Liverpool to Open Academies in India, Taking Aim at China, North America As Future Possibilities

Liverpool is spreading its wings.

The club announced on Wednesday that former England and Liverpool midfielder Steve McMahon will be the chief coach for LFC’s first academy in India, which will be set up in New Delhi in October.

According to Liverpool’s International Football Academy chief Steve Turner, the club is interested in setting up academies in China and will explore possibilities in North America, South America and Southeast Asia.

“We want to have footprints in every continent in the next three years,” Turner told The Associated Press. “We want to take our academies to as many parts of the world as possible.”

“Of course, cricket is the main sport but we also get many millions of viewers from here,” said McMahon. “Almost 90 percent of Asians support either Liverpool or Manchester United according to TV ratings, which is a lot.”