> Manchester United Excited About India

As revealed by Goal.com last month, the English Premier League champions are to open a pilot training scheme in Goa, one that could be extended throughout the rest of the nation.

Assuming it is successful, the club could establish Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS) all over India.

Academy boss and former player Brian McClair believes there is massive potential.

"In India there has been massive investment in sports like cricket and hockey for years,” McClair told The Independent On Sunday.

“Sport is a way of life in India, and now there are signs that football can also be a big part of it too. It will grow, I am hopeful eventually we could have Indian players in the Premiership, although this could take five to 10 years."

Goa is one of the most football-crazy parts of India and like elsewhere in Asia, there is huge interest in the Premier League in the former Portuguese colony.

"You see the majority of youngsters - and a lot of adults too - walking around in football shirts. Not just Manchester United but other top clubs and other countries, notably Portugal, but the Premiership is by far the most popular," McClair said.

"Obviously the skills we evaluate are quite basic, but football is played in schools, and I visited a couple where there was quite skilful manipulation of the ball. They seem to have a natural balance and flair.

"Historically, youngsters in India, and to some extent those from the Asian communities in Britain, have focused on other sports. But over the next decade this is likely to change."

McClair’s comments were echoed by Dale Hobson, MUSS’s international development director.

"If you had just one Indian in the Premier League, football would go into the stratosphere there. The scope of Indian football could be colossal,” Hobson said.