The second edition of the Pro Wrestling League has been postponed following the recent demonetisation policy adopted by the government of India. The tournament was scheduled to start on 15 December 2016 but the severity of the policy is proving costly for the organisers of the event.
The league is conducted by ProSportify on behalf of the Wrestling Federation of India. According to Indian Express, the company said that the start would be delayed by a short period of time due to newly implemented bans on old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.
However, no finalised date has been announced as of yet. The director of Sportify, Vishal Gurnani said, “Due to the demonetisation and keeping in mind stakeholders’ interest, we are re-scheduling the PWL 2. We will announce the new dates most likely by November 30.”
Earlier, it had been announced that the second season would kick off on 15 December. The dates for the player auctions were not announced, though. Gurnani said that the event would be organised in the near future. He said, “Spending money on sponsorship and advertisement is not the priority but we will surely conduct the league in the near future. It’s not far away.”
The president of Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhusan Singh Saran was hopeful that the issue would be clarified in the upcoming 2-3 days. He said, “This is not a big issue but the league will be shifted. We will decide the new dates in a day or two.”
Despite the president’s promises, it is believed that the event will not be held until the last week of December. The auctions, which were supposed to be held in mid-November, are now scheduled to be held 15 days before the commencement of the event.
Nonetheless, the duration of the league will be curtained as the broadcaster has demanded that the league can only be telecasted before 14 January 2017.
According to the Indian Express, a source in the organising committee said, “Sony, the official broadcaster of the league has stated that the league can only be telecasted before January 14, even if it’s a league with less number of days. There is no chance it can exceed that window.”
It has further come to light that the sponsors are “taking the time to think about payments” and have requested for more time from ProSportify. The initial plan of increasing the number of teams has been dropped and six teams will be competing in the second season as well.
