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The country's second-largest annual sporting extravaganza, the Hero Indian Super League, is ready to kick off on Sunday with the first match between Mumbai City FC and Atletico de Kolkata, co-owned by Ranbir Kapoor and Sourav Ganguly, respectively.
Promoters, franchises and sponsors have shelled out an estimated Rs 800 crore on the football league - Rs 300 crore spent by the promoters IMG-Reliance and STAR India, Rs 350 crore by the franchises and Rs 150 crore in advertising and sponsorships. This, of course, is nowhere close to the Rs 3,000-3,500 crore riding on the Indian Premier League.
However, everyone involved with the Hero ISL agrees it is a good start to furthering the cause of football in the country. Indian fans will get to see some international greats in action. While the Delhi Dynamos has Italian footballing legend Alessandro del Piero, the Goa franchise has French Robert Pires, who has played for Arsenal, and Chennaiyin FC has roped in Brazilian Elano. International footballers have cost the franchises as much as $750,000.
The franchise owners will be paying an average of Rs 15 crore a year in franchise fees, about a quarter of the Rs 58.17 crore team owners in the Indian Premier League shelled out this year on average. But the ISL fees are, however, significantly higher than franchise fees in the Indian Badminton League (Rs 2-3 crore), the Hero Hockey India League (Rs 3-4 crore), the Pro Kabaddi League (Rs 1.5 crore) or the Champions Tennis League (Rs 6 crore).
The inaugural match, to be played at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium, will be preceded by an opening ceremony to be attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, industrialist Mukesh Ambani (and wife Nita) and celebrities from sports and Bollywood, besides friends, family and supporters of many of the team owners.
"Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra and singer Salim Merchant will perform along with eight musical maestros and 100 dancers," said a spokesperson for IMG Reliance. IPL opening ceremonies have always been extravagant, featuring international stars like Katy Perry and Pitbull. "We are not competing with IPL, but this will be a ceremony that will be etched in public memory," the spokesperson added.
The league has managed to rope in some long-term sponsors. Hero Motocorp has come on board as title sponsor for three years, as has Maruti Suzuki, which signed on as associate sponsor. Others include Puma, Muthoot, PepsiCo, Dr Reddy's and Amul.
Most of the sponsorship deals have been signed for three years. The title sponsorship costs close to Rs 20 crore a year, associate sponsorship Rs 8 crore and official partners pay Rs 3-5 crore a year.
“The tournament is in the investment phase for us. We expect an incubation time of three to five years. This is the time to develop the league and the sport, monetisation will follow. For us, it gives a chance to increase the overall viewership of sports in the country,” said STAR India Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Gupta.
Team owners have also gone into the league expecting a break-even period of four-five years. According to estimates, each team is paying Rs 45-50 crore on licence fee, player acquisition, training and management, and promotions.
“We have gone into this knowing that the break-even may take up to five years. We will have a better idea of sponsorship revenues and actual costs from the second year onwards. This year is about building the league and the brand,” said actor Abhishek Bachchan, a co-owner of the Chennaiyin FC.
Utsav Parekh, co-owner of Atletico De Kolkata, feels ISL is an ideal opportunity to tap the potential market of 1.2 billion people. “ISL provides an opportunity to tap the India’s sponsorship market. Though it will not be easy, it will happen in coming years,” he said.
“We certainly know that it is not going to make any money at least for the first three years. There will be losses. But we have not done this only with a money-making objective. There is a willingness to do something for the improvement of the game in this country,” said Parekh.
