Football fans in India will be delighted to know that the Indian Super League (ISL) was mentioned by Facebook chairman Mark Zuckerberg as one of the key world events discussed by people on the social networking site last year. While announcing Facebook’s quarterly results, Zuckerberg mentioned the two-year-old football tournament as one of the world’s leading celebration of happy moments.
“In 2015, people came together in many different ways on Facebook,” Zuckerberg said. “We celebrated happy moments, from the Indian Super League to the release of Star Wars
“Millions of people rallied to support Nepal after the earthquake, France after the Paris attacks and all those affected by the refugee crisis. And every day, hundreds of millions of people just used Facebook to connect with loved ones.”
The confidence level of ISL organisers will definitely get a boost after Zuckerberg acknowledged the ISL and we may see increased efforts from the people behind the scenes, resulting in an even better tournament the next time.
ISL match attendance on the rise
Last season saw Chennaiyin FC lift the trophy. We also saw 186 goals scored in 61 matches. Although football is not the most watched sport in India, the excitement surrounding the ISL has always been impressive.
Most of the matches were played in packed stadiums with the average attendance in the first season touching more than 24,000. In doing so, the ISL became the fourth largest football league in the world.
In the second year, the ISL saw an increase in its already stellar popularity. The biggest proof of that is the increased average attendance of 27,090.
In terms of average match attendance, the Indian Super League is currently the third best football league in the world and is ranked at no.8 among the top 10 sports leagues.
Fans will be even more surprised and excited to know that the ISL is currently ranked above the Spanish La Liga, which boasts of teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, in terms of attendance. The only football leagues which remain above ISL are the German Bundesliga and English Premier League.
If in the near future, the ISL and the FIFA-approved I-League could merge together to form an even bigger league. The increment in popularity might let the Indians have the biggest football league in the world in their own country.
