Why the official football league of India will remain mediocre in quality if it does not incorporate more businesses? “The best way to avoid disappointment, is to not expect anything from anyone.” I-League, India's premier and most coveted football tournament, year after year, renders this quote to be truer. Founded as the “ONGC I-League” in 2007, it has since then seen a topsy-turvy ride, mostly on the sadder side, to reach the stage it is at right now. Since its inception, Dempo has won the championship 3 times, with Churchill Brothers following suit with 2 titles. In 2014, Hero took up the sponsorship rights. Ten Sports noticed the apparent potential of the league and hence decided to take charge of its broadcasting and coverage. So if the history of these significant clubs is intact, sponsors are on the roll and there is exponential craze in Indian football fans, then where is the I-League going wrong? If looked upon at several aspects from all angles, it can be seen that the governing body of the league, the AIFF, doesn’t want to work towards the development of it. They have all the ingredients at hand, yet they don’t want to cook. They have the map to the treasure, yet they don’t want to procure it. Institutional issues are one of the main reasons why the league hasn’t become successful. Earlier in 2007, Samir Thapar, the then head of operations of I-League, stated reasons such as “lack of credible exposure” and “depleted fund reserves” for the disbanding of many clubs. Fast forward a decade, those excuses shouldn’t even be accepted. Even today, clubs cry about ‘lack of funds’, when the fact is that they let all their television revenue to be channelized into the pockets of the AIFF. The association keeps it and life goes on merrily. Even if that is forgotten, the clubs could have taken some inspiration from the European clubs, and expanded on their facilities by pressing on their merchandise and ticket sales’ business models. At least they could have shown that they’ve posted profits in some form or the other. One more attribute that can be blamed upon, is the lack of vigor and passion for the league in the country’s football fans. They would strive to support foreign clubs, simply because they’re already well established and successful. Barring the boisterous states of the North East and West Bengal, there seems to be no active participation, and hence the league sees minimal footfall in the stadiums. The issues are persistent, but that does not mean that one cannot solve them. One suggestion that has cropped up in recent times, is to make a merger with its commercial sister league, the Indian Super League. Two seasons have successfully passed, with each one bringing opportunities with itself. This would truly prove to be a good mix, as competition and business would both be offered on a platter. But progress can only start with small steps, and the very initial one should be that of disintegrating power. No longer should the AIFF take all of the decisions. Diluting some amount of power to the clubs could enhance their motivation to do something new, which would only lead to good exposure for their players and the league. Also, grassroot development has begun, but more of this can only come when private players invest. The IMG-Reliance foundation has been doing a phenomenal job so far, and they would only look to build on it. No matter how one thinks of it, almost everything works with a business motive. And Indian football, is no exception. author |
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