PLS: Foreign Players & Coaches left in the dark

At the 2012 Soccerex European Forum in Manchester with India being on the agenda, one topic which I and other attendees from India got asked again and again is what is the latest on the Premier League Soccer.

With no one from the Indian Football Association (West Bengal) nor Celebrity Management Group present it was difficult to answer with more and more questions raised about the PLS and its future. Some European journalist have actually written that the PLS will never see the day of light. Tough judgement, but as I would suggest to wait and watch.

These developments has foreign marquee players and coaches worried. Some had actually left good contracts to join the PLS and they are in trouble. In Manchester I bumped into Peter Reid and John Barnes, who both currently not know if they will shift to West Bengal to coach in the PLS.

Former Liverpool star John Barnes actually asked me rather then me him what I think about the current situation then I gathered from our conversation that he is feeling sceptical about the situation though still very much interested to come to India.

"First it was to start in February, then March, then April and now they are saying maybe as late as November," said a worried John Barnes. "I don't know what will happen."

The other thing that both coaches said, which Robbie Fowler had tweeted about is that the foreign coaches and players are not kept updated and informed on what is happening with the PLS, if anything at all.

This all is surely not something the organising IFA and CMG will like to hear, but they need to keep their star attractions better informed or otherwise if the delayed PLS kicks-off might have to play without them.

The media abroad who had written a lot of positive things about the PLS earlier in the year have been alerted about the continued problems and once they start writing about it, the PLS and Indian football has a problem.

PLS kick-off to be further delayed

The inaugural season of the Premier League Soccer in West Bengal is set for its third postponement with the organising Indian Football Association (West Bengal) and the Celebrity Management Group facing problems with the Government of West Bengal regarding the six venues and as they cannot get hold of these they also cannot carry out necessary up-gradation work to make the stadia ready for the PLS to start.

The original plan had been to start the PLS, the IPL-style football league, in the last week of February, then the third week of March had been envisaged for the start of the new franchise-based league, but then it got further pushed back to April. Now even the start next month has been ruled out by the IFA and CMG as fundamental issues still remain to be cleared.

The organisers have not given a new kick-off date for the PLS, but it is clear that it now will start in the second half of the year. Surely it will not happen in May, June or July due to the summer heat. The earliest start as per statements from the organisers could be late-August once the next international transfer period is ongoing.

But as I stated in the The Hindu - Business Line on Thursday, I personally feel that the PLS can most likely not start before November then in August/September the rainy season is active across Bengal and then comes the festive season with Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Diwali.

How this delay will effect the PLS, the franchises and their foreign players will have to be seen. Maybe a new auction of foreign players and coaches would have to be carried out if those auctioned in January pull out, but first the PLS needs to find suitable dates and freeze those. Otherwise the reputation of the league will go down the drains and the hype around it will be die down with no ball kicked.

Fowler: No PLS, set to sign for FC Blackpool

It looks like former Liverpool FC striker Robbie Fowler will not be joining the upcoming Premier League Soccer in West Bengal. Fowler had tweeted only last week that he would not be joining the PLS, but then retracted his statement on the social media platform after getting further infos from the organisers through his agent.

It seems the delay and uncertainly regarding the start and final dates of the PLS has now led to Fowler deciding aginst participating in the IPL-style football league, which will certainly not be to the liking of the organising IFA (West Bengal) and CMG.

The 35 year old Fowler meanwhile is set for a return to England, where he has been training with Championship side FC Blackpool. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has spoken highly about Fowler, so a return looks on the cards for the striker who in recent years has played in Australia and Thailand.

Fowler, who has played 26 times for England, had been signed by Kolkata Camelians in the auction for USD 530,000; now the franchise will have to look for an alternative icon player.

PLS Season One not in danger of cancellation

The inaugural season of the Premier League Soccer in West Bengal is not in danger of being cancelled and postponed to 2013. That is one of the rumours that has been making the rounds since the IFA (WB) and CMG had to announce that the start of the league was postponed for a second time due to unavoidable circumstances.

