Bajaj returns to football

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 5

Months after selling his family’s stake in Minerva FC, which had been rechristened Punjab FC, Ranjit Bajaj is back managing a football club. The maverick administrator and his family have picked up a majority stake in Delhi Football Club, which is a top division club in the Capital.

“Yes our company has taken over the trust that owns Delhi FC,” said Bajaj, who will be the director of the new team. “The deal is structured in a way where I am on board as just a director… My wife’s mother (Navjeet Kaur) is the one who has got the majority (90 per cent) of share and the rest 10 percent is with the previous owners,” he added.

Bajaj has been linked to several clubs, including East Bengal, ever since he sold his stake in Punjab FC in April to RoundGlass.

“Hunt was on for a club which had access to a full pitch and one which could be used for seven-a-side and five-a-side teams. In Delhi you have to hire grounds on an hourly basis. This would have been a big drawback for a professional residential academy,” Bajaj said. “So we were able to find this club, which has a lease for another six years on a full side ground. It is a win-win situation.”

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