Volleyball Federation of India follows suit of other domestic sports, comes up with a league of its own
What’s the story?
For football there is the I-League and Indian Super League; for badminton, we have Premier Badminton League; kabaddi also has Pro Kabaddi. Needless to mention that for cricket we have the Indian Premier League, which started this trend of domestic leagues. And now, volleyball becomes the latest sport to join the party with the Pro Volleyball League.
In case you didn’t know…
There is a wide audience for these leagues in India, and lovers of the sports are always following it. Volleyball is a sport which has taken time of its own to come up with a league. While there were serious talks of the Pro Volleyball League a few years back, the federation's internal conflicts caused the delay.
The heart of the matter
Baseline Ventures, a marketing firm has partnered with the Volleyball Federation of India for a 10-year commercial partnership. The league is all set to take place in September this year and will be out in the name of Pro Volleyball.
Baseline got time to study the previous leagues and will try and to incorporate the good points from the other sports. The base price decided upon per franchise is Rs 3 crore is and May 15 is the date announced for the launch of the bidding documents. Six spots will be up for grabs for interested bidders.
There will be one venue in the north and one in the south -- two in all, and international players will be seen in the league as well.
What’s next?
The high-powered action will begin soon and will witness the most dynamic players from India and around the world. The date has not been announced for the player auction yet but it is certain to be held in July.
Author’s take
Hopefully, there will not be any 'Reception Error' to the league from the Indian audience and it will do well. It is now up to the VFI and Baseline Ventures to ensure that the league does well and is profitable for both the franchises and them and also, that the sport gains popularity in the country.