With long-term vision, Thane City FC look to become gold standard for emerging clubs in India

Prashant J Singh, the owner of Thane City FC, has a vision that puts Thane at the forefront of a footballing revolution in India.

That is why, when he rebranded his club in March 2020, the vision was to become a community-driven entity, facilitated by a structure that evolves from the grassroots ecosystem.

But why Thane? Singh says that it is because he wanted to give the people of Thane something close to their hearts, and something that they could relate to.

"Thane to Mumbai is like how Noida is to Delhi. The people of Noida would have supported Delhi Dynamos when the club existed, but if there ever is a Noida FC, they would support that club."

Quite a few clubs based in Mumbai have been in the top division of Indian football for the last few years, such as Mahindra United, Mumbai FC, and Mumbai City FC. But, according to Singh, the people of Thane would have a lot more to relate to if they had a club playing the highest level of football from their own city.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Singh also says that his dream for Thane City FC is for the club to become fully driven by the community that it represents.

However, Singh was clear that Thane City FC would never shun people from outside the club's own catchment area.

"Thane is a base for us to start from," he said. "We want to create an entity that makes the people of Thane proud."

Even before the rebranding earlier in 2020, Thane City FC had been running football schools for a few years, and had trained more than 1500 children within their curriculum.

Singh says that the club follows a comprehensive curriculum developed by industry experts, that involves the latest training methodologies and modern practices.

But in a volatile environment like Indian football, how difficult is it to be the owner of a club that wants to make its way through the ranks and reach the top tier?

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The Thane City FC ISL dream is a long way away

Prashant J Singh's roadmap for Thane City FC is a long-term one

Singh says that the roadmap for the club's future was sketched after a meeting between the AIFF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that drafted a roadmap for the future of Indian football.

As a member of the AIFF grassroots panel, Singh was involved in setting up the first baby league in India, which has now become a regular occurrence across states under the auspices of the AIFF.

Under the AFC-recommended roadmap, the ISL would become a fully merit-driven league with promotion and relegation by 2024.

"A lot of new clubs want to straightaway play in the I-League second division," Singh says, "but that is not my aim.

"I am not even thinking about I-League for now. We are focusing on one batch of kids, and the dream is for these players to become the players that carry Thane City FC into the I-League second division when we get there."

According to the current roadmap that Singh has for Thane City FC, he hopes to see the club playing in the I-League second division by the 2025-26 season.

Every step Thane City FC take forward in the Indian football ladder, would be driven by meritocracy, Singh says.

"At the moment, I don't have the power or the means to be paying the fee required to be an ISL team, so that is not even in the plan for now," Singh says.

Even before they play in the I-League second division, Singh hopes to have the 2007 batch (kids born in 2007) play in the Thane and Mumbai district leagues by 2023. They will get battle-hardened by the time they have to go into the third tier of Indian football.

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Thane City FC will play IWL before I-League

Women's football is an important area for the club to focus on

Women's football also forms a big part of Thane City FC's plans for the future. Singh says with conviction that his club will play in the IWL before they enter the I-League.

"We are very conscious about making women's football an important area for the club to focus on," he said.

During the lockdown period, Thane City FC hosted several webinars on women's sports and the steps that needed to be taken to improve that.

"Many people right now feel that if there is a female coach, then the needs of a women's team are taken care of, but that is simply not true.

"Coaches need to be educated, they need to know that they cannot demand a woman footballer the same things that is expected of a male. The physiology is different," Singh said.

The plan at the moment is to have the club play in the IWL qualifiers by 2023, and if they do qualify for the main tournament at the first go, that would only be a bonus.

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Thane City FC extends focus on holistic community development

Throughout the duration of his chat with Sportskeeda, Singh stresses the need for the club to become driven by the community, like the biggest clubs in Europe and the world.

He is fully aware that the community would only drive the club, if the club itself creates an entity that the community relates to.

"By the time, we get into ISL, we hope that our community is large. Right now, our way of building that community is through the children that we train," Singh says.

"Eventually, not all of these kids will play at a professional level for the club. But we want to make an impact on them in such a way that they become fans of the club and bring more fans with them."

Singh also says that in the near future, he expects to be able to make another significant announcement with regards to the future of the club. He was tight-lipped about the specific details of it for now.

For Prashant J Singh and Thane City FC, the process is a long-term one. But it is one that they have invested in, and one that they believe would eventually create an entity for Thane to be proud of on its own.

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(Visit Thane City FC's website for more details)