American football will soon be played in league form in India in a bid to introduce one of the most entertaining games to sports lovers here.

About eight teams, six from India and one each from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, will battle it out in the Elite Football League of India to be played during January-February 2014.

Thereafter, the event organisers will seek to auction the teams, according to Venkatesh Movva, Chief Executive Officer of Movva Sports.

Movva Sports is the owner of the Hyderabad team Skykings.

The Indian teams are from Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The event organisers have tied up with television channel Ten Sports for the telecast of the league matches across 13 countries.

This will be the second league, to be held jointly in Pune and Hyderabad.

The first one was held in Sri Lanka as there was difficulty in securing visas for the Pakistani contingent, Movva said.

“This is immensely popular in the West and a top revenue generator. We hope to popularise the sport among the youth. Though Indians swear by cricket, there are others who enjoy other sports such as American football,” he said.

To start with, an exhibition match will be held in Hyderabad.

“There is growing interest among multi-nationals to partner the event, as they do in the US. We are talking to several large business houses to seek their engagement in the league as title sponsor or team sponsor. As we get into the league, we believe their interest will go up. Then we can also auction these teams,” Movva said.

Tollywood star Sumanth has been inducted as the brand ambassador for the Hyderabad team.

rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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