It is a well proven fact that, in today’s world, for any sports to be accepted by masses and to succeed commercially, one needs to pepper it with as much glamour and attraction as possible. Indian football certainly lacks such glamour which shows in the empty galleries in the I league games, barring few exceptions. Consequently, Indian football and the clubs find it very difficult to get proper sponsorship and TV telecast of the games.
In order to bring some of the much needed glamour to Indian football, finally, Indian Football Association (IFA), the oldest football association in India (This is separate from AIFF) is trying to learn from the BCCI’s smart management and promotion of cricket. Taking a cue from the glamorous T20 cricket tournament Indian Premier League, IFA has decided to conduct Premier League soccer (PLS), where according to the early reports, former world cuppers like Edgar Davids or Junichi Inamoto may come apart from many players from MLS, Brazilian League, K-League and the J-League. The tournament is expected to start in February, 2012 and the bidding process for the franchisee will probably be done in August, 2011. As of now the tournament will be held in West Bengal, with the teams being – Kolkata, Howrah, Asansol, Burdwan, Midnapore and Siliguri – regions from West Bengal. Apart from bringing high profile players from abroad, it is also expected that PLS will be instrumental for infrastructure and local talent development.
We would like to ask all football followers, whether they think this plan will have a positive effect on Indian football promotion and development.
We have created a poll in our IFN forum. Please CLICK HERE to access the poll.
Also, click here to discuss more about PLS in IFN forum
