Gary Udwani moved from his hometown of Tenerife to New Delhi in 2017, traveled in the opposite direction of his father, an Indian immigrant who came to the islands in 1987, and, like many natives, prospered by running an electronics shop. Udwani was a frequent tourist to the most populous city in India and the fourth most populous city on the planet. Although it was always said, “I can never live in the midst of this chaos,” the task at hand was fascinating enough to transform continents. The graduate in business, now 29, and already working in sports, Lalica joined the newly opened office in India and has topped the growing list of Spaniards who have come in and out of the sport. The second most populous country in the world to popularize and professionalize the beautiful game.
The main task of the Lalika representative in India is to focus on expanding the follow-up of Lalika Santander and Lalika Smart Bank, where he promises that cricket is “a religion that paralyzes everything” and that the Premier League, with its shared history, has more roots than the United Kingdom. Statistics, for now, support the work at this time. We have gone from 800,000 followers on Facebook in 2017 to more than five million today. The best European league we follow the most on the networks ”, explains a contestant who started broadcasting openly on social media in India in 2018.
Udwani talks about an extreme process that allowed 20,000 people to watch the fight between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid before the outbreak, or to get the support of a famous cricketer Rohit Sharma as a match ambassador to achieve the results shown. Or Bollywood star Isha Gupta. The current environment, as there is little contact with fans, is that his latest project features a vending machine for approved masks, which are placed in the Bandra area of Bombay, “a strategic point”, explains the young Canarian. The company wanted to provide this essential tool to fight the epidemic by distributing agent masks free of charge for four days in the second country affected by the Govt, which has affected more than 10 million people.
“One of our big axes is finding relationships with local people. Lalica is far more advanced than other international leagues. For example, we only brought the club Girona CF to play here in 2018,” said Jose Antonio Cacasa, director of Lalica’s office in India.
In parallel with the growing football on the streets, Spain’s status as a leading football power has spurred the ability to export footballers, coaches, coaches and coaches to five continents, especially India. At the beginning of the course, seven of the eleven teams that make up the Indian Super League were led by the Spaniards.
The tournament, many years ago, was joined by a dozen Spanish players, the first of whom were former athlete Joan Coptevila, a World Cup and European Championship winner, or a top European champion Louis Garcia FC Barcelona and a club match past the ambassador. In 2020, FC Goa became the first Indian team to qualify for a major continental club tournament in Asia with another old La Liga debutant, former RCD Espanyol de Barcelona player Ferrán Corominas.
On the other hand, eight La Liga clubs already have or co-operate with a sporting region in a region with a small football tradition, but the organization’s 36 countries have the potential to have the third-highest percentage of the population under the age of 15. For Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The most important examples are the work of Cadiz CF Scouts in search of new skills, Atletico de Madrid’s collaboration with Jamshedpur FC and Sevilla FC FC Bangalore United or the sponsorship of Real Betis or RC Zelda’s training schools. “We need to grow local football to grow,” says Udwani, highlighting the work of the Lalika and its Lalika Football Schools India program, a sports training program that has benefited more than 12,000 students at 40 centers in 14 cities.
Learn Spanish with football songs
But Laliga’s expansion is not limited to sports. A recent deal with the Instituto Cervantes in New Delhi, the capital of India, has led to the creation of weekly content to be published on social media since February, and fans will be able to learn Spanish from Lalica or popular phrases. Heroes of Spanish football. Some of the videos also feature Spanish coaches Oscar Brosnan or Sergio Lopera in India.
What is clear is that the growth of Spanish football in India will not stop and there will be no unexpected experience in Udwani’s life. “It was a special adventure. I thought I was only leaving for a year to try the experience. I was already four years old. I love the job and I think football has a beastly potential to grow.
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