After a successful inaugural soccer season, the Indian Super League (ISL) kicked off its second run with a glitzy opening ceremony and international players mixing with domestic heroes on the pitch. The ISL is aiming to be different this year, making it a home for pre-retirement superstars and drumming up the country's love for homegrown soccer.
Photo Credit: ESPN
If you're surprised to hear that India has created a soccer league, then you're not the only one since the country's dominant sport is cricket which rakes in $3 billion with the Indian Premier League (IPL). Yet, last October, the ISL opened with the aim of coming out from cricket's shadow and showcasing soccer for the country. Premier League soccer, which has teams like Arsenal and Liverpool, is widely watched and has a huge fanbase in India, which has drawn aging superstars like Nicolas Anelka and Freddy Ljungberg to coach and play on the fledgling teams.
The ISL launched their glitzy opening ceremony on Sunday, with performances by Aishwariya Rai Bachchan and Alia Bhatt and music by A.R. Rahman. It even featured two of the country's biggest heroes: Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth doing their part to support the league. This massive turnout of stars and big budget performances points to that desire to get people engaged in soccer, whether its watching for the stars or the international players.
It's a tactic that the owners of the ISL actively court. “We encourage the owners to bring as many of their celebrity friends as possible to matches,” said Andy Knee of the IMG group that runs the ISL to The Guardian. “Whatever the reason that people turn up, whether it is to see their favourite celebrities or to enjoy the music and atmosphere, our job is to persuade them to stay for the football."
The numbers have been impressive for the ISL as more than 26,000 people attended the final match where Atheletico de Kolkata won the championship and 56 million viewers tuned into the first week of matches for the ISL. Capitalizing on these gains, the ISL have Bollywood and sports stars owning teams like Ranbir Kapoor who's invested in Mumbai FC, or Abhishek Bachchan shilling out for Chennaiyin FC.
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Photo Credit: ESPN
Amidst the celebrity support, the ISL is the flashier cousin to the struggling I-League which has been around since 2007, but it lacks the infrastructure and adequate stadiums for its teams. Unlike the 10 week seasons of the ISL, the I-League runs longer, and includes the relegation and promotion of its 10 teams but it hasn't managed to garner many fans. If this second season for the ISL is successful, then talks are likely to be on for merging the two leagues within five years.
"We eventually want to bring the two leagues under one common format. There is no timeframe but maybe in two to three seasons," said Praful Patel, the president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) which operates the I-League.
It remains to be seen whether the ISL has some staying power in India, although the marketing might tell you otherwise with its consistent billboards and TV presence. Many of the international players like John Arne Riise or Florent Malouda who had flourishing careers overseas gravitate towards the ISL as a chance to earn a handsome paycheque before they retire. Age is also no bar for the ISL, as players like Robert Pirès is 41 now, after a long career at Arsenal and a 1998 World Cup winner with France.
“If you want to build something, you need money,” said Pirès to The New York Times. “And there is a lot of money in India.” He also noted that he'd been paid $750,000 for his three months with Goa F.C.
Indian soccer is an untapped market for corporate sponsors and it'll be crucial to see whether the ISL or I-League can hold on to the audience and make it grow in the next few years.
Main Image Photo Credit: Masala
Rumnique Nannar
Author
Rumnique Nannar is a new journalist with a passion for all things pop culture, film, and art. Rumnique was born in London, with a predilection for devouring English chocolate with her Vogue, ANOKHI, and Glamour magazines in tow. She is currently in her Journalism Masters at UBC. Connect ...
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