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Jeje, Sabeeth, Manandeep, Subrata Pal, Gouramangi, how many of you'll know who are they? If you follow Indian football, these are very familiar/known names.But unfortunately, majority of the population don't know anyone from the list of people I mentioned above. Who they know are people like John Abraham, Ranbeer Kapoor, Sachin Tendulkar, Abhishek Bachchan, Neeta Ambani, etc.
IMG-Reliance
In 2010, IMG-R approached the All India Football Federation and undertook the marketing rights for the I-League. They tried to lure in corporate firms and diversify the entertainment aspect around the league. IMG also had a first hand experience of the very much successful Major League Soccer (MLS) in the USA. A similar approach to the local football was the plan on paper. It was sad that things did not go as planned and the IMG-R team faced a lot of criticism from the I-League clubs.
In 2013, IMG-R decided to let go of the I-League. It approached the AIFF and floated the concept of the ISL. AIFF faced strong opposition from the I-League clubs in releasing their players. Many also feared the loss in Brand Equity to their own team. AIFF did not want any kind of rebel whatsoever like we saw in Cricket: IPL and ICL a few years back.
The fans
India has a huge appetite for football following. Unfortunately, this was filled by European Leagues. Football fans are majorly influenced by big names, big clubs, big tournaments, etc. Philosophy, style of play, tempo, usually are not considered as much.
ISL is a perfect platform where we can attract the masses through big footballing names, known ‘celebs’ and a geographical/emotional connection with the teams from all the cities.
The way forward?
It is too early to say how this will work in the long term. It is a proven concept in the country with Cricket and Kabaddi, and also the MLS in the USA. Some of the early criticism which I heard lately were:
1. IMG-R should have rather invested in the I-League – Well, IMG-R tried but had limited role to play in the I-League and most of the clubs were skeptical. ISL gave IMG-R complete freedom to build the boat from scratch.
2. The quality of football is very low! - Yes, it is! It has always been. Most of us are used to the quality of football in Europe. India stands nowhere close. But you cannot expect one League to come in and directly take the football quality to the next level. This is a perfect reality check for all of us here, with some glamour!
3. The duration is just a few months, hence No development of Football! - Agreed. But again this is the debut year, let's hope that the ISL adds two new teams every year and hence increasing not only the number of players and cities, but also the length of the competition.
Hopefully 6-7 years down the line we get to see a full fledged league with 18-20 teams, playing each other over 10 months! Come one India, Let's Football!
