With football becoming the second most watched sport in India, big leagues in the West are looking eastwards. The Italian league (Serie ‘A’) is no exception. (Photo: AFP)

Hyderabad: With football becoming the second most watched sport in India, big leagues in the West are looking eastwards. The Italian league (Serie ‘A’) is no exception.

“India and Asia in general represent a key market for our international development. We are thinking of developing a series of social and promotional activities in India because of the growing interest in the game there,” Serie ‘A’ CEO Luigi De Siervo told reporters during a teleconference on Thursday.

He was optmisitic about games involving Italian clubs being played in India. “Probably in the future we will be able to bring matches to India, the Italian Super Cup is a product that we export and we often play in countries that are interested in hosting it,” he said.

Speaking about the potential of Indian football, Siervo said: “I believe that football is gaining more and more popularity and that in a short time it will succeed in establishing itself on the national sports scene. In the coming months we will develop an international business plan which will also include activities in India.”

And yes, the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus has indeed propelled Serie ‘A’ into a different orbit. “It has aroused great interest both on the domestic and international fronts. It would be enough to think that in just over a year, thanks to the international visibility guaranteed by his more than 180 million followers, the Instagram account of Juventus has gone from around 10 million followers in July 2018 to the current 31 million.

Ronaldo has raised internal competitiveness: he represents a strong incentive of comparison to one of the best players of all time and raised the level of the game precisely for this reason. He has given new impetus to our championship. His contribution to the Serie ‘A’ development and growth is priceless,” Siervo said.

Is getting Barcelona’s Lionel Messi to Italy a long shot? “Realistically I don’t think we’ll ever see Messi in Italy... but never say never, if he wants to try the most difficult championship in the world he will have to come with us! Having two of the greatest players of all times here with us would mean a lot for the global re-launch of our brand and I am sure that our clubs, if they had the chance, would do anything to have him,” he said.