Football in India is growing rapidly. Many entities have seen the surge in the popularity of the beautiful game and have thus seen India as a viable destination for investments in the game. Among those taking this initiative, International Management Group Worldwide, & Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are at the forefront. Reliance Foundation, chaired by Nita Ambani is at the forefront of supporting sports in India through various initiatives and this is possibly the biggest one till date. The joint venture (JV) titled, ‘IMG-Reliance,’ has tied up with Star India Pvt. Ltd., for the inaugural Indian Super League – a football tournament in India.
The tournament will invite bids for ownership of target cities. These cities (nine in total) are Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. The top eight bids will win the right to own and operate football clubs and participate in the Indian Super League. The bidding for the same will commence in the first week of March ’14.
The Indian Super League is poised to be a revolutionary concept in Indian sport. The league is expected to kick off at the close of the Indian Monsoon season in September 2014 and will run till November 2014. Each team will have one marquee player – an international player of great repute, seven international players and 14 Indian players. Through this, Indian Players will get a chance to play alongside some of the great football players in the world. One of the most critical goals of staging such an ambitious tournament is to foster local talent and feature international stars with the aim of making the game one of the country’s flagship sport.
The Super League is backed by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). IMG-Reliance is the commercial partner. What’s really great to see is that many international players have signed up. Fans of the Barclays Premier League will remember players such as former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke, former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo and former England forward Michael Owen. Other players are also in advanced talks to sign up for the league.
“International Management Group Worldwide and Reliance Industries Ltd’s joint venture in India, ‘IMG-Reliance’, together with Star India Pvt. Ltd. today announced its plans to commence the bidding process for Indian Super League clubs through ‘Invitation to Bid’ tenders starting Monday, 3rd March 2014,” IMG-R said in a statement.