Ozone FC takes off in Bengaluru

In a bid to promote football and provide local talent with a platform to showcase their skills, the Ozone Group, a real estate firm, launched its football club Ozone FC Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The club will participate in Bangalore District Football Association’s (BDFA) Super Division league in its initial two seasons before shifting focus to the I-League in the following year.

“It’s been our dream to be associated with the sport for long and today it has come true. The aim is to bring back the glory days of this city and Karnataka football,” said S Vasudevan, the chairman of Ozone Group, during the launch at the Bangalore Football stadium.

“We will try to offer the best of training, coaching and fitness methods to our players in order to make them play to their full potential. Our academy in Hosur was the first step and the club is a step forward,” he added.

The club has roped in Bert Zuurman of Netherlands as the head coach, who will also act as the technical director for the club.

“I have come here with a goal, a goal to provide the best platform for our players to excel. As for our team, I can say that we have very good players, and we are focussed on making them better footballers.

“I cannot predict how we will do in the Super Division, because I have not seen Super Division matches. But I know that we have very talented players, and that we can even become Super Division champions — yes, it is possible,” said Zuurman who is an UEFA ‘A’ licenced coach.

Having already roped in a host of local talents like Anto Xavier, a former Sporting Club de Goa player, Karthigeyan Don Bosco, Sanju Kumar and Satish Kumar, the club has promised to maintain a healthy balance in the squad and stick to its ethos of being a city club.

“We have seen a number of quality Bengaluru and Karnataka players play outside the State. Many are in Chennai, while some are in Goa. We would like these guys to come back and play for their home side. That’s one the objectives of the club,” said Mohamed Rafik, who heads the operations at the academy and will also be the assistant to Zuurman, a former Dutch Under-15 player.