IPL-style league is beneficial for Indian football: Morgan

Backing the upcoming IPL-style football league, Trevor Morgan, who has taken over as head of the IMG-Reliance League's one-month training camp here, said if the tournament makes even 50 per cent of the impact as its T20 cricket counterpart does, then it would benefit the game.
"The IPL has taken Indian cricket to another level and that has gone down right through the system. If (this) league has half that effect on the game of football in India then it would be great," Morgan told reporters today after taking over the reins of the camp that started last Friday.
Critics, especially I-League clubs, have slammed the new format and said it would not benefit Indian football, but Morgan, former coach of East Bengal, said the crowd would like to see international players participating in the tournament.

"You can't run a programme down even before the season has started. The plans that IMG have are fantastic, the people (players) they want to try to bring in and to spread the game right across India. To get a chance to see players we only saw on television would be a great opportunity for all football fans across India," he said.
Asked if the I-League would be affected because of the new tournament, the Perth-based Englishman said,"Nobody is going to know that until it actually happens. It could be the best thing that could happen to the I-League, it may not (also), who knows. But it (IMG-Reliance tournament) certainly is a great concept and it is fantastic. Only time will tell if it is going to be successful."

Morgan said he has a one-month contract with IMG-Reliance to work on the fitness of the contracted players.
"I am here just to help the players with their fitness. It's not my team. I need to help players when they go to their clubs and the relevant places that they go, that they are up to the level of fitness that the other players would be. I am just going to be working on their fitness," he said.