ISL Champions Prize, Sponsors And Profit

The India Super League of Football was launched in 2013 with one aim in mind: to propel football to the top of India’s sporting hierarchy, in a country where a big audience means hundreds of millions of viewers. Despite Cricket’s nearly unassailable popularity, India remains a ripe market for growing sports, so how has the ISL done and is it worth a flutter? Let’s take a look.

ISL Big Ambitions For Indian Football

While India already had a national football league, the I-League, it has long struggled to get the kinds of viewing figures that attract big sponsors and big money. That’s why in 2013, it was decided that a new league, similar to Cricket’s Indian Premier League, would be created with bigger marketing budgets and professional football players. It only took four years for the new system to be recognised by the Asian Football Confederation on an equal footing with the I-League, allowing them to play in the Asian Champions League.

ISL Champions Prize

With sponsorship from big Indian companies, businessmen, film stars and entertainment personalities, the Indian Super League of football took the country by storm, attracting more than 170 million viewers in its first week, or 30 times the viewership of its rival the I-League. The end of Indian Super League’s first season even saw it come a close third to established favourites such as the professional Kabaddi league, a home grown form of wrestling, and the all-conquering Indian Premier League of Cricket. As a result, the money floating around in the league is increasing with its popularity, with main sponsors Hero MotoCorp pledging $25 million over three years, while the ISL champions can expect about $1.5 million in prize money. All in all, the football league is worth about $65 million a year in revenue, a number that is expected to grow quickly along with the competition.

ISL Format And Top Teams

Like Cricket’s IPL, the ISL was designed to shake up a stale national game that was based on more successful European football leagues by giving it an Indian twist. Based on a franchise system with no promotion or relegation, and with just ten teams in the league, the action is thick and fast. While only two teams have won the league so far, ATK and Chennaiyin, it’s such a young league that there are no real favourites, while players, form and even whole teams are constantly changing as the league grows in popularity.

As a result of all these factors, the ISL is a real wild card for bettors, as there is very little data and very few established patterns of success to go on. This means that it can be a great football league to follow if you are a veteran bettor looking for better odds and a higher chance of upsets, because anything can happen from season to season. It’s also good for first timers too, because it’s a young league that you can really attach yourself to and grow to understand, giving you a big advantage over the late comers who will show up when this indian football tournament is more established.

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