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How many times have you seen regular full page coverage of an Indian Football tournament in leading news papers? How many times have you seen millions of youth going crazy on social media over Indian football? How many times have you seen promos of an Indian football league being aired on national primetime television across all major channels?
The answer is: Never!
Welcome to the world of Indian Super League (ISL); a tournament which is turning out to be a dream weaver. Millions of people are pinning their hopes on this mega event to turn around the fortunes of Indian football which has been languishing in obscurity for ages now.
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On the other hand naysayers are also dismissing the event as an out and out commercial venture, which instead of benefitting Indian football will cause more harm by sidelining I-League and other domestic tournaments.
With the blockbuster inauguration of the maiden edition of the ISL barely hours away, it is all too pertinent now to summarize the pros and cons of the ISL.
Why the ISL is good news for Indian football fans
1. Make football an appealing sport in India: From the high of the 1950s and 1960s, football in India has gradually lost its mass appeal, barring a few exceptions like Kolkata or Goa. Cricket, with the glitzy IPL, became too big and all devouring. Now, with the star power of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli coupled with the backing of corporate houses like Reliance, IMG, Star sports and the like, the ISL is bound to provide the much needed and much belated boost of media attention, hype and larger than life image to the game of football in India. It will definitely force today’s children to dream beyond cricket and take up football as a career.
2. Improving football at the grassroot level: ISL in all probability is going to be the biggest money spinner in India after the success of the IPL. This is going to have far reaching social effects. Just like the mushrooming cricket coaching centers of the ‘90s, which produced majority of present Indian stars, parents will start pushing theirs wards into football academies as it will start looking lucrative. Also, the mandatory grass root development programs of the franchises will make sure that budding local talents never run short of avenues.
3. World class talent playing in India: Marquee players like Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet, Joan Capdevila, Nicolas Anelka, Luis Garcia, Robert Pires and coaches like the legendary Zico bring in the wealth of immense experience and world class skills. If the first edition of the ISL becomes a hit then the average age of marquee players will definitely come down and it would be no surprise if we see top class current players from Europe or Latin America lining up for an annual Indian sojourn. It will be a boon from heaven for the Indian players, perpetually starved of international exposure.
4. Improve infrastructure at stadiums and training grounds: With the infusion of funds from franchises, practice facilities have undergone a huge makeover and will soon be world class. Spectator amenities in the ramshackle stadiums were almost non-existent. Now every effort is being made to change the scenario for better as early as possible.
5. Professionalism in running clubs: Clubs in India are mostly run by families or colonial conglomerates or government organizations. Needless to say, the ISL will bring in a corporate culture along with professionalism in football administration. ISL is the first truly pan Indian sporting event and not just restricted to the major metros. Hopefully, we will see a team from Jammu & Kashmir too in the near future.
Possible drawbacks of the ISL
1. Will the I-League be affected?
Critics are pointing out that ISL will undermine the I- league and other tournaments. This is partly true. but in reality, the I-league was hardly popular barring a few pockets in Goa or Bengal. It was only last season that newly formed Bengaluru FC brought some fresh fans on board. The status of other tournaments are even worse. So if football catches the popular imagination via the ISL, new idols and heroes will emerge. People will start following football again and, subsequently, the I-league and other tournaments will benefit the most from it.
2. Can I-League clubs survive?
Some critics have also pointed a finger at the ISL saying it will destroy all the I-league clubs. This is also partly true. New franchises might take some sheen off the popularity of old clubs, and that in turn might make the sponsors look the other way. However, by loaning players to the ISL, I-league clubs can earn quite a lot of money.
Moreover, if the AIFF strikes gold with the ISL, then it might also dish out more to make the I-league viable, just like BCCI has done with the Ranji Trophy.
Now it is more than evident that pros far outweigh the cons. So it can easily be concluded that Indian football is about a few hours away from a major revolution named the ISL which, in all likelihood, is going to catapult India into the big league of football sooner than one can imagine!