The stakes are high. A massive hype has been created around the PLS not only in India but across the world with extensive international coverage on Indian football, which is rather unknown. All this is so due to the fact that stars like Cannavaro, Crespo, Fowler, etc are part of the new start-up league which has been dubbed the football-IPL. And the IPL is even known in non-Cricket nations - not for its results, but what the league has achieved having been started from scratch.

The PLS was postponed for a second time due to venue issues which the organisers are currently sorting out with the Government of West Bengal as are other logistical issues, so the league can run smoothly without any issues once it starts.

The IFA Honorary Secretary Utpal Kumar Ganguli has given his assurances that all will be sorted soon and the revised dates of the inaugural season of the PLS will be held, like third week of April until first week of June.

Meanwhile Robbie Fowler seems to be back amongst the PLS players as his latest tweet said:

Breaking news.. India not cancelled, just postponed, still on the cards.. We'll see

So all isn't bad, but as is typical in Indian sports postponement are part-and-parcel of it. In that sense PLS is no different...

Robbie Fowler opts out of PLS through Twitter

Former Liverpool FC striker Robbie Fowler has decided not wait for the launch of the Premier League Soccer in West Bengal as he doubts the professionalism of the organisers. That is at least what the 35 year old Robert Bernard Fowler made public through his official Twitter account.

Robbie Fowler tweeted in the afternoon

Ah well.. India looks like its cancelled, boots are clean and looking for a new place to play.. #professionalnotamateur

Earlier Fowler had tweeted a reply to a Liverpool fan

India still on cards but gone very quiet.... So , who knows

This surely isn't a positive sign for the IFA (West Bengal) and CMG in organising the PLS, if one of the stars of the league opts out due to the delay which is not special in Indian football, but it won't be accepted by ageing international football stars.

Fowler, who has played 26 times for England, had been signed by Kolkata Camelians in the auction for USD 530,000. Now it will be interesting to see what organisers and franchise do to replace Fowler, who through his Tweets has made it clear that he won't play in the PLS.

PLS faces further problems & delay

The Premier League Soccer in West Bengal is facing further problems. This time around they are infrastructure problems forcing the organisers Indian Football Association (West Bengal) and Celebrity Management Group to postpone the launch of the inaugural season indefinitely. The PLS season one was supposed to be played from March 24 to May 6, which was already a delay by about a month from the original dates.

Now the PLS organisers are facing a problem with the West Bengal Department of Sports regarding the six stadiums in Kolkata, Barasat, Howrah, Siliguri, Durgapur and Haldia. The West Bengal government has indicated that some of the venues are booked for other events during those dates, while the department also doubts that the venues would be ready in a few weeks to host such a high profile event.

This means that the PLS could be postponed by another three to four weeks to get things sorted and organised, which means a potential start in the third week of April and finish in the first week of June. Surely the PLS would have to finish before Euro2012 which starts on June 8.

If the PLS organisers are not able to get the wanted dates, then they will consider shifting the tournament to another state. Maharashtra and Kerala have shown interest to host the tournament, but it is the last option for the organisers to get the league off the ground.

All these problems follow the uncertainly if the star-studded PLS would be cleared by the All India Football Federation a few days ago.

PLS - A chance for Indian Football

There has been much talk about the newly created Premier League Soccer in recent weeks. I personally see the franchise-based league in West Bengal as a chance for Indian football to test a new format and learn from it - positives and negatives.

Lets be honest, an IPL-style football league has been on the cards for quite a while now. There has been so much talk about it that such a league was bound to come-up somewhere. The only thing is few would have expected a local state league like the PLS in West Bengal, but rather a revamped national league combining old I-League clubs and new franchises would be turned into such a football-IPL. The only thing people often forget is that a proper football league has to run to eight to 10 months, there are international transfer rules to follow plus many other small and large issues.

