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Indian football fans are in for a treat. The All India Football Federation and its commercial partner IMG Reliance are in talks with leading players like Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi to be part of a franchise based league, on the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The visit of Argentine football players Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi to India, have stimulated interest in the sport. IMG Reliance's IPL-style tournament for football is set to see some international action when it kicks off early next year, said people close to the development.
Last week, a team from IMG Reliance was in Kolkata, meeting up with the Indian Football Association, Bengal’s state football association and the state ministry, regarding the proposed tournament. Officials visited Salt Lake Stadium, Gitanjali Stadium, Barasat Stadium and Rabindra Sarobar Stadium while in the city, and are to decide on the venue.
IMG Reliance is the commercial partner of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). In 2010, IMG Reliance, the joint venture between IMG Worldwide and Reliance Industries, acquired all the commercial rights to football in India, in a 15-year deal.
The tournament is likely to be contested among eight city-based franchises. IMG Reliance has already met state associations and requisite ministry officials in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kochi and New Delhi. AIFF has also checked in with the Western India Football Association about the availability of the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.
To promote the sport, IMG Reliance has decided to ``radically restructure and improve the game of football throughout India, from the grassroots to the professional level,'' officials said. The AIFF deal envisages that IMG Reliance gets all commercial rights to football across all football properties controlled by AIFF, including the national teams and all current and future professional leagues.
Other than talent scouting and training and development, the deal envisages the development of an elite world class professional domestic league, which will showcase the best available Indian and international talent.
Officials added that training facilities for Indian talent is on and has been modelled on IMG’s sports academy in Bradenton, Florida, USA, where the entire Indian Under-14 team are currently on fully funded scholarships provided by IMG Reliance.
Incidentally, AIFF has won a bid to host the FIFA U17 World Cup 2017 in India. The government has also approved Rs 120 crore for the upgradation of six stadiums in India which include the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, the Nehru Stadium, Delhi, Cooperage Stadium in Goa and the Banglore Stadium.
>amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in
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