The much hyped Premier League Soccer (PLS) will kick off on March 24, with the final scheduled on 6th of May. The event will thus collide with the hugely successful Indian Premier League (IPL), bringing upon a very exciting prospect.However, Utpal Ganguli, secretary of the Indian Football Association (IFA), who along with the Celebrity Management Group (CMG) are organising the tournament, are least worried about this possible collision.
"We are overwhelmed by queries from all over the world. Looking at the phenomenal response, I am sure IPL TV right holders would be worried about PLS," said Ganguli.
"I am not here to challenge anybody. But looking at the fan following of football all over the world, I'm sure that IPL would be no match for PLS."
A similar thought was echoed by Biswapriya Giri of Euro Musketeers (Team Barasat) said, "Football is an international game. We have the stars with us and I'm sure it would be hugely successful."
"We are planning to bring together the magic of Indian icon Bhaichung Bhutia along with Argentine legend (Hernan) Crespo. I'm sure PLS will create a ripple."
The former also confirmed that the next phase of the auction for the Indian players would be held on February 12 with their base prices in the range of INR 2-3 lakh.
Spanning a total of 35 matches, including five knockout ties, the IPL- style football tournament, would have a total prize purse of Rs. 1.5 crore, with Rs. 50 lakh for the winners.
Featuring the likes of Robert Pires, Hernan Crespo and Fabio Cannavaro as ICON players and several other well known coaches,the pre-season training will start from 3rd of March, with the stars arriving in the city a few days before.
Meanwhile, Grey Mind Communications has bought the earlier unsold Haldia franchise with Argentine 2006 World Cup captain Juan Pablo Sorin as their icon player, while John Barnes will be their coach.
