Bhutia displays his team shirt. The game needs more icons like him to surge ahead

Provide the right support system and technical inputs, get in corporate sponsors and live television for greater visibility, impart a sense of security among those earning their bread from ?the beautiful game? and create heroes the emerging generation can idolise?

The prescription for a soccer surge in the city comes from none other than The UB Group, which, after adopting the Big Two, is now keen to carry forward its commitment and raise the ?professionalism bar?. With Pony International of California entering into a three-year kit sponsorship deal with Kingfisher East Bengal, UB is not walking alone.

?Football has to appeal to Calcutta?s middle-class families as a viable career option, so that the urban youth gets involved,? Shekhar Ramamurthy, executive vice-president, sales & marketing, The UB Group, told Metro,

Ramamurthy, the group?s anchor for United East Bengal Football Team Private Ltd, felt perception was the problem plaguing the sport and stressed that football could take cricket?s place in popularity stakes with the right props and media support.

?If you leave aside the Team India stars, an average footballer playing for a National League side earns more than the average first-class cricketer. If this can be driven home, more youngsters will take to soccer and, maybe, we can even send footballers to the English Premier League (EPL) at some point,? he said.

The UB official felt the game in India needed icons, and Calcutta was the most likely to produce them. ?All we need is one Shun Ji Hai to explode onto the scene and it?ll ignite the passion.? The Chinese midfielder, who has excelled in a Manchester City shirt in the EPL, has a hysterical fan-following back home.

For East Bengal fans, the search for their next hero after Bhaichung Bhutia could end soon. From an overseas pre-season trainer to air-conditioned players? changing rooms, an upgraded gym to jacuzzi, UB has stepped forward to provide support infrastructure for on-field excellence.

Besides, a two-year contract is being offered to all players to inculcate a sense of security.

?As corporate sponsors, we can?t play an evangelical role. That has to be done by the administrators. But we can try and bring in a more professional approach through deals like the Pony kit tie-up. It?s an emphatic recognition of Calcutta football?s marketing potential,? observed Ramamurthy.

Not just apparel made in Mexico and boots stitched in the same facility as FILA in Italy. Pony, which had in the past been associated with football legends Pele and Socrates and tennis great Jimmy Connors, will also come in with some sponsorship money, ?a first by any foreign company in Indian football?, according to Amit Sen, director, United East Bengal.

The majority owner of Pony International is Global Brand Marketing Incorporated (GBMI), established by chairman and CEO Sudeepto (Killick) Dutta in Santa Barbara in 1996. Today, GBMI has footprints in over 130 countries.

It?s learnt that Kingfisher East Bengal?s standout performance in Asian club football over the past two years, when India?s Fifa ranking kept sliding, enthused GBMI officials who made a reconnoitre visit in April.