The football in India got a shock after the country’s top-tier football championship, ISL, was put on hold. The crisis began with the conflict between the All India Football Federation and its commercial partner, the organizer of ISL, FSDL, and it aggravated after ISL did not turn out to be saleable, as none of the corporate houses, despite showing initial interest, submitted bids for the League.
The impact on the stalemate has already spread across the country as several ISL clubs have stopped their first-team operations, stopped salary payments, and are forced to offer short-term contracts to players due to the uncertainty. Hundreds of Indian footballers, including the country’s top stars like Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, and Gurpreet Singh Sindhu, as well as a few foreign footballers, participating in the League are left in limbo. Some are seeking to leave for other clubs, creating instability for the ISL teams. Referees have also started expressing concern, as the stalemate could impact their livelihoods and the future of professional refereeing in India.
The ecosystem of Indian football has been greatly affected. The World Footballers’ Union, like FIPRO, has raised concerns.
Amidst the jeopardy, Shrachi Sports’ endeavor in the promotion and development of football in Bengal is setting an example.
The company joined the Indian Football Association (IFA) as its marketing partner. CFL Premier League was televised live through the SSEN, an app owned by Shrachi Sports. Then Shrachi Sports acquired televising rights of the I-League last season, providing an opportunity for the millions of the country’s football lovers. Now Shrchi Sports has taken another leap towards the fulfillment of its mission of creating a supply-line of potential footballers from Bengal. The company is going to introduce a new franchise football league, Bengal Super League (BSL). It is a unique idea where the majority of footballers participating in the BSL will be from districts.
The success of Shrachi Sports should draw the attention of the country’s football fraternity as it has been able to convince the corporate world to extend financial support for the BSL at a time when the country’s top-tier league is not getting interest from the corporate houses.
The company’s Managing Director, Rahul Todi, and Chairman Tomal Ghosal recently traveled to Germany and convinced Germany’s former World Cup-winning captain Lother Matthäus, to get associated with BSL as its brand ambassador.
Both Rahul Todi and Tamal Ghosal commented recently that their motive is to produce footballers of international quality in the future, and they materialized their desire, formalizing a strategic partnership with FC Ingolstadt 04, a professional German football club. The partnership lays the foundation for a long-term Indo-German exchange focused on grassroots development, coach education, and international player training.
Bicharpur, a village in Madhya Pradesh, has become a symbol of rural football passion and talent. Inspired by the passion of the youngsters of that village Shrachi Sports envisions creating similar football hubs across Bengal and India developing football-centric communities, and providing rural and tribal youth a global platform.
