Exclusive: Ranjit Bajaj opens up on selling remaining stakes at Punjab FC to Round Glass, 'World Cup patch' and more

Ranjit Bajaj on Wednesday confirmed to WION that he along with his spouse Henna Singh have resigned as the directors of I-League outfit Punjab FC while selling their 50 per cent stake at the club to Round Glass. The lifestyle and wellbeing firm, Round Glass had, earlier in the season, bought the 50 per cent of club’s shares and the remaining 50 per cent will give the organisation complete charge of the football club.Bajaj has now soldhis I-League clubsomething other business firms had failed to do in the past

“Being completely honest, there’s no point spending money for the next few years in the I-League. There’s no promotion system and moreover, looking at the AFC spot, which was supposed to be given to I-League clubs and whatever the reason may be, somehow they have given the AFC spots to ISL clubs. So that was our sole motivation and that being taken away from us was demotivating. So my main focus will be to consolidate all the finances and making sure that the Minerva academy is world-class,” Ranjit Bajaj told WION in an exclusive chat.

Running a football club in India is not an easy task by any means. With the Asian Football Confederation recognising ISL as the top league in the country, hardly anything remained on the table for I-League clubs. AFC Champions League spot was allocated to ISL group stage winners and I-League was left empty-handed. No promotion system hurt the I-League clubs more.

“Being honest, that is one of the main reasons (the AFC-approved roadmap for Indian football). For an I-League to survive in the next few years, at least 8-9 crore is needed. And moreover, there’s no way to get into the upper tier now, there’s no AFC spot, there’s no stipend coming from AIFF. So I feel this is the perfect time for me to pick up on youth. This is the time to spend on youths and not seniors. If we want to get into the top-tier then we will need to spend money on that, so it is no more based on merit or quality. So there’s no point spending on merit in the senior team if it will not be rewarded,” Bajaj said.

"I have been spending everything alone and still managed to produce results which no other academies have been able to do. Imagine, this being backed financially, it will be huge. Legacy is not about winning I-League, I have won everything, I have won U-13s, U-15s four time in a row, U-18s, I have won the senior and I started this club just four years back so legacy is not about winning titles. There will be a new champion every year but who will take India to the World Cup? People and authorities will talk about India will play World Cup in 2022, then they will say India will play in 2026 and so on. Look at Japan, they have said they will win the World Cup in the year 2050, so there are planning to win the World Cup with players who haven’t even taken birth. So I am looking to create a world-class academy and this will be known as my World Cup patch,” he added.

The likes of Samuel Lalmuanpuia, Abhishek Ambekar, Shayan Roy, Ronald Singh, Jeakson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Anwar Ali, Mohammed Irshad, Boaringdao Bodo, Germanpreet Singh, Manvir Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Prosenjit Chakraborty, are among others who have come out of the famous Minerva Academy. The inflow of talents will not dry up reckons Bajaj as he aims to turn the Minerva Academy into a world-class center. Bajaj terms this phase as his ‘World Cup patch’ and aims to take more and more youngsters to clubs like Barcelona or Real Madrid to get the best out of their potential.

“I can now focus on my main aim. I have produced 73 talents for India in four and a half years, TATA Football Academy couldn’t even do it in 15 years. So now that I have good financial backing with me, I will create something wonderful for Indian football. See, Jeakson Singh scored India’s first-ever World Cup goal and that will remain as Jeakson’s goal and Jeakson will forever be a Minerva Academy talent. So if India qualifies for the World Cup one day with a majority of Minerva Academy players, then I will call it as a legacy,” Bajaj explained.

“We will have everything! There’s going to be a world-class gym, swimming pool, there’s going to be a cryotherapy center, world-class physiotherapy center and imagine I can put that up with a saving of one or two years from the money which is going into the I-League. What I aim is to show success with my model. We can’t achieve it with one Minerva, India needs 100s of Minerva Academies so we need everybody to step up now. I will take my U-7s, U-8s to Barcelona, Real Madrid to test them against the best from their age group and that is the way to test talents. From there we can judge how good a player can become or what improvement do they need in their game,” he added.

When asked about why he chose Round Glass to take control of Punjab FC, Bajaj said it was because of the work they have donerat the grass-root levels in the last couple of years. He further said that a club can be run frugally but with no motivation to spend on the senior team, it was the best deal for him and Round Glass to take forward the legacy of Punjab FC.

“This football club is my baby! That is the reason I sold my stakes to Round Glass because they now know the club well, they have that passion, they are bigger than me and they have spent time running the Round Glass Academy. So they have a proven track record and I know they will take this club from strength to strength. Now Round Glass wanted to invest on the senior team and I guess it is a perfect deal for both

“I have just proven to the world that if you can run a football club frugally, you can get titles, you can produce internationals and at the end, it is a good business prospect. If you run a club properly then it will produce your profit,” Bajaj said.

“It was a very well thought of the decision. We have taken so many loans which need to be repaid. Running this club for the last five years have taken a toll on the family as well. I was a player before so I know that clubs don’t pay you on time and I didn’t want my club to be in that situation. I don’t have the backing to be in the ISL, yes, I can remain in the I-league, but as I said you earlier, there’s no point being there with no incentives coming your way,” he concluded.