@Sparta I fully agree. Hopefully this will be a turning point. With the AIFF-FIFA Academy and Pune FC Academy well underway it would really be benefitial to Indian football to have PIFA be able to start "professionalizing" its youth academy.
Better facilities, better coaches, better nutrition, better scouting and perhaps the odd foreign trip would really kick-start Indian football in this region... a region which I feel has underperformed its potential.
@Deb_Ban That is my fear. Indian people will go for the highest, more marketably available product. That is why I don't believe a 2nd Division can work in India under the current fan conditions because the average Indian won't watch the 2nd Division in India. That is also why I want an equal I-League where any team can win every year instead of a European model where there are few dominate teams because fans in India wont support a team which has no chance of ever winning... Indians support winners or could be winners.
And thus why the I-League will fail. Indians will watch the glamorus ISL, get their domestic football fix, and then move on to the Premier League or other Euro leagues. I-League is 2nd... no one goes for 2nd.
Let us see if it really does start to begin. What happened last year could very well happen this year. Anyways, if it helps Indian football then I would support it but so far I just wish it fails.
Let us see if it really does start to begin. What happened last year could very well happen this year. Anyways, if it helps Indian football then I would support it but so far I just wish it fails.
It was never going to start at the times they said it would. In fact, looking back, they always changed the dates slightly so we never really knew when it would start and whot the players or owners would be. All we actually knew was confirmed were the Indians signed but nothing else.
Now it seems like they are set on September to November and that is 6 months away... half a year. They have time on their hands and that is enough to organize a 3 month league. Owners are more known now and players are more known as well.
Last year I think they did some foreign signing too. They had time last year too but your right about this year, they have more time than last year. Again, let us see what happens. If at all it does happen, I guess they would play 6 foreign players in the starting 11 right? Alright, if this super league would replace our current I-league, is the 6 foreign player policy allowed in the AFC champions league or qualifiers?
If there is a success we Indians think way beyond the Universe, so if this ISL is a success they might just do anything, maybe make i-league a second division, and scrapping the current second division. Anything, just anything. Btw, in the future this ISL would probably run for more than 3 months.
I-League as a 2nd Division? How would that even work? You could do an American thing where we have MLS as the 1st tier and then the NASL as the 2nd tier where there is no pro/rel and both leagues are ran separatly but again, who in India will watch a 2nd Division? That is the question here, will this really help domestic football in India? It is just way to messed up and the roster rules in place violate the AFC rules MASSIVELY.
ISL in the end will just turn out to be another IPL where it is not really for the game but for the pockets.
True, those are few of the many reasons why I want the ISL to fail. Above all you shot the bulls eye by saying that it is another IPL and it is not really for the game but for the pockets.
I wish they could spend 50% of that money spent in the ISL by developing academies all over India.
Ya, if that happens then i guess it would be some sort of a consolation as the best would go abroad and play in real leagues. The majority though... i dont know.
This is World Cup year. This IMG League may turn out to be only a PR stunt. Catchy headlines in media.Shahrukh Khan interested in franchise. Tendulkar not interested in franchise. Maradona will be coach. Dwight Yorke will play. All speculations and throwing up of names of retired players means that one cannot verify the hoax claims. These journalists are the same who last year were saying that Messi is coming, Beckham is coming.
Comments
@Deb_Ban That is my fear. Indian people will go for the highest, more marketably available product. That is why I don't believe a 2nd Division can work in India under the current fan conditions because the average Indian won't watch the 2nd Division in India. That is also why I want an equal I-League where any team can win every year instead of a European model where there are few dominate teams because fans in India wont support a team which has no chance of ever winning... Indians support winners or could be winners.