Chennaiyin Football Club has entered into a strategic partnership with English Championship side Norwich City Football Club to promote mutual development, innovation and football collaboration. The two clubs signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here on Wednesday and the deal is expected to bring in a wealth of experience, expertise and unique football philosophies, as well as knowledge exchange, technical expertise, coaching methods and player development strategies. Commenting on the partnership, CFC Vice Chairman Ekansh Gupta said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Norwich City. Let me be clear: this is not just a marketing ploy.

“We anticipate that our development team will make significant progress through this partnership. I am confident that we can help Norwich City achieve their goal of establishing a presence in the Indian sports ecosystem.” The club said in a statement, Through this partnership, CFC is keen to promote cultural exchange projects and collaborate on joint marketing campaigns to engage different audiences and promote the vision of both clubs.

Norwich’s technical expertise and involvement in workshops and seminars are expected to play an important role in improving CFC’s coaching standards and methods.

In addition, active participation in youth development programs, including talent identification processes and mentoring clinics, is expected to further enhance the impact of the partnership.

Under the agreement, the two clubs will also hold regular friendly matches and training camps.

Sam Jeffery, Norwich City’s commercial director, said: “This is a very exciting time for Norwich City as we enter into a partnership with Chennaiyin Football Club and the Indian football market.

“India has the fastest growing sports economy in the world and football is the fastest growing participatory sport here.

“We believe there are huge business opportunities in this fantastic part of the world and we are very pleased to be entering into a mutually beneficial and culturally authentic partnership with our friends at Chennaiyin Football Club.” In addition to finishing third in the Premier League (now EPL), he also won the English League Cup twice.

They are currently in the EFL Championship and sit sixth in the table, having previously won the title in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

As for CFC, they are ranked ninth in the ongoing ISL season and have won the title twice (2015 and 2017-18).

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