Progeny of IMG-Reliance, The Indian Super League is set to captivate the hearts of many. In all this hustle and bustle, the country’s national league, has been shunned to the shadows.Ai??With days left to go for the biggest Football event the country has ever seen, or for that matter the continent has ever seen ,The Hard Tackle takes a look a look at the effects of the Indian Super League,the high profile counterpart of the I-League, on Indian Football as a whole.
The organizers received around 30 ‘Invitation to bid'(ITB) document purchases within 3rd to 21st March , 2014 which is by far the biggest response any franchise based event has got In the country. The franchisees were not awarded solely on the basis of finance , but there was a novelty factor included , which meant that the franchises had to produce a plan of developing Football and building proper infrastructure in their catchment area . This will certainly help the country improve its football infrastructure and will help the country train and promote new and young fresh talent.
We have seen many countries getting the benefits of top foreign players plying their trade in their country , we have seen the rise of Major League Soccer with the arrival of David Beckham and now players like Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane, Tim Cahill, etc ply their trade in the United States.We have also seen the rise of Chinese football after Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelkaai??i??s stint there.There are innumerable occasions when marquee players have gone and increased the standard as well as value of the respective Leagueai??i??s , but this is probably the first time a new league is being drafted in to increase the Football popularity in a country despite the presence of a fully functional national League already in place.
With the IMG Reliance sponsored Indian Super League starting from October and the league going on until the 20th of December , the I-League ,which generally starts from the month of September has been pushed for a January start. The I-League , which now is pushed to a January start will now have its final round of matches in the humid Indian Summer and with most stadiums not having proper light facilities , most of the games will be played during the afternoon , which will have a huge negative impact on the I-League.
There are also concerns among followers of the I-League ,that with the Marketing partners of the I-League ,IMG Reliance being the organizers of the Indian Super League there could be a probability of the sponsorships and finances being redirected to the newly formed ISL and lack of interest towards the I-League.
The Indian Super League franchises have now started bringing in foreign players who were already playing in the I-League , Glen Cornell has been signed up by North East United Football Club,Penn Orji has been roped in by former East Bengal manager led Kerela Blasters , Former East Bengal and Mohun Bagan striker Tolgey Ozbey has also been roped in by FC Goa . With more and more such cases this could be a problem for I-League clubs, as the salaries offered by the I-League clubs is nowhere near the salaries offered by the Indian Super League franchisees , and this could lead to the players not plying their trade in the I-League and this definitely will decrease the standards of the I-League .
With the Signing of more foreign players and top class players, more and more Indian players will take their place on the bench rather than on the field on Match days , this will make it extremely difficult for them to be match fit when called on for and the purpose of the League being used to make Indian Players grow will ultimately faulter.
With the hype around the Indian Super League attaining an all time high, the I-League which already has low publicity will now surely hit an all time low regarding its followers .This certainly may push people to become fans of Atletico De Kolkata rather than becoming fans of Kingfisher East Bengal or Mohun Bagan , which are Indian Clubs and are not some random franchisees , this might be the final nail in the coffin of the I-League .
There are also news emerging from some corners that the franchises are not approved by the governing body FIFA, this strengthens the fact that AIFF could always have put this money needed to organise the Indian Super League and reform the I-League and market it better to make it a huge success,nevertheless this has not been the case and the Indian Super League is ready to launch itself .
With an array of footballing legends arriving in the country for the Indian Super League and with tickets being priced moderately , fans are waiting eagerly for October the 12th , to flock the stadiums to see their favourite football superstars. The Indian Super League is certainly expected to be a massive hit with the Indian crowd , but this could also have serious damaging effects on the I-League . The Indian Super League whatever its impact is, certainly is something that the whole country is looking forward to and as an Indian we can only wish that the positives outweigh the negatives to help India grow as a footballing Nation.
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