ISL has helped India become a football market: Qatar 2022 official

Bengaluru/Doha, December 6: The advent of Indian Super League (ISL) has helped the country become a huge football market, opines a senior official of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup organising committee.

The ISL, which is into its eighth season has been a good breeding ground for youngsters, while the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the greats of the beautiful game have helped them raise their game to the next level.

And Nasser Al Khater, the CEO of Qatar 2022 believes India has become a huge football market for which he credits the ISL.

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"India has become a huge football market with the coming of the ISL. They were a lot more interested in cricket but there is a growing liking for football now," Al Khater, who is also the Assistant Secretary General, Tournament Operations with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, told a select group of media who were in Doha at the invitation of the Qatar 2022 organising committe.

Since the inception of the ISL in the 2013-14 season, there has been a constant effort to innovate and focus more on Indian football.

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With this in mind, the 2021-22 ISL season which began on November 19 saw a reduction in the number of foreign players from the stipulated five to to four in the starting 11 from this season in strict compliance with the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) club competition regulations.

Till last season the number of Indian players was stipulated to six and the new AFC rule sees one extra Indian player on the field and a spot less for the foreign players.

Spoke to #Qatar2022 CEO @NasserFAlKhater, who believes India has grown into a huge football market, thanks to the #ISL.#IndianFootball @IndSuperLeague @fnihttps://t.co/yLg8YZ1W9V

— Santadeep Dey (@SantadeepDey) December 3, 2021

There has also been an increase in prize money which is indeed a bonanza, considering a global economy ravaged by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Despite the raging pandemic, similar to previous season, three venues in Goa -- Fatorda Stadium (Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) in Margao, Tilak Maidan in Vasco da Gama and GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolin - is hosting the first phase of the ISL which runs till January 9.

Despite all this, one thing the fans and aficionados of this beautiful game would miss is the presence of spectators from the stadiums.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has scaled down, the organisers are yet to take a call whether to allow the fans inside the stadiums.

Nineteen matches have been completed so far and in strict compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines and protocols, fans are barred from the stadium for now.

The 130th edition of the Durand Cup started without fans initially before a limited number were allowed for the second semifinal and final.

The triumph of FC Goa in front of some 24,000 fans showed that football is very much alive and kicking in India. It remains to be seen if the ISL organisers too follow a similar path in the second phase.

For the time being, we can enjoy the action from Goa. All the matches are being shown live on Star Sports Network channels.

While the weekday 7.30 pm kick off remains intact, there is an additional 9.30 pm kick off for double headers on Saturday.