"India has always had great volleyball players, we had terrible administrators" - Prime Volleyball CEO Joy Bhattacharjya on growth of the sport

The Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) has been suspended since December 2019 due to perpetual fighting, proxy voting and failure to form an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). The sport in the country is currently governed by an Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed ad-hoc committee.

Just a month before its suspension, the VFI terminated the 10-year contract with the Baseline Ventures for the Pro Volleyball League, which was successfully staged by the two parties earlier that year. The matter went to the court and the promoters Baseline Ventures won the legal battle.

The Pro Volleyball League was rebranded and named as Prime Volleyball, a private league following the suit of NBA, where franchise owners have a stake in the league.

Cut short to December 2023, Prime Volleyball has already completed two seasons, and the winners of the PVL 2023 (Ahmedabad Defenders) participated in the 2023 Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship. The six-team annual event was staged in India for the very first time.

Despite VFI’s attempts to host the Indian Volleyball League as a rivalry tournament, and its refusal to recognize the Prime Volleyball League, the latter managed to allure fans with its innovative rules and add financial value to players from the nook and cranny of the country.

The auctions for the Prime Volleyball 2024 was held on the parallel lines of the Club World Championships. Attacker Aman Kumar and setter Sameer were the most expensive players sold out to Kochi Blue Spikers and Chennai Blitz, respectively, for a huge sum of ₹18 lakh each.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Prime Volleyball CEO Joy Bhattacharjya spoke about the growth of the league, the volleyball administration in India, the country's achievement in hosting Club World Championships, and much more.

Excerpts from Joy Bhattacharjya’s exclusive interview with Sportskeeda

Q) The highest bids for two players in the recent auction have been 18 lakhs. What does that speak about the increment of the league?

Joy Bhattacharjya: It’s fantastic. In fact, we had limited it to ₹18 lakhs to make sure that players who came in the previous auction didn’t feel missing out. But I think it shows that so many top players are getting bids between ₹15 and ₹20 lakhs. That’s a great sign and a serious amount of money for volleyball.

We are doing a stage development. Slowly by slowly, improving standards and getting players, paying them decent money. Also making sure that we don’t spend so much money that clubs blow up all their money and they do not want to participate anymore. So it’s a planned way of developing Indian talent and moving forward.

Q) The league has completed just two seasons and we can see a good response from the fans’ turning up in decent numbers for the World Championship. Was this all planned before or it was like a step at a time?

Joy Bhattacharjya: It’s step by step. The single most important thing is that FIVB has given us a tournament which has the best clubs and players in the world. You will not give it to a country where they don’t think there is a lot of potential.

One of the mistakes we make in India is that we think nobody cares about us. Almost every (international) sports federation wants to come and do well in India because it is the most populated country and other than cricket no other game is that big.

So it’s a huge opportunity for us but it is equally a huge opportunity for FIVB and international Volleyball to get so many Indian fans.

Q) When the Prime Volleyball was started in 2022. Was the vision to participate in the World Championships already on the back of the league organizers’ mind?

Joy Bhattacharjya: The only thing we were clear about we will be a league which is about players, developing and making players. India has always had great volleyball players. We had terrible volleyball administrators.

All we wanted to do is that we didn’t want to be administrators. We want to empower players. Give them good training, food, and diet along with good coaches and after that, there is enough talent in India.

Q) When India hosts such a big event like Volleyball Club World Championships and ironically the VFI has been suspended since last 3-4 years? Despite all the fracas happening behind the scenes, how does it mean to push a tournament of this stature.

Joy Bhattacharjya: Absolutely, and that’s our wish. We bought it for two years and we will do one year here in Bengaluru and next year we will do it in Chennai. Build bases and there are some amazing stories.

Guys have come from Coimbatore, Tirupur and Mizoram to watch the tournament. This is the best Volleyball in the world and you will not find better players than these. They are Olympic champions and world champions.

Q) How do you assess the Ahmedabad Defenders’ tournament after they conceded defeats in the first two games by close margin against Itambe Minas?

Joy Bhattacharjya: That’s exactly my point. We lack coaching and a certain amount of physical fitness in terms of the drills we do. Indian players are very talented and we have that talent but it will take three to five years for this lot to start winning. Right now we will compete but to be there at the stage as these guys is a huge step for (Indians). I think that’s why I am so happy with what’s happening out here.

