Blackburn Rovers

Venkateshwara Hatcheries the makers of Venky’s brand of chicken have done it. They have bought the English Premier League Football club – Blackburn Rovers and made it an Indian entity. The deal has to seen from two different levels, one is the fact that the Indian financial muscle power has increased so much that it can aspire to buy professionals clubs of different sports genre around the world. Secondly, it also means that quality football can now be imported into India as well, well when the owner is Indian what would stop it from brining its team into the country to show case it to the countrymen the company that they bought, as also to trigger and kindle interest in the game of football.

It is also symbolic of emergence of women business power from India as the initiative to buy out English Premier League has been taken under the stewardship of Anuradha Desai major owner of the company. So far, Indian business women have been making waves in India, but Anuradha Desai has proved that apart from doing business within the board rooms these ladies have a keen sense of business to do the business in sports as well.

One can surely say that the trigger for this initiative has its genesis in the Indian Premier League as in IPL women ownership of the teams was a significant feature, the difference being that the women who owned the teams in IPL were the ladies from the tinsel town, while in case of EPL it is a business woman who has done it.

While IPL is being exorcised and it is being shredded to bits from all the sides, one need to keep it in mind that IPL as a brand has been catalytic in positioning brand India across the continents and all around the world. it has been single handedly responsible for giving a new halo of respect to emergence of India as an economic power. One should do one’s best to remove the taint associated with the game, but cannot really throw the baby with the water as there still is lot to be achieved in IPL. it has given the middle class the dream to think big, as it could spawn numerous parallel careers and opportunities and it indeed would be pity if curtains are drawn on IPL as the demands are being made.

Tags: Anuradha Rao, Blackburn Rovers, English Premier League, EPL, Football, Indian Sports, Sports, Sports India, Venkateshwara Hatcheries, Venky’s