5 reasons why ISL can be bigger than the IPL

Indian Super League, touted as the harbinger of a revolution in Indian football, has taken the entire nation by storm. It has now started getting international acclaim due to the impressive quality of football on display, the growing no. of international footballer and a plethora of extraordinary goals being scored every week. ISL, another addition to India’s burgeoning list of franchise-based tournament, is set along the lines of the hugely successful Indian Premier League.And we look at five good reasons why the ISL can transform into something even bigger than the IPL.

#1 India is a sleeping giant in football

The phrase that has been constantly used to describe the state of Indian football is that of a ‘sleeping giant’. And to India’s disappointment, the phrase has stuck like termite to its football history. So when the Indian Super League was announced, the nation envisioned the giant finally waking up from its deep slumber and unravelling the potential within it. And the way the tournament has panned out, things are seemingly going according to plan.

ISL was watched by a record TV audience as a reported 75 million sat glued to their TV sets on the opening day of the event. The figure increased to a whopping 170 million for the opening week of the tournament. These statistics, if authentic, are almost ten times the numbers of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and way ahead of other annual sports leagues in India.

Considering the fact that domestic football viewership was almost non-existent in India prior to this competition, all ISL stakeholders have enough reasons to envisage a glowing future for the tournament and for Indian football.

Cricket occupies a heavenly status in this one billion-strong country and has its humungous legion of followers, but for a football tournament to gather so much of steam and grab so many headlines at its very outset speaks volumes about the huge potential of football in India. ISL has so rapidly turned into India’s second most watched sports event ever and it’s only a matter of time before it overtakes the Indian Premier League.