Indian Super League looks to shake up status quo.
Kolkata:
Until now, Kolkata’s football clubs only played football and their fanatical
supporters only watched from the edge of their seats. Every now and then, they
would fail to deal with the adrenaline rush—on-ground skirmishes meant the big
matches remained the preserve of only the most fervid supporters.
Even so, 75,000-80,000 would turn up for a Mohun Bagan-East Bengal derby. If the stakes were as high as a championship decider, the attendance would top 100,000, and sometimes things would simply go out of hand—a 2012 match had to be abandoned because the crowd went berserk.
That’s been pretty much the norm at Kolkata’s football grounds from the days
Indians played barefoot.
But with the Indian Super League (ISL) soccer tournament—a property of Reliance Industries Ltd and sports management firm IMG—premiering on Sunday evening, the feudal order of football is under pressure to make way.
Even so, 75,000-80,000 would turn up for a Mohun Bagan-East Bengal derby. If the stakes were as high as a championship decider, the attendance would top 100,000, and sometimes things would simply go out of hand—a 2012 match had to be abandoned because the crowd went berserk.
That’s been pretty much the norm at Kolkata’s football grounds from the days
Indians played barefoot.But with the Indian Super League (ISL) soccer tournament—a property of Reliance Industries Ltd and sports management firm IMG—premiering on Sunday evening, the feudal order of football is under pressure to make way.
Not only has a new entertainment
property come into being, the high-decibel razzmatazz with which the ISL was
launched in Kolkata on Sunday promises to turn football in India into a great
deal more than just a 90-minute show of scrappy footwork.
A few
recycled overseas players such as Sweden’s Fredrik Ljungberg, France’s Nicolas
Anelka and Italy’s Alessandro Del Piero may not immediately be able to raise
the standard of football played in this country.
Their clubs might have to lean on movie stars such as Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor and cricket legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to build a support base for themselves, but Indian football is already witnessing new standards being introduced.
The state stands to gain from such events, according to Pande. It will receive a fee of at least Rs.12 lakh a match, three-four times the usual fee charged for other matches.
Sunday’s attendance of at least 60,000 at the first match between Atlético de
Kolkata and Mumbai City lived up to the expectations of the co-owners of the
home team. Though tens of thousands of tickets were given for free and many
sold for half the price, Yuva Bharati Krirangan looked more like Eden Gardens
hosting an Indian Premier League cricket match.
Atlético de Kolkata’s co-owner Utsav Parekh took great pride in bringing women in fancy clothes back to the football stadium—a rare sight indeed in the city—and many even came with children in their arms.
That’s the idea, says Sunanda Dhar, chief executive officer of the I-League—India’s primary football league run by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). “Copy-pasting the IPL model” is probably the best way to create new excitement in football, he says.
Until now, the vast majority of football fans in India have been people from the low-income group, says Subrata Dutta, vice-president of AIFF. Is it possible to get a car manufacturer interested to sponsor a football tournament if a large majority of spectators cannot afford even a bicycle? asks Dutta.
Their clubs might have to lean on movie stars such as Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor and cricket legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to build a support base for themselves, but Indian football is already witnessing new standards being introduced.
The state stands to gain from such events, according to Pande. It will receive a fee of at least Rs.12 lakh a match, three-four times the usual fee charged for other matches.
Sunday’s attendance of at least 60,000 at the first match between Atlético de
Kolkata and Mumbai City lived up to the expectations of the co-owners of the
home team. Though tens of thousands of tickets were given for free and many
sold for half the price, Yuva Bharati Krirangan looked more like Eden Gardens
hosting an Indian Premier League cricket match.Atlético de Kolkata’s co-owner Utsav Parekh took great pride in bringing women in fancy clothes back to the football stadium—a rare sight indeed in the city—and many even came with children in their arms.
That’s the idea, says Sunanda Dhar, chief executive officer of the I-League—India’s primary football league run by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). “Copy-pasting the IPL model” is probably the best way to create new excitement in football, he says.
Until now, the vast majority of football fans in India have been people from the low-income group, says Subrata Dutta, vice-president of AIFF. Is it possible to get a car manufacturer interested to sponsor a football tournament if a large majority of spectators cannot afford even a bicycle? asks Dutta.
PGDM 2ND
YEAR,
SOURCE- MINT
I feel it is good for india in future. in football our country is low pogition so it oprtunity for our country. ISL is a platform for football player.
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