Chennaiyin FC and Norwich City FC announced a three-year strategic agreement in April 2024. 11 months later, both clubs met to assess how things had gone thus far and what needed to be done in the next years. Norwich City commercial director Sam Jeffery and Chennaiyin FC’s recently appointed Chief Operating Officer Akhil Prakash sat down for an exclusive conversation with IFTWC. Both officials spoke on the journey thus far and what is ahead for both teams.
The journey so far:
Various events have been as part of the clubs’ continuous collaboration, including the Chennayin FC U-12 squad playing in the 2024 Mina Cup (organized by Norwich City) against prominent European clubs. Both clubs held an Inter-School Football Championship in Chennai in February 2025, encouraging local students to demonstrate their abilities in the U-12 and U-14 categories. Not only for the younger teams, but Chennaiyin FC’s coaches have been attending workshops every two weeks with Norwich City coaches to improve their coaching abilities. Akhil and Sam offered their perspectives on the journey thus far.
“We have had an Under-12s team play, we hosted in Norwich, who got the opportunity to play against quite literally some of the best teams in the world, Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and to beat Borussia Dortmund, is an extraordinary feat in itself. Who knows whether those guys will go on to become professional footballers, but what they will have is probably one of the first Indian teams ever to have the opportunity to play against some of those sides and be victorious.”, added Sam Jeffery.
“What we saw with our under-12 boys after the Mina Cup is those boys are now not the same as before. They have started bringing more professionalism to their approach to the game and training. None of them are ever late. They’re always sort of well-prepared. They learned a lot in that one week that they were there (in the UK).”, added Akhil.
Opportunity for U-23 players to train in Norwich:
A few of Chennaiyin FC’s U-23 players will go to Norwich for a six-week training camp as part of the partnership, giving the young Indians a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use Norwich City’s training facilities. Akhil and Sam discussed this decision and how many players will participate in the program.
“We are figuring out the logistics at Norwich. We have still not decided on the players. We want to send them at a time when some will see them as the best coaches at Norwich. It would be great if they could play in a few friendly matches. They can give a good account of themselves”, added Akhil Prakash.
“One of the key facets of this partnership is to grow opportunities for Chennai and Tamil Nadu-based youngsters. We want to help build pathways for Chennai and all the talent there. If that leads to an opportunity where we spot a player that we think has a high potential growth, why would we be silly not to consider taking them with us into Norwich, that would be the absolute dream. We could write a script on what the next few years looks like as we find a future star out of India, out of Chennai, and they come to Norwich City and grow into a player for us, that would be ideal. So, no doors are closed.”, added Sam.
Dream Football Championship 2025:
Dream Sports Foundation is set to conduct a football tournament in May 2025 for the U-17 age category. It is anticipated that the competition will take place in Goa, India. Norwich City FC is expected to send its U-17 squad to participate in this competition, which will provide young Indian athletes valuable experience competing against the UK’s finest talents. Akhil Prakash discussed the competition, while Sam Jeffery commented on whether the club’s best U-17 squad will participate.
“We are waiting to hear from the organizers, but I think they should be able to share some details, and then we’d make it public, but our under 17s are training at this point. We’re still yet to get our fixtures, get our groups, etc.” added Akhil.
“Theoretically, if we were to come, we would want to come with a top-level side.”, insisted Sam when asked if the first-string U-17 squad would travel to India for the tournament.
Potential Opportunity for First Team Collaboration:
Although the Chennaiyin FC young squad and coaches have had several opportunities, the deal does not include a chance for the first team. As more and more ISL clubs seek to play their preseasons abroad, it’s time for the Marina Machans to follow this path. Akhil Prakash discussed the possibility of a first-team pre-season in the United Kingdom and the implications it may bring.
Akhil added, “It’s something that’s been discussed, but timelines must be kept in mind. Their season starts in August. For us, in August, we usually play the Durand Cup, or it’s the senior team at pre-season, and then we start the ISL immediately. So, timelines to find something that’s mutually workable for both is definitely a challenge. The second bit is, if we go for a pre-season to the UK, the weather conditions and all of the playing conditions are very different to back home. So, how much of that is actually going to help? That’s something to be thought about. Of course, we’d like to do it at some point.”
“We also did discuss the possibility where if we can have a two-week set-up and then maybe even play one of our friendly games at Carrow Road. It is something that we would like to make happen, but we just need to see when it’s ideal that works for both teams. Let’s put it this way, there’s no point for us to go there for two weeks and then not really play a competitive game and come back. Because if we are preparing for our season, we’d rather play a few friendlies”, continued Akhil.
The plan ahead:
While the first 10-11 months have been extremely successful for both parties, it is critical for the growth of Chennaiyin FC and Indian football as a whole that this collaboration continues with the same zeal and passion over the next two years. Akhil, Marina Machan’s COO, discussed future plans, while Sam addressed the prospect of this partnership lasting beyond 2027.
“Another opportunity that’s come out of this partnership, is the tour that we’ve organized (in May), will allow any interested footballers between the age group of 10-16 to travel to their academy. It’s going to be a nine-day camp where they will be staying at the Nest, training like a professional, eating like them. They will also play 2-3 friendlies. They will also have some experience of maybe visiting a couple of stadiums, doing like a proper player signing session, medicals, etc. Regarding the Inter School football championship, the larger plan is to move to Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy alongside Chennai”, added Akhil.
Sam Jeffery added, “I think it has gone very well. In fact, I’d be happy to say it’s probably gone better than I expected. When we announced it in April, we were very bullish in our statements that we didn’t want this just to be a superficial partnership. We were pretty strong in some of the statements we said a year ago, and we sit here now with an inter-school tournament that’s influenced over 1,100 kids. We’ve had a Chennai U-12s team that’s come all the way across the world for an incredible experience, played some of the best teams in the world, and actually beat one of the best teams in Europe.”
“We’ve got an education trip launch, which is on sale at the moment for, in May. And there’s been some really good brand exposure both sides. It would be remiss to say that for certain we’re going to extend after three years, because of course, with every good business, you’ve got to keep reviewing and adapting and making sure it works for both sides. But it would be disappointing if it didn’t”, continued Sam.
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