It was in 1991-92 that AIU (Association of Indian Universities) received a proposal from the Tata group to organise the first University Hockey League. The proposal was unique in the sense that had it got the nod, it would have been the first pan-India league in any sport in the country. Though the word ‘league’ had not become part of sports lexicon then, the Ranji Trophy played over an entire season was, in fact, the first league of its kind. Ironically, today, the term 'league' is used to bring in excitement and a tinge of glamour into sport. We are now following what the United States and Europe have been doing for decades—developing leagues, making them intrinsic to the community and generating economic growth. Yet, we remain light years behind the other nations.
Take away cricket, and the other leagues may have increasing eyeballs, market shares, reasonable monetisation but they will need a decade of sustained expansion and an enduring fan base to not just survive but also become centres of profitability. It is no surprise that more and more players are throwing themselves into this cauldron dreaming if not of a billion but at least $5 to $10 million valuations. The IPL, with its mega rich image and over 2 billion dollar TV rights, has ensured that it isn't just high profile sports like football, hockey or tennis but wrestling, archery, table tennis, cue sports that can dream big. With most being drawn to it like a moth to a flame, the question then arises—how many of them would actually survive?
In 2011, Nimbus Sport created the World Series Hockey, an eight-city hockey league. It was injected with a Rs 100-crore investment. “We are not competing against the IPL or cricket. India is not a one-sport country. There is an untapped market beyond cricket,” said Yannick Colaco, then chief operating officer of Nimbus Sport. “Hockey is the second most popular sport. It’s just that nobody ever thought of bringing something like this which can draw people to hockey.” Unable to sustain itself and under pressure from the world body and Hockey India, it had to close down. One thing was very clear that unless the parent body endorsed the league, survival was difficult.
Football realised that unless big money came in, it would always struggle for fan support. The I-League raised expectations and the level of football but the fan base was poor; around 5,000-plus was the average. It was only when the Kolkata Derby happened—East Bengal vs Mohan Bagan—that 1,00,000 turned up. Clubs became more professional. But, without big money and overseas stars, it was akin to running on the same spot. In came the Ambanis with the money and Star Sports with its need to feed it Live programming, and the ISL, blessed by the All India Football Federation, was born. Not just football but every new league was consistent in their philosophy—a couple of months taken out from the international calendar, live programming and a six to eight city-based franchises. It was short-term and limited. Film stars, business houses backed it but the long-term vision was missing. Indian football fans saw Luis Garcia, Roberto Carlos, Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet, David James, Robert Pires and Fredrik Ljungberg but ageing players don’t sustain a league. India’s chief coach Stephen Constantine credits the ISL for the national team’s progress. “The ISL has made us universal. The world now knows that Indians not only play football but we’re not bad either, and we have some good players.”
In the world of sport, having ‘some good players’ is not good enough. Already numbers are falling and Star insiders say that ISL might become a liability unless it’s turned around. But that’s exactly the problem with Indian sport. Everything cannot be a called a league but run like a short-term tournament. In its limited scope or playing nations, lies cricket’s biggest asset. On Indian TV, where fans get the best of La Liga, Bundesliga and the EPL, the attraction of an ISL is limited.
Other sports are coming in, all willing to ride on the wave. But there will be casualties. The Hockey India League will not happen in 2018 as there are business houses that might drop out and new ones might come in. Star Sports is already cooling towards hockey while revving up temperatures with kabaddi. The Badminton League might have had some truly great world players but the scope and sponsorship is limited. The Pro Wrestling League, Cue Sports League, Boxing League, the Ultimate Table Tennis league need hours of live programming and sustained infusion of money. Most pour in money thinking of the huge numbers that are being reflected online but fans cool off faster as none of these are seasonal leagues running into six months or more. The table tennis league had great TV with some fantastic graphics and production quality. But will a fan come every day and watch TT? Will you watch the EPL every day? Weekend viewing needs to be introduced and sustained for a league to become self-generating. Indian sports models are working from the top-down. Infrastructure is negligible and stadiums are either owned by the government or the federation. At this moment, having a league or a club seems fashionable.
There will be flame-outs in the coming years. Constant tweaking of any sport to suit a particular brand or commercial interest or TV channel is not something that can be done with a sport that is played across the world. It is successful in kabaddi but the sport had no footprint outside of India, thus it worked.
It will be some time before we pay the IPL Commissioner what the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earns—$145 million over four years. Or that a team can have a valuation equal to that of Dallas Cowboys in the NFL—$4 billion. The operating profit from 32 teams in the NFL for the 2014 season was a staggering $2.4 billion. Adidas has a kit deal with Real Madrid worth $1.6 billion over 10 years.
It certainly is good news that sports leagues are mushrooming. Anything that would give Indian sport a leg over is welcome. But for those who invest, manage and run these leagues, patience is the key word and long-term the vision.
