The new committee of Machhindra FC, formed two months ago as an independent body to run football activities of Machhindra Club, has come up with new ideas to run the football club.[break]
The football committee led by youth Anil Shrestha has some ardent supporters of its mission in vice-president Nabin Chitrakar and general secretary Biplav Gautam, among others.
Bucking the trend of earning income only through chief sponsor and donors, the club plans to explore new avenues of income by increasing its fan base, extending partnerships as well as through merchandising and marketing.
Though the football club´s budget for this season is Rs 500,000 less compared to last season´s Rs 7.5 million, it will only get Rs 2 million from its mother organization, Machhindra Club, to run football activities throughout the year. The football committee will be responsible for collecting funds for the whole year.
The only other handsome and visible financial support to the club is from the main sponsor, NMB Bank, which the club likes to call its partner rather than sponsor. As the signature sponsor, the bank had provided Rs 1 million to the club.
"We will demand as per the program of the club and it will obviously be much more than last year," said Gautam, one of the masterminds of the club´s innovative short-term and long-term plans.
"Our mission is not just to take money from our partner but to ensure they benefit equally. As the partner we will support them in every sector we can, including expanding their business, goodwill and promotion," said Gautam, also a passionate football fan who was the first person in the country to run a football website back in 1997.
Besides NMB Bank, the club has also been looking for other partners. "We are in negotiations with at least two more partners. Besides money, we will also look for value in kind. We can partner for jersey, hostels and discounts, among other things."
For the first time in club football in the country, Machhindra has officially made the jersey of its star defender Rohit Chand available for sale at Garage, Durbarmarg.
The club is also shortly coming up with gift bags consisting of flag, jersey and mug with the club´s logo for its fans. Machhindra has set three strategies for marketing -- jersey and merchandising, promotion through social media and exchanging game-day experience with its fans.
"Fans are the lifeline of any club and they have triangular relations with the club, sponsors and players. But fan culture is yet to develop in the country. The clubs also do not seem much concerned about fans," Gautam said. "But branding and marketing could contribute to the development of fan culture and Machhindra FC wants to be at its forefront."
"I don´t think there are any fans of domestic teams in the country who have decorated their rooms with their club´s jersey and we wish to make that happen," said Gautam. The club is eying a top-three finish in the A division league and has hired a Swedish coach for the season. The club is also in talks to sign Pakistani international winger Muhammad Adil and midfielder Saddam Hussain for the league.
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