The English Premier League has announced the opening of its India office in Mumbai, becoming the fourth international base for the League as part of its continued global expansion strategy.
The India office is expected to serve as a central hub to support the League’s long-standing activities in the country, including grassroots development, elite youth training, and deeper engagement with local football authorities and fans.
The move marks a significant shift from remote coordination to a more formalised presence on the ground in South Asia, where the Premier League commands a large and growing fan base.
Since 2007, the League has run its “Premier Skills” community programme in India in collaboration with the British Council, aiming to develop football at the grassroots level.
The initiative has operated across 18 Indian states, training over 7,300 coaches, referees and community educators, and reaching more than 124,000 young participants to date.
At the elite level, the Premier League has collaborated with the Indian Super League (ISL) since its inception in 2014. The partnership has involved sharing technical expertise in areas such as governance, youth coaching, and referee development.
One of the outcomes of this collaboration has been the ‘Next Gen Cup’, an international U-19 tournament launched in 2019 with support from the ISL and the Reliance Foundation.
The sixth edition of the competition is scheduled to be held in Mumbai in May 2025, with youth sides from Premier League clubs set to face off against ISL academy teams.
The Mumbai office is expected to facilitate closer ties with Indian football authorities and governing bodies while enabling the League to carry out on-ground activities and events aimed at enhancing fan interaction.
The League said the move underlines its broader commitment to supporting football development in India at both grassroots and elite levels.
In a statement, Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said the League has a “fantastic and knowledgeable” fan base in India and that the opening of the office would allow the organisation to "operate more effectively locally" and "build on our existing work."
The Mumbai office joins the League’s international outposts in Singapore, New York, and Beijing. The Singapore office, launched in 2019, was primarily set up to address piracy concerns, while the New York and Beijing offices that were opened in 2023 and 2024 respectively, focus on building fan engagement and supporting broadcast partnerships.
India represents one of the League’s most engaged overseas audiences, with football consumption steadily increasing in recent years.