Comment: English Premier League's Popularity - A Boon Or A Bane?

The second edition of the I-League was probably the best in terms of the football played and the excitement, as the places at the top and bottom were decided on the last day; which is certainly a good sign of a competitive league. In spite of a number of matches being broadcasted on the television, and the games being played only on the weekends in order to attract crowds to the stadiums, the end result wasn’t noteworthy.

It’s not that the Indian FA took a wrong decision or so. Ideally, if one needs to get the crowd, any event is being kept for the weekends especially for leisurely activities which include sport. But what was it that prevented the crowds from turning up for the games?

Not that Indians don’t like football. FIFA president Sepp Blatter had declared that India is the new market of one billion people. Where did the I-League face the competition from? Cricket? Think again...

We had earlier pointed at the start of the I-League that how the weekend games would clash with the Premier League action. Going by the attractiveness of the Premier League, many opted for the English league than the Indian one. Reason: Better quality football.

If you think that this trend is only to be seen in India, then you are certainly mistaken. The K-League has a similar story to share. South Korea, who are best known for reaching the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, have a problem as the interest levels in their local K-League is on a decline.

The Premier League’s rise has seen the local league drop down in the popularity charts. Why would one watch a Korean player in the K-League if one can avail the facility of viewing a certain Cristiano Ronaldo dribble past three defenders?

And the Premier League is doing all it can, to enter the Asian market. In England, the 3 pm kick-off games aren’t shown Live, and can be viewed only at the pubs or stadiums. Manchester United games are either a 12.45 or 5 pm kick-off, especially the big games, which doesn’t often go very well with the fans in England, who feel that the scheduling is to please the Asians. The space given to the Premier League in India and South Korea in the media is tremendous, while the same cannot be said about the local leagues in these countries.

“Manchester United and FC Seoul will have a match before the K-League season ends. The fact that the match is held during the season is making Korean fans angry, however, date is already fixed regardless of fans’ opinions and the tickets were sold out just in 10 hours. Of course most of the ticket purchasers buy tickets for watching Manchester United, and not FC Seoul,” says Hyun Min Kim of Goal.com Korea.

Indian national team coach Bob Houghton has time and again reiterated the fact that extensive coverage of the Premier League doesn’t help the local leagues in Asia.

“Blanket coverage of the English Premier League does not favour us. I have noticed that certain leagues in Asia have suffered because of Premiership domination and coverage. People here wear Manchester United and Chelsea shirt but, not a Dempo shirt.

”We would love to watch better games but to have 5 live games every weekend is not good. Comparison between the Premier League and the I-League does not favour us,” said Houghton.

Manchester United legend Bryan Robson feels that the Asian clubs can learn from the Premier League.

“People enjoy watching good, quality football. I feel that the local teams in Asian countries can watch the Premier League and learn and improve themselves. They will improve and it helps promote the sport", said Robson.

But does watching help? It certainly does promote the sport, but only the Premier League and not the local one. A kid in India aims to play in the Premiership someday and not in the I-League. Their heroes are Wayne Rooney and Ji-Sung Park, but the names of some of the local stars are foreign to them.

For football in Asia to rise, one needs the local leagues to be revitalized so that, they are keenly followed. Only if, the local leagues are successful and followed, that the infrastructure and investment would make their way in, which shall only help the football in these countries.

As my colleague Hyun Min Kim says,” The popularity to overseas football match is just an illusion because it becomes mere TV watching.”  

Rahul Bali.