How India’s stellar ISL became world football’s fourth biggest league

[my2cents]

No; but I saw plenty of matches in between.

I didn't see anything close to European Quality over there and I've been following football all my life.

I saw quality more akin to 3rd tier of English football or European quality if you're considering some of the smaller leagues in Eastern European nations.

I fear that unlike the IPL which had a cricketing base provided by India herself; ISL may become a last-buck for hasbeens from European football.

Right now most players well beyond their prime who wish to get a last fat pay cheque usually go to the places like the Turkish Super Lig, the Major League Soccer or one of the Arab Leagues which are all greater in quality than the ISL, they may now consider the ISL in a similar vein.

Unless the ISL has rules in place like in Europe where a certain number of home-grown players have to be in the squad irrespective of whichever club you are; the financial implications of it all may override the potential to cultivate footballing talent in India.

IPL didn't face that dilemma because India is a cricketing nation which means that homegrown talent was always available and the obscene amounts of money being thrown about didn't materially hamper the development of domestic cricket in India.

The ISL, on the other hand, is a completely different ball-game; no South Asian nation is even worth mentioning in terms of football. There is no homegrown talent here to speak of and to cultivate it requires careful nurturing. This corporatization of football as it was done for cricket may in turn harm the development of domestic football.

I just hope that ISL will promote domestic football and infrastructure. As of now there is no support for football. What we need is proper training facilities to nurture local talent.

ISL will not become commercial success like IPL unless it includes certain number of local players. It is too early to say that ISL is a success because it is limited to few cities and is not pan Indian affair as of now.

I am ok with corporatization of football if it brings in much needed impetus for its growth in south asia.

 

[SrNair]

By that logic Pakistan's Mekran belt is a hotbed of football and in Lyari even gangs enter into a ceasefire before the World Cup thats how much people follow it; this does not mean that quality football is played in Pakistan because for that you need supporting infrastructure which none of our countries has.

Domestic cups mean nothing if there is no supporting infrastructure underneath it and attracting 'top notch' players is very different from attracting European players well beyond their prime looking to make a quick buck.

The ISL is a step in the right direction but its got a lot less to do with 'football' and a lot more to do with 'money' than you guys are willing to accept.

If you want top notch players you should pay a good cheque for them.The level of Indian domestic tournaments is very lower than the foreign leagues.
And this is not a GoI thing but corporate thing.
Football federation already ensure a fair share of Indians in ISL.
That would be a game changer to us.

 

[Blue_Eyes]

Ma'am just leave Mr.Jamahir alone.He has gone nuts these days.The other day he claimed that the R.S.S. and the V.H.P. are as dangerous as the Taliban or Al-Quaeda if not more.He is basically an Islamic fundamentalist in disguise.You will always find him mocking and criticizing the Sanatan Dharma on any pretext.I have seen him for the past 6 months and i have come to the conclusion that he isn't a socialist as he claims rather he is a fundamentalist in the veil of socialism.

hmm I have seen him saying not exactly this but something like this.
He has questioned hindus customs and method of worships like touching feet.
But I have said him religious debate is not my cup of tea :p
@jamahir are you serious that RSS AND VHP kills people like taliban?

 

[Star Wars]

By that logic Pakistan's Mekran belt is a hotbed of football and in Lyari even gangs enter into a ceasefire before the World Cup thats how much people follow it; this does not mean that quality football is played in Pakistan because for that you need supporting infrastructure which none of our countries has.

Domestic cups mean nothing if there is no supporting infrastructure underneath it and attracting 'top notch' players is very different from attracting European players well beyond their prime looking to make a quick buck.

The ISL is a step in the right direction but its got a lot less to do with 'football' and a lot more to do with 'money' than you guys are willing to accept.

Quality of football doesn't increase overnight, it takes years or even decades to bring up the quality to Europeans standards. One way to bring up the Quality is to make people interested in the game , just like cricket . Bringing foreign players players and coaches is one way to bring Quality into the game ..Its this new found excitement for football which will eventually increase the funding for supporting football infrastructure at the ground level. We already have several teams and

The All India Football Federation (AIFF), plus the I-League, are working from the grassroots up to improve all technical aspects of the game.The AIFF - after extensive talks with Fifa - is to launch a four-year strategic plan in November for the growth of the game.
"I hope this plan will go a long way towards the development of professional football in India," says Kushal Das, AIFF general secretary.
"It has not been easy - we have suffered from a lack of money, lack of visibility, lack of infrastructure.
"Also we have not been able to develop iconic players," he adds.
"The challenges have been big. But with this new [ISL] league coming up, people in India are getting interested, everyone has heard about it."

ISL will bring the money from the corporate and the clubs for developing this infrastructure . Besides you can see the difference in the football players themselves .

 

[jamahir]

@jamahir are you serious that RSS AND VHP kills people like taliban?

i ask you...

1. what is your opinion of 2002 gujarat riots and of what happened with ehsan jafri...
2. what is your opinion on love, wedding, marriage, divorce, remarriage...
3. why do you say i should condemn taliban and not condemn sangh parivar...
4. what is your opinion on the ram sena attack on the mangalore disco in 2009...
5. what is your opinion on "honor killing", family-enforced suicides...
6. what is your opinion on money system and farmer suicides...
7. what is your opinion on india being "suicide capital of the world"...
8. which group should you join/support to remove problems ( 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 ) from india...

 

[Blue_Eyes]

i ask you...
1. what is your opinion of 2002 gujarat riots and of what happened with ehsan jafri...
2. what is your opinion on love, wedding, marriage, divorce, remarriage...
3. why do you say i should condemn taliban and not condemn sangh parivar...
4. what is your opinion on the ram sena attack on the mangalore disco in 2009...
5. what is your opinion on "honor killing", family-enforced suicides...
6. what is your opinion on money system and farmer suicides...
7. what is your opinion on india being "suicide capital of the world"...
8. which group should you join/support to remove problems ( 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 ) from india...

you are elder than me, it means you do have extra experience of life than me, still i will try to give you answer

1. what is your opinion of 2002 gujarat riots and of what happened with ehsan jafri...

the whole riot was unfprtunate and I am damn sure justice will be made to the victims whether they are hindus or muslims

2. what is your opinion on love, wedding, marriage, divorce, remarriage...
this is not related to the subject

3. why do you say i should condemn taliban and not condemn sangh parivar...

why shold you not condemn taliban?
and why should you condemn sngh parivar?

4. what is your opinion on the ram sena attack on the mangalore disco in 2009...

i do not know anything about this incident

5. what is your opinion on "honor killing", family-enforced suicides...

whats your opinion on stoning women,teen agers and that too by relatives and by father in some incidents?
and honor killing is a curse in india, and i condemn it

6. what is your opinion on money system and farmer suicides...

by money system, what are you trying to say, black money??
and farmers suicide is always a subject to worry and nobody can appreciate it

7. what is your opinion on india being "suicide capital of the world"...

india has the 2nd largest population and one of the poor countries in the world, there is a big gap between higher class and lower class, and this is the reason for it
i am not in favour of it but this is not related to taliban or is it?

8. which group should you join/support to remove problems ( 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 ) from india...

none but that does not indicate that they are as bad as taliban, you can't compare taliban and sangh parivar

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Attended Chennai match 3 times.. Environment was electric.. Plus Ticket costs are just 100 /150 Rs only..
Nice going..