Ten years ago a young man named Baichung Bhutia made the unlikely journey from Bengal to Bury, becoming the first Indian to play professional football outside his homeland.

Bhutia, the captain of the Indian national team, saw himself as a pioneer. Bury congratulated themselves on a coup that would allow them to tap into the Asian market – the Asian population of their town, that is, rather than dreaming of kids wandering around the streets of Mumbai and Calcutta wearing Bury shirts.

It was an anticlimax. For all his talent, Bhutia struggled to adapt to the physical demands of English football and scored only 3 goals in 46 appearances. Bury confessed that the “Bhutia Bounce” had not materialised. When his contract expired at the end of the 2001-02 season, he returned to India.

India is regarded by many as football’s final frontier. The leading Premier League clubs have, between them, visited and enjoyed considerable commercial success in China, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and Nigeria. India is ranked 143 in the world, which makes them only the 20th best national team in Asia.

The masterminds of English football believe there is an enormous market to tap into in terms of future television revenue and also for unearthing a top-class Indian footballer.

For now it is a pipe dream – but that may change.

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