The Super League was founded in the fall of 2013, with the help of IMG-R and S-Sports, as well as the Indian Football Federation. The competition was supposed to start in January next year, but it wasn’t until April 2014 that we heard about the winning bidders: Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and other states. Interestingly, some important franchises have been won by former cricketers. For example, S. Tendulkar got Kochi, and S. Ganguli got the Kolkata franchise, R. Kapun won the Mumbai bid and so on. The first 8 participants of the new league were identified, among them FC Chennaiyin, Delhi Dynamos, Kerala Blasters and others.
The opening of the season took place in mid-October 2014 at the SL-City stadium. Atletico Calcutta fought with MumbaiCity, the first goal belongs to the legendary F. Teffera, the match ended with a score of 3:0. It should be noted that in the league there were, besides foreigners, talented Indian players. Everyone remembers the goal of B. Singh, a player from Chinaya. The AFC, the main football organization in Asia, did not recognize the Super League until the fourth season. FIFA also ignored the league, the secretary general of this organization, J. Valcke made a statement in 2014 that the ISL, in the opinion of the world community, is just a tournament. At the same time, FIFA continued to recognize the I-league. Due to these problems, ISL members could not participate in the AFC Cup.
There was a difficult situation: the players had to play simultaneously in two domestic leagues at the same time, which caused a situation when a player did not have time for one of the matches. S. Konstantin was the coach of the national team at that time, he said that the “I” and “IS” leagues needed to be combined. At that time, the best team was Atlético Calcutta, who reached the semi-finals every year and won the tournament twice.
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How and Why did the Indian Super League Arise
In May 2016, there was a meeting of the authoritative bodies IMG-R, I-L, AIFF in Mumbai. The participants discussed the reform of leagues in India. It was proposed to make the Super League the highest, and the I-L the first. Representatives of the I-league spoke out against it. The following year, such a meeting was held with the participation of the AFC. You can place a bet on the Indian team right now, after completing 1Win login, remember about the possibility of receiving a bonus for new players. Finally, it was decided to hold two leagues at the same time, the competition began to last 5 months instead of 3 and now the number of participants will increase by 2, that is, there will be 10 teams. The final decision was made in September 2017, that is, it can be considered that from that moment on the Super League gained official status. Matches are played at the following stadiums:
- DY Patil.
- Sri Kanthirava.
- Jawaharlal Nehru.
- Fatorda.
- Mumbai FA.
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Influence on the Popularization of Football in India
The Super League greatly influenced the popularization and distribution of football, as this was its main task. The Premier League couldn’t give so many emotions to the fans, it wasn’t enough. It was necessary to invite foreign stars and bring local football to a higher level. Tens of thousands of new fans appear in the country every year, and this brings good dividends to club owners, players, as well as the state. New stadiums are being built to ensure an adequate level of comfort for players and spectators. People not only cheer for their favorite teams, but also place bets with a bookmaker, now it can be done completely safely. You can download the app to your phone and play remotely.
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The Iconic Moments that Changed the Face of the League
The most important point was the recognition of the Super League. It was a difficult path – from an ordinary competition to the largest league in the country. It was difficult to get recognition from the AFC, but it was even more difficult to get FIFA protectorate, but all this was done thanks to the desire of the organizers. The negotiations between the parties were the most difficult. Now the leagues in India are held in parallel and do not interfere with each other. Each of the tournaments has its own audience, and most fans watch the games of both leagues. If previously it was difficult to get famous players to play in India, now the stars are willing to join local teams. In general, national football is developing thanks to the Super League, because that’s where the best athletes play today.
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League Stars and Their Contribution to Success
Not only strikers can be considered stars, some field players bring no less benefit and are also worthy of fame and recognition. For example, Pritam Kotal plays great defense, he is the defender of the Kerala Blasters club. The player is versatile and can occupy any position on the field. Nowadays, diverse players are appreciated. He signed a contract with KB until 2026 and immediately showed a decent result: in the match against Bangalore, his team won 2-1, Pritam saved the goal several times during the game, for which he received thanks from the coach.
(India CSR)
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