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I-League: Finding A National Broadcaster Is Priority Number One For Us - Sunando Dhar
The I-League CEO mentions that while the 2010-11 season was marred with the absence of a national broadcaster, it definitely won’t be the case come next season…
07-Jun-2011 6:57:00 AM
By Rahul Bali
The 2010-11 I-League season came to a close last week in what was one of the most nail biting finishes ever with regards to the relegation battle, a factor which killed the interest was the dearth of a national broadcasting partner as fans were bereft of watching their favourites teams in action.
The broadcasting and marketing rights, which were previously owned by Zee Telefilms, were sold to IMG-Reliance last year and there was little time to find a replacement for ‘Zee Sports’, now known as Ten Action, to televise the I-League.
However Sunando Dhar, the I-League CEO, assured fans across the country that this certainly won’t be the case in the 2011-12 season as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is committed to finding a solution.
“Finding a national broadcast partner for the I-League is definitely priority number one for us. IMG-Reliance and us are confident of finding a partner soon,” he informed.
On being asked to reveal his plans for the next edition of the I-League, Dhar stated that the AIFF along with their partners in IMG-Reliance are forming a Plan of Action (POA) which shall focus on both – long and short term targets.
“We have started discussions with IMG-Reliance and are trying to finalize a POA soon. Of course, it must have long as well as short term goals which shall include infrastructure, publicity of the I-League and so on. There has to be a marriage between the two.
“Our partners are also more than six months old now and know more about Indian football than earlier. I am sure that with the experience they have gained, it shall only help plan things properly,” he explained.
Speaking of football on field, Dhar believes that the I-League 2010-11 has been a learning experience for those involved as it brought to forth several lessons which were unknown to many.
“There were two key things – the success of Indian Arrows and Salgaocar winning the I-League. With the Indian Arrows was conceptualized, not many gave it a chance but given the results that they have achieved, it’s great for a first timer. More importantly, it has provided for the national team which wouldn’t have been the case had the same players been scattered all over the country as was the case previously.
“While Salgaocar’s triumph highlights that you don’t really need the so-called big stars to win the I-League. You need to have a good youth development programme as many boys from Salgaocar are not at all recognizable faces in Indian football. They played the best soccer on a consistent basis .
“There foreigners were rejects from other teams and credit must go to Karim (Bencherifa) for the way he handled the situation. A big credit must also go to the club management as just a few seasons back, they were in the second division and to come and win the I-League within two seasons is a tremendous achievement,” said Dhar.
The broadcasting and marketing rights, which were previously owned by Zee Telefilms, were sold to IMG-Reliance last year and there was little time to find a replacement for ‘Zee Sports’, now known as Ten Action, to televise the I-League.
However Sunando Dhar, the I-League CEO, assured fans across the country that this certainly won’t be the case in the 2011-12 season as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is committed to finding a solution.
“Finding a national broadcast partner for the I-League is definitely priority number one for us. IMG-Reliance and us are confident of finding a partner soon,” he informed.
On being asked to reveal his plans for the next edition of the I-League, Dhar stated that the AIFF along with their partners in IMG-Reliance are forming a Plan of Action (POA) which shall focus on both – long and short term targets.
“We have started discussions with IMG-Reliance and are trying to finalize a POA soon. Of course, it must have long as well as short term goals which shall include infrastructure, publicity of the I-League and so on. There has to be a marriage between the two.
“Our partners are also more than six months old now and know more about Indian football than earlier. I am sure that with the experience they have gained, it shall only help plan things properly,” he explained.
Speaking of football on field, Dhar believes that the I-League 2010-11 has been a learning experience for those involved as it brought to forth several lessons which were unknown to many.
“There were two key things – the success of Indian Arrows and Salgaocar winning the I-League. With the Indian Arrows was conceptualized, not many gave it a chance but given the results that they have achieved, it’s great for a first timer. More importantly, it has provided for the national team which wouldn’t have been the case had the same players been scattered all over the country as was the case previously.
“While Salgaocar’s triumph highlights that you don’t really need the so-called big stars to win the I-League. You need to have a good youth development programme as many boys from Salgaocar are not at all recognizable faces in Indian football. They played the best soccer on a consistent basis .
“There foreigners were rejects from other teams and credit must go to Karim (Bencherifa) for the way he handled the situation. A big credit must also go to the club management as just a few seasons back, they were in the second division and to come and win the I-League within two seasons is a tremendous achievement,” said Dhar.
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