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Interview with Novy Kapadia: The Big Question| Will the Indian Super League be self sustainable?

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The Hero Indian Super League has been heralded as the Birth of Footbaling nation in a country where cricket is a religion. The much hyped and talked about Tournament kicks off at tomorrow the Salt Lake stadium amidst a glittering opening ceremony. Soccer Acme caught up with India’s leading football expert and commentator Novy Kapadia in a candid conversation on the upcoming football extravaganza.

Please Note: Novy has been a renowned face in India Football and has been an analyst for ESPN, ZEE Sports, Star Sports, Ten Sports, Doordarshan, All India Radio, NDTV, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today and several other TV channels. He is also the author of The Football Fanatic’s Essential Guide. The book is available here.

Here are the excerpts from the Interview.

Do you feel that the ISL which has attracted so much glamour and following pre tournament has enough in itself to sustain for a long passage of time? “Lets hope so. There is a lot of hype, glitz and glamour. Infrastructure wise there is a lot of developments, players are being treated lavishly, staying in Good hotels. Players like Arindam Bhattacharya and Lenny Rodriguez are now getting world class training facilities. However I fear how much interest can be generated. See all the teams cannot play equally well. Say a team like Delhi, a city which doesn’t have a Football culture and if we assume they are at the foot of the table, attendance will be affected.”

HERO ISL Teams

Novy believes that passion develops over years and it can’t be generated overnight. Clubs like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan have huge fan following. So, let’s be positive.

In 1997, Phillips National Football League kicked off. It garnered a lot of interest, TV viewership was high and matches were well attended. Gradually, the interest subsided. Any chance of that happening for the ISL? “I believe that the Phillips League collapsed as the TV Coverage went down. Doordarshan wasn’t able to promote it much and as a result, the masses lost interest. For the ISL though, having Star Sports are the major media coverage partner is simply brilliant. The timing too is good and having one match per day is a good move. However, it needs to have a good start.”

“It’s good to see the preview shows touching down the teams with the marquee players. So I hope, they might be sustainable thanks to the TV Coverage. But the problem these days, is people have alternate choices. The World Cup, Euros, Premier League, Bundesliga etc. Back in 1997, it was a different scenario. Premier League hadn’t garnered much interest in India. Even European qualifiers are being telecasted. Now the danger comes as people will start making comparisons.”

But can teams retain players? If every year teams are chopped and changed, the loyalty will be non- existent. Talking of marquee players, Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires, Luis Garcia, all had their prime long ago. “That’s true, but they are the primary reason why people will come to the stadium. Maybe these players might only play the first half or maybe an hour before being substituted. Some of the players however look in good condition. But imagine Del Piero scoring at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, it would be a great spectacle.”

Coming to the next question, Zico has been roped in by the Goa franchisee. We all know his contribution to the development of Football in Japan. Can we hope for a similar thing? He recently said that he wants to be a part of the Fooball Revolution in India.

“See they are all professionals. Moreover in two months its difficult. But I believe Goa players, the majority of whom are from Dempo will surely benefit. Dempo should benefit the most and I believe with Artur Papas as his assistant, it’s a clever move from the officials. I would say Dempo should win the I-League next year. Bengal clubs however might have trouble. Most of their players are playing in different clubs.  Thus it would be tough for them in the upcoming Federation Cup.”

Novy however believes that the quality of coaches will at least help the players individually. Also having top players by their side, it will be a great experience. Just like the IPL in which Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja made their name, it’s a good chance for the young turks to grab the attention. “Its the major positive. Guys like Arnab Mondal and Sanju Pradhan would certainly benefit.”

With the presence of Ranbir Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and now Hrithik Roshan, there won’t be any shortage of glamour. Cricketers like Sourav Ganguly and Scahin Tendulkar are also co-owners, a sign that Cricket is the first sport and big names are required to attract the masses. So it is a major concern and in hindsight, we are resigned that India is a cricketing country? “See Cricket is played by only a handful of countries. Say in a country like England, we almost see no player coming to a Manchester United vs Liverpool game. There cricketers are secondary compared to the Footballers. I don’t feel the England comparison is suitable but in India, I don’t see a change in the focus shifting only on India Football is possible in the coming two decades.”

Novy however believes it isn’t possible for all these big stars to attend matches regularly. Virat Kohli is playing for India while other film stars are busy in there commitments. The problem is AIFF lack a good marketing brain. Salman Khan was present where India won the Nehru Cup at the Ambedkar stadium. But that was a one off event.

We also spoke on Ticket sales which hasn’t really picked up on a mass scale. A shift of the sport to the upper middle class really comes as a worry. Mr. Kapadia too feels that ticket prices could be kept a notch lower. Soccer Acme too believes that for Indian Football the prices are on the higher side. However, it’s great to see the marquee players are approachable giving interviews. Novy however has great concern on the I-League. He feels that it should not get sidelined due to the ISL. With hefty salaries on offer, players tend to lose their focus which might be in the longer run, harmful.

To end on a high note, Soccer Souls wishes the Hero ISL the very best and hope it sparks to end the slumber of the sleeping giant.