how do we create?? answer is simple -- with one entity .... you should never confusing people with different club names ... look at the turnout this year with Goa all time low ... 100 odd fans for most of the games ... such a pathetic confusing in the minds of people, Support FC GOA or SCG/SAL/DEM... or creating Mumbai City /Pune City / ATK ... Improvement is to spread the games to the places where there is need not to over crowd the existing..
ISL is trying eat the cream of football fans(western leagues). Build the foundation then build the empire ... ISL will never bring fans to I-league. ISL is different package all together compare to I-league. look at MMB even though they had bad season but they were good with attendance(2013-14). one stable league will take Indian football into great heights
I can give example of BFC but it will biased. Crowd for Indian football never problem, we never packaged it well ..
We have this situation in the US. People who only support the European teams, give MLS little thought etc. I like to compare my New York Red Bulls to other MLS teams like Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers etc. The Red Bulls managed to bring in fans when Thierry Henry came but that was it... the fans came for him but then once they got their taste of Thierry they left. The Red Bulls did not do anything to turn the fans from "We're here just for Henry" to "We love this team." Ya, they made the stadium which, IMO, is the best Soccer-only stadium in the US but they never took advantage to connect with people and thus now we have a rival in NYCFC and we only draw 15,000-19,000 a game in a 25,500 seater.
The Sounders and Timbers on the other hand go all out. Not only did they signed a decent player in Obafami Martins who was below 30, did very well in Europe, and would contribute a lot to the team. They signed Dempsey who at the time was US captain. And they unveiled a local talent in DeAndre Yedlin. At the same time the team worked very hard with the fans, a lot of programs in schools, hosting fan galas, working with charities in Seattle, making them look cool, and they even designed the stadium to look like their home. They also helped organize the fan groups and thus now they have at least 35,000 come to every game and they are all loyal, genuine fans.
That is what the league and teams can do to help but then again, we are handicapped by the format. The league is 2-3 months long, how can we create really loyal fanbases in that span of time?
ISL - I don't like the bully attitude of IMG (Reliance) . I-league was stopped for 10 days for 1st round WCQ but Can AIFF stop ISL for main qualifiers at least before the day? except money/broadcast and day grassroot-festival I don't see any changes after 365 days of existence.
As per Dhar - if ISL is to bring eye balls to Indian football - I will give balls to him. let him open up his eyes to last game of the I-league this season.
As far Kerala Blasters are concerned all the people who came to support them where genuine football fans.There where fans travelling about 200-250 km hiring buses, vans from different part of the state.Its true that we didn't see any organised fan support during kerala blasters home matches, but in Bangalore most of the fans are fascinated by EPL and trying to emulate it in BFC. In a state like kerala what we need is Proper I league club like BFC rather than a ISL club, because in kerala we don't need to promote or market football, just need to have properly organized club.I league is the best way to develop players if a club is run properly.If we look at current keralites playing in I league (I think Just 11 players) most of them came through viva kerala, SBT setup may be 2 of them through TFA. since viva kerala got disbanded, no new player get into an I league team from kerala. And KBFC wont help in promoting any new talent from kerala in near future. I believe kerala need a corporate entry into I league like BFC. Calicut will be the best to start a club. But the real problem is who will come forward, Kerala doesn't have any conglomerate like JSW operating in here and all those existing corporate from kerala doesn't have the money and vision to take it forward.
There are few who have the capacity to start a club, but i don't think they have the passion and vision to do it. One of the big jewelry group in kerala had a club running some 5 years before but since they couldn't get promoted to I league after trying for few season got disbanded. Also kerala doesn't have a proper league structure for clubs, only have few tournaments which are not enough to sustain a club. The current second division structure also doesn't suit
@Shankar But thats the thing, I can't fight if I don't have a side. I like the ISL but I also have a lot of complaints about it so I listed them. I also like the I-League but everyone knows them.
If I had to make a statement, it would be this: If the ISL started to really try and connect with fans like Bengaluru FC does, eventually changes its schedule, and slowly integrates youth development then IT WILL succeed and the I-League will go away and it will be a good thing.
Comments
@arsenalfan700 this a fight club you are writing an essay.. just make a statement let us fight...
With such long essays people wont fight much as they will agree with like comment and move make..
Here is my statement...
ISL sucks it is for european football lovers.. true football is seen in I-league where the clubs work hard to produce talents