Chennai City Football Club were given direct entry to the I-League in December 2016. This is the first time since 2004 that the city is represented in the I-League. It also marks the Chennai City FC’s debut in the I-League.

Background

Chennai City FC were formed in 1946 as Nethaji Sports Club. This makes them the oldest team in the league behind Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The club was formed by five friends and has competed largely at the state level.  A turning point in the club’s fortunes was the takeover in 2013 by Rohit Ramesh. The current owner of the club and CEO of WTF entertainment invested heavily in taking the club forward. Since the takeover, Chennai City FC have made great progress as they were promoted to the senior division in 2014 and finished third in the Chennai Football Association League. 

Difficulties and Expectations

The 2017 I-League season will be CCFC’s debut in the tournament. Therefore to expect a title challenge is highly unlikely and does not do justice to the efforts put in by the club. Chennai City FC can, instead, be tipped for a mid table spot and should definitely aim to finish in the top five. The players have also only had 27 days to prepare for the I-League as a result of the late announcement that they will be taking part in India’s top football division. This further adds to the difficulties that the club will face as they start out.

No doubt, a team needs a minimum time period to integrate players into the squad and build chemistry. Added to this is the time the coach needs to implement his training methods and tactics.  Chennai City FC have also been active in bringing in talented players.

Players Brought In

The club will be skippered by Dharmaraj Ravanan, an experienced defender. He has played for Dempo, Churchill Brothers, Mohun Bagan and Mahindra United. Ravanan is also from the state of Tamil Nadu and has spoken about his pride in playing for a team from his native state. The Chennai team have also brought in Dhanpal Ganesh, another Tamil Nadu player and notably former Salgaocar captain Karanjit Singh. Brazillians Charles Souza and Marcos Thank have also made moves on loan from GDSC Alvarenga. 

It is great to see that Chennai City FC have also given an emphasis on providing opportunities to Indian players. The most exciting factor of the I-League is the development it could bring to the sphere of Indian Football. An area which has stagnated in recent times. The league experience and opportunity provided to Indian players will be great in creating a platform for youth development. It will also hopefully increase India’s competitiveness in world football.

Chennai has been long deprived of a local football team to support. The hopes are high that Chennai City Football Club will become I-League regulars and compete for the title in the near future. As of now, Chennai fans are relishing the chance to see a local team compete in India’s premier football division. The development of the I-League is essential and Chennai City FC are a huge step towards this.

Picture courtesy: Chennai City FC