I league is a ll set for a big revamp. But how exactly is it going to be remodeled has been discussed in a meeting yesterday between AIFF and Mukesh Ambani in the presence of IMG. The details of the meeting has not been revealed by the AIFF yet. I am pointing out the salient features of the new I League that have been proposed.
1. SONY ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION will telecast the I-League matches. The federation will discuss how far have the negotiations moved ahead between IMG and SONY.
2. It would be on the lines of EPL rather than the IPL.
3. Both the players and the Clubs will gain heavily from the new policies.
4. Current I-League teams will be given preference for gaining franchisees. Each club needs to deposit only Rs. 1 Crore to gain franchisee and they will also get all the rights that help them gain financially.
5. State associations will have no role whatsoever to play in organization of the matches. The clubs will be responsible for everything.
6. The clubs will stand to gain shares of the earnings from live broadcast of the matches.
7. The on-field advertisement and ticket sales revenues will belong to the home team entirely.
8. There would not be any auction for new team in the first year unless some club fails to meet the licensing criteria.
9. If the AIFF decides to include a new team from any particular city, franchisees will be auctioned for the same.
However, there is no news about the number of foreigners allowed. This issue and other details of the modus operandi were to be discussed in the meeting. Also, Mr. Kushal Das stated that all the changes might mot happen from next season onwards itself. But they are very sure about the 2012-13 season.
All in all, as an ardent Indian football fan, I would say that finally, yes finally our dreams regarding Indian football have started to see the light of the day. Those are very brave moves by AIFF, specially to remove interference of state associations. We are looking forward to the new season!
Adapted from: Sangbad Pratidin report by Dulal De
You said it won’t be on the lines of IPL. Then how can you think about franchisees…???
There are many clubs out there with great history and following which too should be considered.
It says ‘not on the lines of IPL but EPL’ which ensures it will be franchisee based like EPL. There are other aspects in which EPL model will be followed. I am not sure which aspects they are talking about
Is the sony deal finalised?