The Indian Super League is growing rapidly in every way. It has already been reported that within 2024 it can be an AFC authorized premier division tournament of India fully.
But before that, it has already overtaken the A-League of Australia when it comes to providing financial benefits to players and has started competing with the premier division leagues of Korea, Japan and China.
ISL started its journey 7 years back in 2013 with 8 different teams from different parts of India. Soon it became the top division tournament of India. From this season it will be an 11-team league.
ISL has given a rapid growth to Indian Football. The quality, infrastructure, growth at the grassroots level everything became better day by day. The wages of every player have also increased. ATK Mohun Bagan FC (previously known as ATK) striker Roy Krishna had a 15% wage hike after spending 6 seasons in Wellington Phoenix, winning the A-League Golden Boot.
Bengaluru FC CEO, Mandar Tamhane said, “We are probably one of the top 5 nations in Asia if you discount the Middle East countries. But, if you look at the eastern side of Asia, and look at China, Korea, Japan, the ISL is competing with them in terms of wages. In the initial years of ISL, we had marquees, creating an awareness that there is a league in India called the ISL where Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires, and Nicolas Anelka come and play. That’s why we have been able to convince some really good talents to come and play in India.”
According to an Asian Football expert, “The A-League has run into trouble with the broadcasters Fox Sports, who have halved their AUD 57 million annual funding. This coupled with the post-COVID-19 football market, clubs have told players to accept up to 30 percent pay cuts. No wonder an ISL contract will be much more alluring as Indian football continues to invest and grow.”
European Giants Borussia Dortmund tied up with Hyderabad FC whereas City Football Group [CFG] has invested in Mumbai City FC. All these have also contributed to the growth of the Indian Super League. We hope it gets much better in near future.
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