activities in some or the other way.
#1 West Block Blues
No talks of Bengaluru FC could be complete without the notable mention of the West Block Blues who have become the face of the team. Clearly, one of the most vocal fan bases of the country, the West Block Blues have been pivotal in introducing a western version of fan support involving chants from the stands.
With their famous “Blues are marching in….” chant, the West Block Blues are bringing in a number of firsts in the country. They were the first to introduce the Viking Clap in the stands along with innovative banners, and of course the individual chants for players like Sunil Chhetri, Udanta, Gurpreet, etc.
Combined with the dominant game of football on the pitch, the vocals of the West Block Blues makes Kanteerva one big centre of spectator experience. It's very eminent that the West Block Blues and the Bengaluru FC work hand-in-hand as the supporter’s group has appeared in a number of TV shows with the players, and are considered an integral part of the team.