And there lies the problem. The Cricket-IPL format is a league of short duration just like the game of T20 cricket - a six to eight week league. Now that is difficult to test on the national stage in football. Only a strong and robust football market could be used for such a test. And there the only real option lies with West Bengal, then where else would companies spend crores on football in India?

Now we have the IPL-style football league in the PLS and though it is facing problems and hiccups, I hope it succeeds. Then I feel the PLS and I-League can co-exist, and could together strengthen the football system in India. A possible scenario for the future is that we could have further PLS' in three/four more states, which even the AIFF president Praful Patel has hinted at.

But I repeat one thing. We need a top tier league like the I-League for the professional game, then otherwise we would have our own entertainment product like the IPL, but we would detach ourselves from the global football system. And that is sure not what we will want to happen.

AIFF clears inaugural PLS season!

The Office-bearers of the All India Football Federation met today at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi under the Chairmanship of AIFF president Praful Patel.

The Committee reviewed the whole structure of the Bengal Premier League Soccer and based on detailed clarifications given by the Indian Football Association (West Bengak), came to the conclusion that the Rules and Regulations as communicated for the conduct of such a League will be followed specially those relating to the registration and transfer of foreign players as per the FIFA 'Transfer Matching System'.

The AIFF President felt that as long as such Leagues follow all the right procedures and regulations, and help in the development of football in India, more such Leagues may be encouraged in the future on an All-India basis.

Accordingly, the General Secretary of the Indian Football Association and the General Secretary of the All India Football Federation would meet tomorrow to ensure that all the right procedures are in place for the Player Transfer under FIFA TMS and necessary registration of the franchises with the respective District Football Associations.

PLS facing problems & opposition

The inaugural season of the Premier League Soccer (West Bengal) is facing unwanted problems and now also opposition from the national body, the All India Football Federation. The AIFF has over the last few weeks has realised that the PLS has gotten funding and media coverage, which it together with its marketing partner IMG-Reliance have not been able to attract for its top product, the I-League.

Suddenly it seems football could follow in the unwanted footsteps of cricket, only then the rebel Indian Cricket League was allowed to start and once successful then came in the BCCI with the Indian Premier League. The rest is history. Some in Kolkata say, the AIFF could try and stop the PLS from happening.

The PLS is set to kick-off on March 24 with the foreign marquee players contracted and dates finalised for the league, but there are problems with the formal signing of foreign players due to the status and names of the six franchises.

The AIFF late on Saturday suspended the PLS from taking part in the FIFA 'Transfer Matching System' as the six new teams (franchises) were not affiliated to the sport's governing body, the Indian Football Association (West Bengal). The problem is that the six PLS franchises had been given access to the TMS, but under generic names and not under those now used by the franchises.

AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said, "The six franchises have been barred from seeking transfer of players because their documents are incomplete and proper procedures have not been followed."

The IFA (WB) is under pressure to get all the necessary documentation done, so the franchises can sign their foreign players. February 15 is the last day of signing. Besides getting their names changed and formally registered there is also the option of picking the licence of a small lower division club for the remainder of the season and sort out all necessary documentation by the beginning of the next season. For the organisers it is now about getting the PLS off the ground.

Due to all this confusion the auction of the Indian players was postponed. It was supposed to happen in Kolkata today, but under such circumstances it could not be held, then similar transfer problems would also exist with Indian and local Bengal players.

Jay Jay Okocha: I want to be part of history!

38 year old former Nigerian international Jay Jay Okocha is coming out of retirement to join Durgapur Vox Champions in the Premier League Soccer (West Bengal). The reason for Jay Jay's comeback is quite simple, he wants to be part of history.

Back home in Nigeria and contacts in Europe Jay Jay has told that he wants to help Indian football become professional and he sees the PLS as an interesting project, but surely one cannot forget that Okocha is to be paid an astonishing USD 550,000 by his franchise.

Jay Jay Okocha bring international experience with him as he has played in a number of countries and clubs. His senior career started in Germany with Borussia Neunkirchen before he went on to play for Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), Fenerbahce Istanbul (Turkey), FC Paris Saint-Germain (France), Bolton Wanderers (England), Qatar SC and Hull City (England).


