The English ‘Profitability’ League..

One thing I’ve learnt in my life that has made me a little wiser and more mature is that anything and everything on this planet is in some way or the other proportional to enduring profits. It is. It really is. If an idea or a concept is not lucrative, it’s considered to be ludicrous. And of course, the person suggesting that idea automatically becomes an epitome of “insanity”.

 

The reason I’m bringing all this out is because of recent happenings in the world of football. To be precise, Indian football. Well not actually Indian, but somewhere or the other we Indians always decide that things must have an effect on our society. So, Yes.. I’ll take it as Indian Football.

 

According to reports, the Indian football fans might be in for a treat pretty soon. Very soon the people in India would have the privilege to listen to English Premier League commentary on All India Radio (AIR) FM Rainbow. If things work out that is. Here is a quote from an article on The Times of India website…

 

“In an effort to get Indian football fans hooked to the EPL, a London-based Indian company — Indian Football Evolution (known as Kshatriya Sports in India) — entered into a sales agreement with talkSPORT, global audio partner of the EPL, for broadcast services in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives.”

 

What’s interesting in this is the fact that a “London based Indian” company wants to get Indian football fans “hooked” to the EPL. What’s even more interesting is the callous fact that this “London based Indian” company wants “Indian” football fans to get hooked to “British” football rather than “Indian Football.”

 

Like I said, anything and everything is proportional to profits. So, there you have it. The people at Kshatriya Sports cannot be blamed. In fact, they’re doing a wonderful job to help promote football in India (This includes nurturing Indian talent, setting up Football academies, helping State Football Associations, etc.) The problem, to begin with, lies in the manner in which football is treated in India.

 

Why did the English Premier League supersede the I-League in the first place? Why is it that the majority of the Indian football fans are only interested in foreign football? When did all this start in the first place? What made leagues like EPL, La Liga, Serie A more popular in India than its local leagues? The answer is pretty simple. And I’ve said it before as well. No. It’s not “talent”. India’s got Talent as well. Players like Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Renedy Singh, Gouramangi Singh and Steven Dias could have shaken the world in their prime. The answer, sadly, is profits.

 

The English Premier League began its broadcast in India in the year 2002. I-League (formerly known as The National Football League) began in 1996. What happened in those six years that drastically changed the course of football in India? Nothing actually. That was the problem. Nothing happened.

 

There was little or no coverage for the National Football League. It was not telecasted. Even if it was, then the coverage was pathetic. There were no commentators. There was no pre-match or post-match analysis. There was absolutely no professionalism. Indian footballers were playing their hearts out only to find out that no one was watching. Talent was going waste. Football was heading towards its demise.

 

On the other hand, due to excellent broadcasting, ESPN-Star took the competition by the throat and shoved it in the dustbin. The deal signed by ESPN to broadcast EPL in India will and should go down as ESPN’s greatest business decision ever. Foreign Football’s growing popularity in India is mostly due to ESPN-Star’s coverage combined with talented football players and most importantly “Money”.

 

Now when a TV channel is willing to bid as much as $145 million just to broadcast football in India, one can certainly be assured that they know what the scenario of Indian football is. More importantly, what’s even sadder is that ESPN-Star knows more than some of the Indian TV Channels about what Indian football fans want to see. It was just the right blend of football mixed with impeccable coverage and professional standards. That’s all it took for Indian football to die.

 

When the I-league was formed in 2007, Zee Sports did try to do the same. They brought in football experts. Talent was roped in from England. People tried their level best to resurrect Indian football. But till then it was too late. EPL had already made its permanent residence in the hearts of Indians. Teams like Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal meant more to us than East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. Today every fan knows how many teams play in EPL, but only a handful of them know the same about the I-league.

 

And this brings us back to the whole EPL being broadcasted on FM thing. Why would someone like Kshatriya Sports not want to get involved in this? Their job has already been done. The sport has already been made popular in the country. There’s nothing that can revive the competition now. Indian footballers are being treated like dirt. Popularity of foreign footballers is on high. It’s guaranteed money. I think that they have all the reasons to go ahead with the deal and bring EPL on AIR FM.

 

The EPL-AIR FM deal will surely be the final nail in Indian Football’s coffin. I don’t think that even the IPL-style football league would be able to help (I hope that I’m wrong). And with the All India Football Federation disbanding its developmental outfit Pailan Arrows due to lack of financial commitment from its sponsors, it was just a good opportunity capitalized by Kshatriya Sports.

 

I’m no one to complain that it’s EPL that is being broadcasted on FM instead of Indian football. I’m no one to suggest that what Kshatriya Sports is doing is bad for Indian Football’s future. Because when there’s an assured reason for profits and an idea in hand that would be well received due to the already “immensely-cemented” popularity of EPL in India, it was just a bomb ticking to explode.