Q) The Bengaluru Torpedos opened their academy in the city. What signs it is to nurture the upcoming lot and do other teams have any plans?

Joy Bhattacharjya: I love the things that teams are doing and the Bengaluru team has got this amazing Volleyball academy. The Kolkata Thunderbolts do a lot of work in the districts of West Bengal in small places. They know that this game is both rural and urban, it’s not just urban. You can see a lot of Volleyball being played in rural Tamil Nadu and rural Karnataka.

Every team in their own way is trying to develop a market and develop players. That is fantastic! Then you have something like the Brahmaputra Volleyball League which Abhijit (Bhattacharya) is doing. There is an overall interest in volleyball happening.

Every time an owner comes into this system like say a Sameer Nigam of PhonePe or a Binny Bansal (co-founder of Flipkart). Once they get an interest in the sport, they become stakeholders in it. And the sport will become bigger.

If a Mukesh Ambani came and was involved with a cricket team that means he will bring his own intelligence to bear. That’s what we are also trying to do. Making sure that we get good-quality people who are interested in volleyball.

We are not the only minds, they are smart businessmen who will help volleyball and teams grow. They will also help the overall game to be raised.

Q7) You have been the CEO of KKR previously. How do you bring your expertise of an administrator into a game like volleyball?

Joy Bhattacharjya: The two things I asked when I started with the volleyball (project) in 2018. It was that is Indian volleyball watchable and can we make a volleyball product (a league).

If it’s not good enough to be watchable then there is no point because you are not going to get fans. It was watchable and has a very strong base. The reason volleyball is not big, obviously, thanks to administrators. Everyone plays in school and college and then there is nothing on TV to watch. Our job was to make a volleyball product.

I have worked with basketball as well. The difference between Indian basketball and International basketball is the gap is much bigger.

Q) Are you saying that you have provided the platform to bridge the gap between the grassroots talents and the highest level of the game?

Joy Bhattacharjya: No, first and foremost we feel the difference that the talent level in India versus the talent level internationally is lower to start with. So the challenge is less.

Secondly, volleyball is suited to India because it’s a resource-pour sport. In a small place, you tie a string and you have one ball and you can play it. football and volleyball in that way are perfect Indian sports.

Real talent in volleyball is actually sitting in districts and smaller places. If we have a league and we start discovering these talents. We are not just discovering them for a league, the league is only a step. We are discovering them for India.

I will give you one more interesting thing. Today in the auction, an Ajit Lal has been taken again. A Kaka Prabhakaran has been taken again and a Naveen Raja Jacob is coming back. Had the Prime Volleyball league not happened.

They wouldn’t have bothered to comeback because they have nothing more to play for. Players are also incentivised to return to stay fit to do well. And that’s a very important part of it.

Q) How do you make an easy schedule to make sure enough foreign players can participate in Prime Volleyball as an American player from Itambe Minas told Sportskeeda that their busy schedule with international leagues doesn’t permit him to come here even though he wants to.

Joy Bhattacharjya: The challenge in all international sports is that all international leagues are five months or six months. Sports in most countries in the world is a habit where a team plays twice a week and six months a year. That’s how things are supported there.

In India, the problem is all leagues even the IPL, which is the most popular league, is a one and a half month activity or a two-month activity because Indian leagues are not built on model of people attendance.

It’s built on sponsorships. Sponsors come for a particular time and the challenge will always be with us to make this league longer.

Today if I say I want to do a six-month volleyball league, the finances will not work. ISL is trying to do it by making a longer league and it’s not easy for them also.

Look at Premier League, it’s eight months. Look at NBA, it’s seven-eight months. No (popular foreign) league is below five months. Sport (leagues) in India is like a Shaadi (Marriage function). Aata hain (it comes) and we do it really well and it finishes up.

Q) Would Prime Volleyball take the credit for India’s Asian Games improvement? Defeating South Korea wasn’t a walk in the park.

Joy Bhattacharjya: We don’t take any credit for any success. The players are the ones who do it. I just wish as I said three years back we had a great chance just after the Pro Volleyball league. FIVB gave us an international coach Dragan (Mihailovic).

Had he been there for three years with the team. We would have better results and probably beat Pakistan as well. Pakistan got their coach at the same time as we did but the only thing is our federation did not allow that coach to work and he went away. That coach for Pakistan just tactically was far superior than the coaches we had. That’s the point.