Few Strategies to Promote I-League

All India Football Federation (AIFF), the apex body of football in India, started the National Football League in 1996 with an objective to promote football in this country. The League was renamed as the I- League in 2007 and it focuses on professionalizing the football structure in India. However, the popularity of the League is confined only in a few states, including West Bengal, Goa, Kerala and Punjab. Therefore, it is important for AIFF to adopt strategies to promote the League throughout the country.

The popularity of IPL can be attributed to the entertainment value that it generates. IPL is a perfect cocktail of cricket and Bollywood. It attracts the fans of cricket as well as the glamour industry. Football in India is yet to emerge as an entertainment package. Despite of the interest shown by a number of Bollywood biggies, no association has been observed between Bollywood and football. It can be argued that football may also emerge as “footballtainment” by involving the movie industry with it. The national and regional movie stars may be associated as the brand ambassadors to promote the League and clubs by attending matches, press conferences and special promotional campaigns. This strategy will help the League in creating and sustaining hype.

A number of matches of I- League are played in the afternoon during the weekdays. The fans, despite of their willingness, are unable to watch these matches due to unfavourable match timing. The matches should be organized either during the weekends or at a favourable time during the weekdays to provide an opportunity to the fans to watch the complete League.

Special hospitality packages should be introduced for the corporate sector to attract their interest towards football. Modern facilities should be provided in these corporate packages. To attract women and children, family boxes should also be introduced. These strategies will help the League to attract its potential investors and the target audience.

To provide information on I-League, various communication tools can be used. Social networking sites should be properly utilized to disseminate information. Mobile activation programme, containing the information on match day, time, venue and result, can be introduced. Information may also be provided through media by organizing media conferences and by circulating press releases more effectively. Accurate broadcasting timing of the matches should be communicated properly. To enhance the interaction with the fans, dedicated fan zones can be created in the websites of AIFF and the clubs through which the fans may interact with the players, coaches and officials on various issues. The fan zones will provide them an opportunity to register their opinions, select their teams and participate in various contests. This will increase the association between the League and the fans. Information on merchandizing items may also be provided through the fan zones.

Free passes should be distributed to the schools to attract the kids to football. Tickets may be sold in Colleges and Universities, in the presence of a celebrity, to attract the young generation to the stadium. This can be utilized as an opportunity to sell the merchandizing items as well.

These are a few strategies to increase the popularity of I- League in India and to attract youth, women and corporate towards football. The popularity of EPL, La Liga, and Champions League in India clearly signifies the opportunity for Indian football to grow in terms of popularity. The present opportunity can be converted into future strength by adopting simple yet effective measures.