The German outfit are five-time German Champions and have produced the likes of Marco Reus.

I-League Champions Minerva Punjab FC have announced a partnership deal with Bundesliga Giants Borussia Monchengladbach. Representatives from both the clubs signed the MoU in an event held in New Delhi on Saturday (02-02-2019).

Borussia Monchengladbach are five-time German Champions and are known for their outstanding youth developments programs which have produced German stars such as Lothar Matthaus and Marco Reus. With more than 118 years of experience in top-tier football, Monchengladbach are in the Asian market with an intention to provide their expertise to sustainable partners.

On this foundation, it is Borussia Monchengladbach’s and Minerva Punjab’s goal to start an exclusive long-term partnership connecting both the world, bringing cultures together, and create a sustainable win-win situation for both the clubs.

Key points of the tie-up

Develop local football with the help of the profound knowledge of Borussia Monchengladbach

Benefit from the best qualifying consultancy of Borussia Monchengladbach in all football-related sportive, medical, business fields

Establish a long-term relationship with Borussia Monchengladbach as their trusted partners in India for future projects and collaborations

The first project as a part of the partnership will be Summer Camps to be held in various cities across India in May.

“Our focus is quality in youth development. We see this (partnership with Minerva) as a good opportunity. It is now a common task for both the clubs to find the right steps to move forward. We don’t want to pretend anything or give false promises. Our objective is to do something sustainable. We’ve got our first view of Indian football and now we will go back to Germany and then work together with the Minerva Punjab team,” said Peter Hambuchen, Head of Global Operations, Borussia Monchengladbach.

Minerva founder and director Ranjit Bajaj stressed on the importance of youth development and bringing passion into the Indian football. “The passion we saw at Borussia is unmatchable. Football is a part of life for the people in their city. 50,000 people supporting vociferously. It gave me goosebumps and I thought to myself – One day, India will get there but with their (Borussia) help, it can be made a little bit faster.”

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“We are a totally youth-based academy like Monchengladbach. 55 players from our academy have gone on to represent different age group, Indian national teams,” he added.

Indian football historian and renowned commentator Novy Kapadia, who hosted the event, also pointed out the similarities in the philosophies of both the clubs. “Both Borussia (Monchengladbach) and Minerva have a lot of emphasis on youth development. Their past teams have all focused on young players,” he said.

Ex-Indian football player Renedy Singh, who was a guest at the event, highlighted how the tie-up with the Borussia Monchengladbach can also help improve our footballer’s control over the ball. “If you look at it a lot of Indian footballers aren’t comfortable with ball possession. We want more players like Sunil Chhetri and a tie-up with a German club with an emphasis on attacking football will help improve our players.”

Youth icon and Minerva co-owner Rannvijay Singha, I-League CEO Sunando Dhar and Minerva director Aditya Goyal also addressed the media at the function.

Ranvijay said, “We are probably the only club from Punjab who has helped kids here to get back to sports. You probably know what Punjab went through in the last generation.”