ISL: Hyderabad FC is about reviving the football culture in the city, says co-owner Varun Tripuraneni

After two seasons as the CEO of Kerala Blasters, Varun Tripuraneni stepped down from his position. He thought he would take time and plan the next step of his career which has seen him take up multiple roles. Less than six months later, he has launched Hyderabad FC, a new Indian Super League (ISL) team based in Hyderabad. 

“I did not expect to be back in the ISL fold this early. I was looking at other projects and looking to take a break of sorts. Once this opportunity was there, it was about getting together with like-minded people. It did take much more time than we thought it would actually, that is why the timelines are also tight now, with some teams starting pre-season. Things just fell into place in the last couple of weeks,” Varun told Goal. 

He will co-own the new club alongside Telengana businessman Vijay Madduri. Only five years ago, Varun was the team manager of Kerala Blasters as ISL made its debut in India. The leap is big but the former Chennaiyin COO is banking on his experience. 

“My previous ISL experience will definitely come in handy here. We do have deadlines and we will stick by them. We will have to start building a competitive team by the time league starts and are confident of meeting all deadlines. The process is underway, I have not kept my eye off from players even though I haven’t been active in the last few months.

“From the club’s point of view, we would like to complete this process as quickly as possible. Most teams will be undergoing their first couple of sessions in the next few days.”

Pune City are shutting down their operations, with Hyderabad FC set to take up their space in the league. Pune’s player contracts will become null and void and Hyderabad may well be the next destination for a few of the Stallions. 

“We are speaking to all the players. We will be looking at all the good options available at existing clubs and players who are looking at new clubs. Pune City has a good set of players, so there are players we will be speaking to,” said Varun. 

Life as an owner will be different from the roles that Varun Tripuraneni have taken up so far in his career but he is confident about pulling it off. 

“For the last five years, working as a professional is different from investing in a project and having ownership. But the way I was doing it in the last few years, I never looked at myself as just an employee and knew the responsibility I was carrying. I was always conscious of the fact that there is a lot of money invested in this business. I owe a lot to my previous owners, Vita Dani, Abhishek Bachchan (Chennaiyin owners), Mr Prasad (Owner, Kerala Blasters) and I have picked up a lot from them. This experience really helps, it made my decision (to invest) easier. It is a different feeling but a bit of nervousness will always be there. “

“I have been reading as much as possible about football in Hyderabad. There has been a great history of football in Hyderabad, it goes back many years. The football culture is there, it is about reviving it. There has been a club which has come from the second division of I-League (Fateh Hyderabad). In terms of participation from schools, it is high. You see small 5-a-side turfs packed. Now, with an ISL club coming to a city like Hyderabad, there is great potential to grow the sport. The city has produced good sportspersons, with Sania Mirza, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal etc. Football will find its own space.”

Looking back at his journey from team management to ownership, Varun Tripuraneni picked out the back-to-back sacking of coaches at Blasters as something that he could have managed with differently.  

“There are a lot of things I could have done better. The roles kept changing for me, the responsibility grew. Winning the title with Chennaiyin, reaching the semifinals in the first year were special, tough to pick one.

“During my time at Kerala, we had a situation where we had two coaches changing in a very short span of time. That is one situation that we could have dealt with in a better way. I have tried to learn as much as possible.”

The all-new Hyderabad FC will soon have a squad full of players raring to go and a head coach leading the team into its first season in ISL. But will they have a brand ambassador like a few of the other Indian clubs?

“We are still in the early stages. This (brand ambassador) is a point we have discussed internally. But I think it will take a bit more time to arrive at a decision if we will go ahead with a personality.”