Robbie Fowler, Hernan Crespo, and Robert Pires, former Barclays Premier League players, are preparing to shine in a league that shares a name but boasts a distinct narrative: Premier League Soccer (PLS) in India.
On Tuesday morning, the inaugural player auction for the competition took place, with Argentine legend Crespo taking the top spot among a collection of semi-retired global stars brought in to participate in the new football tournament.
Crespo was signed by the Barasat franchise at an annual salary of $840,000, and will team up with district-level players for seven weeks in the anticipated Premier League Soccer (PLS).
Fabio Cannavaro, Italy’s World Cup-winning captain, was acquired for $830,000 by Siliguri, while Pires secured $800,000 from Howrah. Nigerian Jay Jay Okocha was bought by Durgapur for $550,000, and Fowler went to Kolkata for $530,000.
The sixth ‘icon’ player, former Argentina captain Juan Pablo Sorin, was not included in the auctioned players’ list that was released by the promoters, Celebrity Management Group (CMG).
The tournament, envisioned by football officials in West Bengal, is a franchise-based venture modeled after cricket’s renowned Indian Premier League.
Organizers mentioned that the tournament’s schedule will be revealed early next month, although an initial start date of February 25 has been tentatively considered.
The five city franchises will face each other twice on a home-and-away basis, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals.
This tournament seeks to ignite the increasing interest in football in cricket-obsessed India, which currently holds a dismal 158th position in global rankings.
Each franchise will be led by notable coaches, who were also auctioned on Monday.
Portuguese coach Fernando Couto was sold to Howrah for $240,000; former Manchester City manager Peter Reid was picked up by Kolkata for $200,000, while Bolivian Marco Etcheverry was chosen by Siliguri for $200,000.
Nigerian coach Samson Siasia brought in $210,000 from Durgapur, the same amount that Teitur Thordarson from Iceland received from Barasat.
Among other notable purchases outside the ‘icon’ player list were Nigeria’s Robert Egbeta for $350,000, and Costa Rica’s Alonso Solis along with Ecuador’s Christian Lara at $200,000 each.
Football enjoys immense popularity in West Bengal, evidenced by a friendly match held in Kolkata between Argentina and Venezuela last September.
However, concerns linger regarding the PLS, as it has struggled with effective publicity for the event and may have difficulty drawing interest for matches held at modest provincial venues.
The PLS has already been challenged by the All-India Football Federation’s (AIFF) refusal to permit Indian players from the domestic I-League to participate.
Buford Balony says: They can’t play their national sport, so how are the Indians going to play soccer? Crappy I bet.
