The stadiums are ready and some of football’s greatest international has-beens have booked their flights to take part in a league that backers say will be “football on steroids”.
Former stars such as Freddie Ljungberg, David James and Alessandro del Piero are to jet in for the launch next month of Indian Super League, a souped-up tournament that aims to give IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket a run for its money as the subcontinent’s top sporting spectacle.
“We’re going to put Indian football on steroids,” says Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation. “We hope this will bring the crowds to the stadiums and invigorate the sport.”
The ten-week league hopes to harness growing interest in the game in India, considered by many as one of the world’s last great untapped football markets. “For too long, India has been seen as a one-sport nation, but there is no reason why Indians should only want to watch cricket,” says Uday Shankar, chief executive of Star India, the TV network which is screening the games, the first of which kicks off on October 12.
Although football remains far less popular than cricket, it retains a cult following in some regions, including West Bengal, northeastern states such as Assam, and Goa. With names like Delhi Dynamos, Club Chennai and Northeast United, the eight ISL clubs are being drawn from a mix of local players blended with overseas stars, lured out of retirement with generous financial packages.
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James, a former England international, will be in goal for Kerala Blasters in the southern city of Kochi. Del Piero, a 2006 World Cup winner with Italy, will play for Delhi Dynamos.
Although terms have not been disclosed, Mr Patel said that packages on offer to stars like del Piero would be in the “millions of dollars”. “Someone like del Piero won’t come down and play for love and fresh air,” he says.
Funded by Reliance — the industrial group controlled by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, and American sports agency IMG — the league is following an IPL-style formula, serving up TV-friendly sport with Bollywood glamour and razzmatazz.
The Indian film stars John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor and Salman Khan won the bidding for the teams based in Guwahati, Mumbai and Pune. Huge media exposure has also been guaranteed by the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s ownership of the Kerala Blasters.
Brijesh Kumar, a chef from Mumbai, was excited about the league. “But right now the Indian teams are like school teams. With good coaches and more money, they should get better, but it will take many years to get to world level.”
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Mr Patel predicts a bright future for Indian football, already the second most widely watched sport on TV in India.
“Look at what IPL has done for cricket,” he said. “The world now comes to India because of the huge viewing figures and the money. We hope to do the same eventually for football.”