Thats a really good point! Football is as much popular in cities like Durgapur, Asansol, Siliguri, Kalimpong etc. But there are no clubs to support and die for. Once they find an I league team from their home all of a sudden, they will be actively supporting the club. A few concerns remain.
1. apart from siliguri, i doubt any other city has football stadium to host i league matches
2. Operating far from the competetive environment of Kolkata Maidan might be lil difficult
as far as ur 2nd point goes....in maharashtra,competitive envirounment is mainly in mfl(mumbai football league),but still u could get a competitive team from pune whose city league is nothing in comparison with mfl.....on the other hand the club will get all needed crowd support....
Pune FC is competetive al right. But they havent been able to create strong enough fan base. Many of my frnds interested in european football and who are from pune havent ever heard abt the club. <!-- s:!: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" /><!-- s:!: -->
Pune FC is competetive al right. But they havent been able to create strong enough fan base. Many of my frnds interested in european football and who are from pune havent ever heard abt the club. <!-- s:!: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" /><!-- s:!: -->
Still getting 5000-6000 out of nowhere was excellent.They have done all they could do, now everything is in hands of AIFF to advertise/market I-League which could easily increase attendance of each and every Indian club. <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
Pune FC is competetive al right. But they havent been able to create strong enough fan base. Many of my frnds interested in european football and who are from pune havent ever heard abt the club. <!-- s:!: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" /><!-- s:!: -->
Still getting 5000-6000 out of nowhere was excellent.They have done all they could do, now everything is in hands of AIFF to advertise/market I-League which could easily increase attendance of each and every Indian club. <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
Are they really getting 5-6k in every match ? I have office colleagues who attend almost all PFC matches (Infosys gets some free tickets) and they say attendance figures have dropped this season.
Pune FC is competetive al right. But they havent been able to create strong enough fan base. Many of my frnds interested in european football and who are from pune havent ever heard abt the club. <!-- s:!: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_exclaim.gif" alt=":!:" title="Exclamation" /><!-- s:!: -->
Still getting 5000-6000 out of nowhere was excellent.They have done all they could do, now everything is in hands of AIFF to advertise/market I-League which could easily increase attendance of each and every Indian club. <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
Are they really getting 5-6k in every match ? I have office colleagues who attend almost all PFC matches (Infosys gets some free tickets) and they say attendance figures have dropped this season.
Agree with Somnath here...
We also spoke with few PFC guys, who said that the attendance have dipped down hugely compared to last season...looks like it is going backwards
Anyways, coming back to the main topic...can someone mention whether Chirag took United SC after its rise or is it that United SC was totally revived by Chirag....
I still feel at this stage sponsors can really make a huge difference, and sud be given importance if they are professional enuf, which Chirag is....
Another good example is revival of old Kolkata club Aryans by Techno group
Aryan did not have to share ownership to the sponsor (which, in any case, is an absurd idea!). A sponsor invests because of the visibility that is offered against the sum, the question of owning any part of the club does not arise. May be the sponsor may have some say regarding the tournaments the club attends.
As to Somesh’s comment, I think operating away from Kolkata is not much of a problem, in any case, I-league teams are not expected to play in the local leagues. Secondly, in the industrial belt of Asansol-Durgapur, there are numerous PSU townships where there are full fledged stadiums (though a bit run down condition). Some kind of association may be devised, a la SAIL-Mohun Bagan Academy in Durgapur. I am sure there will not be any dearth of fans in that area.
Aryan did not have to share ownership to the sponsor (which, in any case, is an absurd idea!). A sponsor invests because of the visibility that is offered against the sum, the question of owning any part of the club does not arise. May be the sponsor may have some say regarding the tournaments the club attends.
As to Somesh’s comment, I think operating away from Kolkata is not much of a problem, in any case, I-league teams are not expected to play in the local leagues. Secondly, in the industrial belt of Asansol-Durgapur, there are numerous PSU townships where there are full fledged stadiums (though a bit run down condition). Some kind of association may be devised, a la SAIL-Mohun Bagan Academy in Durgapur. I am sure there will not be any dearth of fans in that area.
1) In football here, the rewards for sponsors is very less...I can't imagine Chirag benefitting much by sponsoring a club without fans, so it is understandable if they demand more than what is norm in other sports or football elsewhere
2) I league clubs will play in local leagues, the rule was that the players will be different...however, that rule is not yet enforced and will get massive opposition from other clubs esp the big two of Kolkata
Aryan did not have to share ownership to the sponsor (which, in any case, is an absurd idea!). A sponsor invests because of the visibility that is offered against the sum, the question of owning any part of the club does not arise. May be the sponsor may have some say regarding the tournaments the club attends.
As to Somesh’s comment, I think operating away from Kolkata is not much of a problem, in any case, I-league teams are not expected to play in the local leagues. Secondly, in the industrial belt of Asansol-Durgapur, there are numerous PSU townships where there are full fledged stadiums (though a bit run down condition). Some kind of association may be devised, a la SAIL-Mohun Bagan Academy in Durgapur. I am sure there will not be any dearth of fans in that area.
1) In football here, the rewards for sponsors is very less...I can't imagine Chirag benefitting much by sponsoring a club without fans, so it is understandable if they demand more than what is norm in other sports or football elsewhere
2) I league clubs will play in local leagues, the rule was that the players will be different...however, that rule is not yet enforced and will get massive opposition from other clubs esp the big two of Kolkata
i live in dgp and i would say that there will not be much attendance in stadiumsas there are next very few young fans who are interested in indian football
Comments
Still getting 5000-6000 out of nowhere was excellent.They have done all they could do, now everything is in hands of AIFF to advertise/market I-League which could easily increase attendance of each and every Indian club. <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
give me 3 more and they will rock attendance with their intiatives
Are they really getting 5-6k in every match ? I have office colleagues who attend almost all PFC matches (Infosys gets some free tickets) and they say attendance figures have dropped this season.
Agree with Somnath here...
We also spoke with few PFC guys, who said that the attendance have dipped down hugely compared to last season...looks like it is going backwards
I still feel at this stage sponsors can really make a huge difference, and sud be given importance if they are professional enuf, which Chirag is....
Another good example is revival of old Kolkata club Aryans by Techno group
As to Somesh’s comment, I think operating away from Kolkata is not much of a problem, in any case, I-league teams are not expected to play in the local leagues. Secondly, in the industrial belt of Asansol-Durgapur, there are numerous PSU townships where there are full fledged stadiums (though a bit run down condition). Some kind of association may be devised, a la SAIL-Mohun Bagan Academy in Durgapur. I am sure there will not be any dearth of fans in that area.
1) In football here, the rewards for sponsors is very less...I can't imagine Chirag benefitting much by sponsoring a club without fans, so it is understandable if they demand more than what is norm in other sports or football elsewhere
2) I league clubs will play in local leagues, the rule was that the players will be different...however, that rule is not yet enforced and will get massive opposition from other clubs esp the big two of Kolkata
i live in dgp and i would say that there will not be much attendance in stadiumsas there are next very few young fans who are interested in indian football