Basketball Federation of India launches college, school leagues

It is seen as a huge boost for basketball in India

New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Thursday launched two leagues -- Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and Indian College Basketball League (ICBL) -- which will start Monday.

BFI chief executive officer Roopam Harish Sharma said 13,000 hoopsters will participate in the leagues, to be run till December and to be hosted in 22 cities across the country.

Sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled the trophies which will be awarded to the winners.

Both the leagues have been divided further into two leagues -- Premier League and Challenger League -- where teams will comprise 10 males and females each.

The ISBL Premier League will be played in 10 cities -- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Indore, Cochin and Jaipur while the Challengers League will be competed in 13 two tier cities -- Pune, Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Goa, Bhilai, Varanasi, Dehradun and Guwahati.

"BFI firmly believe that a strong grassroot programme is required to develop the supply line to our national teams. We really hope that the popularity of the sport will grow to a greater degree due to these leagues that will help India excel to even greater heights," Roopam said.

The ICBL Premier League will have its teams from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Indore, Trivandrum and Jaipur while the Challenger League will be played in Pune, Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Goa, Raipur, Varanasi and Dehradun.

The leagues, supported by IMG Reliance, will come to end with the National Championships which will be held at the Thyagraj Indoor Stadium here between the winning teams of all the cities.