In Germany Jay Jay Okocha is best known for the following goal for Eintracht Frankfurt against Karlsruher SC with Oliver Kahn in the KSC goal. An exceptional piece of skill and finish!

PLS Franchises finalise their names

The five Premier League Soccer franchises auctioned on January 29 have finalised their names, while the sixth and final Haldia franchise was confirmed to have been sold to Greymind Communications only yesterday.

There has been a lot of curiosity amongst fans about the names of the PLS franchises, but I am not really impressed by the names chosen by the owners. I honestly see a lack of creativity while coosing the names of the teams.

But Howrah simply are the worst by chosing the name Howrah Manchester. What relation has the North English town of Manchester with Howrah? Did the franchise owners consider that non-Manchester fans based in Howrah might now not support the club.


Here a list of franchise names & owners

Kolkata Camelians - Camelia Group

Barasat Euro Musketeers - Uro Infra Realty India Limited

Howrah Manchester - Syncsys Infotech Limited

Durgapur Vox Champions - Tulip Infonet Private Limited

Bengal Tuskers (Siliguri) - Aajay Consultants

PLS tournament dates announced

The organisers of the Premier League Soccer have announced the dates of the inaugural season of the new franchise-based West Bengal city league. The league opening match would be played on March 24 with the final slated for May 6.

The dates mean that the PLS will start a month later then originally planned. This way the league does not clash with the IFA Shield, set to be played between March 2 to 17; but it does clash with the fifth season of Cricket's Indian Premier League which is set to be played from April 4 to May 27.

A total of 35 matches would be played over the duration of the tournament with five of the matches being knockout games. The total prize money would be Rs 15 Million (1,5 Crores) with the champions getting Rs 5 Million (50 lakh).

Also it was announced that the sixth franchise has been sold meaning the PLS would start with six teams. Kolkata-based Grey Mind Communications bought the Haldia franchise. They will have Argentina's 2006 FIFA World Cup captain Juan Pablo Sorin as their icon player, while English-Jamaican John Barnes will be their coach.

The auction of the Indian players would be held on February 12. The base price for these players have been set at Rs 200,000 to 300,000 (2-3 lakhs).

Is the PLS a danger for the I-League?

This is a question that I am being asked my a lot by fans and fellow journalists in recent days and having given the question some thought I feel there is a certain threat potential that the new Premier League Soccer could have for the I-League and its future.

Outside of India, maybe even within India, there is confusion about the status and origin of the PLS. Many think unknowingly that the PLS is the replacement league for the I-League. Due to the comparison with Cricket's Indian Premier League many abroad think that the PLS is the new Indian football league, not knowing that it is a state league in West Bengal.

I have heard that the AIFF has asked the organising Indian Football Association (West Bengal) along with the league promoters Celebrity Management Group (CMG) to add the word Bengal somewhere to the PLS, so it becomes clearer that it isn't an Indian league. A wise request by the national federation to avoid the above mentioned confusion.

Anther point is the intensive national and especially international media coverage. The PLS has had more reports in the media across Europe, North and South America then the I-League (inclusive of the former National Football League) since its inception in late-1996. This is due to the stars the PLS has been able to attract.

Italian Fabio Cannavaro, France's Robert Pires, Argentinian Hernan Crespo, Nigerian Jay Jay Okocha and England's Robbie Fowler have been speaking in their home countries about the PLS and India. This has given India and its football unparalleled media coverage across the world. Networks like CNN and the BBC are reporting about the PLS.

I myself have always said that the I-League needs to take certain progressive steps to draw ageing stars to come to India - overcome infrastructure deficits, lack of finances and the need of the league to develop. The PLS has proven that this is all possible without all this as had been the case with the US, Japan and now China.

The I-League clubs are set to meet the AIFF tomorrow to discuss the future of the league. As one would expect the clubs are very unhappy at the way the league is being run with no revenue streams for the clubs from the national body, then you have the PLS suddenly coming-up which is harming the interest of the I-League though no player is allowed to switch to the PLS.

The AIFF need to be careful in ensuring the I-League has a future, while it can co-exist with the PLS. These are interesting times and one will have to wait and see what happens...

PLS Players Auction: Franchises pay high prices

After the auction of the Premier League Soccer franchises in Kolkata on Sunday, yesterday it was now the turn of the auction of the foreign players and coaches. With Haldia unsold there were 20 spot as players and five as coaches up for grabs. Indian players would be auctioned in the coming days.

The highest price was paid by Barasat for former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo at USD 840,000 followed closely by Siliguri, who paid USD 830,000 for Italian World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro.

Former Portuguese international Fernando Couto was the highest paid coach at USD 240,000 by the Howrah franchise with all the other coaches set to be paid between USD 200,000 to 210,000.


Barasat
Coach: Teitur Thordarson (US$ 210,000)
Icon Player: Hernan Crespo (US$ 840,000)
Asian: Byoung-Gyu Park (US$ 90,000)
Joaquin Botero (US$ 180,000)
Christian Lara (US$ 200,000)

Durgapur
Coach: Samson Siasia($210,000)
Icon Player: Jay Jay Okocha (US$ 550,000)
Asian: Bong-Kyeom Kim (US$ 115,000)
Jose Carlos Castillo (US$ 80,000)
Alonso Solis (US$ 200,000)

Kolkata
Coach: Peter Reid (US$ 200,000)
Icon Player: Robbie Fowler (US$ 530,000)
Asian: Ji-Seung Park (US$ 140,000)
Daniel Varela (US$ 110,000)
Robert Egbeta (US$ 350,000)

Howrah
Coach: Fernando Couto (US$ 240,000)
Icon Player: Robert Pires (US$ 800,000)
Asian: Yoon-Chui Byun (US$ 115,000)
Jose Gabriel Rios (US$ 180,000)
Diego Madreigal (US$ 120,000)

Siliguri
Coach: Marco Etcheverry($200,000)
Icon Player: Fabio Cannavaro (US$ 830,000)
Asian: Gyu-Hwan Hwang (US$ 90,000)
Santino Quaranta (US$ 180,000)
Limberg Gutierrez (US$ 180,000)

PLS franchises auctioned, Barasat costliest

The six franchises of the Premier League Soccer, a new concept West Bengal city league modelled on the IPL cricket, were auctioned yesterday in Kolkata. Five of the franchises were sold for substantial amounts with Barasat the costliest of the lot at Rs 251,5 Million (25,15 crore), but the Haldia franchise could not be sold.

Barasat, which went into the auction at only 80 lakhs, was picked-up by URO Infra Realty India Ltd. The second highest bid was made by Aajay Consultants for the Siliguri franchise at Rs 180 Million (18 crore). The Kolkata franchise came third at Rs 115 Million (11,5 crore) and was bought by the Camellia Group. The Howrah franchise went to Syncsys Infotech Ltd at Rs 90 Million (9 crore), while Durgapur was sold at Rs 76 Million (7,6 crore) to Tulip Infonet Pvt. Ltd.

But the Haldia franchise could not be sold and the first season of the PLS might start with five instead of six teams. A sixth bidder was part of the auction process, but they did not bid for Haldia and when offered the franchise he did not accept.

The franchises have been sold by the organisers Indian Football Association (West Bengal) and Celebrity Management Group for a period of 10 years and they will have to spend between USD 2 to 2,5 Million per season on their players. The players auction is set to be held sometime today.

The list of 'icon' players is inpressive which includes Italian World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, French World Cup winner Robert Pires, former Argentina captain Juan Pablo Sorin, Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, England striker Robbie Fowler and Nigeria midfielder Jay Jay Okocha.

Premier League Soccer look to bring former stars to Bengal

An IPL-style football league is set to be launched in West Bengal under the name of Premier League Soccer by the local football body Indian Football Association (West Bengal) along with event organisers Celebrity Management Group. This was announced this afternoon at the Stadel in Kolkata at an official press conference attended by CMG's Bhaswar Goswami, Dharamdutt Pandey and IFA Honorary Secretary Utpal Ganguli.

The press conference was intended to name potential former stars who would come to the state to be part of the league as icon players to give the PLS the necessary profile to establish itself as a new competitive seven week league within Indian football. The league is set for a late-February launch.

Amongst those who have been confirmed are Robert Pires (France); Jay Jay Okocha (Nigeria) and Portuguese duo Maniche and Sérgio Conceição with former Argentina captain Juan Pablo Sorin also said to have confirmed his participation.

The six franchises are set to be coached by foreign coaches of repute in Englishmen Peter Reid, John Barnes and Tony Adams besides Samson Sia Sia (Nigeria), Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia) and Teitur Thodarson (Iceland).

The coaches will have between 25 to 30 players to chose from. There can be upto four foreigners, six Under-21 players, six catchment players and 10 to 14 Indian players.

"The tournament will give excellent opportunity to the youngsters to play with the big names in the six-eight weeks under highly experienced coaches," Indian Football Association (IFA) Secretary Utpal Ganguli said.

Asked about its limited presence in the six towns of Bengal, Ganguli said, "We are starting off with these six towns. But the aim is to have a pan-India presence. "There will be television telecast through which we will get a national presence. We are targeting at the youth segment who are hooked to the English Premier League," CMG's Bhaswar Goswami said.

The PLS' inaugural season would initially see six franchises in action, who would be based in Kolkata, Barasat, Howrah, Haldia, Durgapur and Siliguri. The six franchises will be chosen through competitive bidding with the base price set to be fixed at Rs 5 to 10 Million (50 lakh to 1 crore).

The organisers have understood that costs have to be kept under check. The franchises will be allowed to spend upto 2 Million USD per season, while the icon player can cost between 400,000 to 600,000 USD, the other foreigners upto 200,000 USD and the young foreigner upto 100,000 USD.

A lot still needs to be done and organised before the league can get into action in two months time with more information to be released by the organisers in the weeks to come.

Bengal to get IPL-style football league

At a press conference at the Bengal Club in Kolkata yesterday it was announced that the Indian Football Association (West Bengal) with its partner Celebrity Management Group and TV rights holders Mahua TV would launch an IPL-style football league in West Bengal under the name of Premier League Soccer which would be played over a seven week period from January to March each year. The aim behind the league would be to develop the sport and infrastructure in the state.

Like cricket's successful IPL the PLS would have its own franchises and what is a big step for Bengal football all would be private entities, so there will be no East Bengal, Mohun Bagan or Mohammedan Sporting.

The PLS would initially start with six franchises, who would be based in Kolkata, Howrah, Barasat, Asansol, Midnapore and Siliguri. The six franchises will be chosen through competitive bidding for 10 years with successful bidders paying a yearly franchise fee. Only limited companies with a minimum net worth of Rs 100 Million (10 crores) could bid for a franchisee license.

The press statement said, "The USP will be each team will have one icon player and three quality overseas layers. The icon players will be an overseas player with great repute, preferably someone who has represented his country in International matches. Each team can sign a maximum of 25 players."

The squads would all have a size of 25 players - three players from anywhere in the world, one Asian player, minimum five catchment players, minimum six Under-21 players, and maximum 10 players from anywhere in India. Also the coach should be a foreign coach with a FIFA/UEFA 'A' Licence.

The organisers have spoken to former World Cuppers like Edgar Davids from the Netherlands and Junichi Inamoto from Japan about joining the PLS and being amongst the leagues icon players.

The PLS will be working as an autonomous and professional body under the license of the IFA (W.B.) and will be headed by an own Board of Governors.

It isn't known at this point of time what the AIFF and IMG-Reliance think about this plan as it could hurt its I-League (or India's Pro League under new name) though no current Indian I-League player would be allowed to participate in the PLS.