Various Sports Leagues and Commercialization of Sports in India

The commercialization of sports in India started in 2008 with the inauguration of Indian Premier League (IPL) in cricket. This was followed by an array of such leagues including Hockey India League, Indian Badminton League, Pro-Kabaddi League, Pro-wrestling League, Hero I-League, Indian Women’s League and so on. Most of these leagues are based on the Franchise format where each team is associated with a city or state, for example – Jaipur Pink Panthers (Pro-kabbadi league), Kolkata Night Riders (IPL). Further, many of these teams are owned / co-owned by the Bollywood stars and this leads to fusion of sports and entertainment industries in the country. With lavish opening and closing ceremonies and live auctions, they have led to new heights of commercialisation of sports.

In your prelims, examination there may be a question on trivia related to these leagues while in mains / interview, you might be asked to give pros and cons of such leagues and their impacts on society and economy.

Trivia on Current Sports Leagues in India

Premier Badminton League

• It was launched in 2013 as Indian Badminton League (IBL) and was later renamed as Premier Badminton League.
• It is a franchise model based league owned and managed by Badminton Association of India.
• Inaugural edition was held in 2013 and three sessions have held so far.
• The teams of Premier Badminton League include Delhi Acers, Awadhe Warriors, Mumbai Rockets, Hyderabad Hunters, Bengaluru Blasters and Chennai Smashers. Each team has 10 players including five foreign players.
• In 2017 league, Saina Nehwal was playing for Awadhe Warriors while P. V. Sindhu was among Chennai smashers.

Indian Premier League

• It is a 20-20 cricket franchise league based on Premier League of England and the NBA in the United States. It was established in 2007 by BCCI. Currently, it is most attended cricket league in the world and sixth largest sports league of the world. In 2010, it became the first event in the world to be broadcasted live on YouTube. The current IPL title holders are Sunrisers Hyderabad.
• The matches are played in IPL in round-robin format. Cutrrently there are eight teams as shown in below table:

• Apart from the prize money for teams, there are two individual awards in IPL viz. Orange Cap and Purple Cap. Orange Cap is awarded to top run-scorer in the IPL during a season, while the Purple Cap is awarded to top wicket-taker in the IPL season.
• The Governing body of IPL is IPL Governing Council which is a part of BCCI. In 2016, the Lodha Committee had recommend separate governing bodies for BCCI and IPL.

Indian Super League

• Indian Super League (ISL) is a men’s professional football league and is currently officially known as Hero Indian Super League.
• It was founded in 2013 and is based on franchise model on the lines of IPL.
• Currently, there are eight teams in ISL viz. Atlético de Kolkata; Chennaiyin FC; Delhi Dynamos; Goa; Kerala Blasters; Mumbai City; North East United and Pune City.
• So far three seasons have held of which two have been won by Atlético de Kolkata (2014 & 2016) while one season was won by Chennaiyin FC (2015).

I-League

• I-League (officially Hero I League) is another professional league in football in India. It was launched in 2007 as ONGC I-League and as a successor of National Football League.So far, nine sessions have been conducted of this league.
• It is contested by 10 football clubs and considrered to be the primary competition in Indian football. The 10 clubs are Aizawl, Bengaluru FC, Chennai City, Churchill Brothers, DSK Shivajians, East Bengal, Minerva Punjab, Mohun Bagan, Mumbai and Shillong Lajong.

Hockey India League

• Hockey India League (HIL) {Officially Coal India Hockey India League} is the professional field hockey league organized by Hockey India. It was founded in 2012 to get an International Hockey Federation sanctioned league in India.
• There are six teams in Hockey India League viz. Dabang Mumbai, Delhi Waveriders; Kalinga Lancers; Punjab Warriors; Ranchi Rays and Uttar Pradesh Wizards.
• The matches are played in Triple round-robin and knock-out format. So far, five sessions have held and the current champion is Kalinga Lancers.

Pro-Wrestling League

• The Pro Wrestling League (PWL) has been founded in 2015 by ProSportify. So far two sessions have been held of this league. It has six teams viz. Dilli Veer; Uttar Pradesh Warriors; Haryana Hammers; Punjab Royals; Revanta Mumbai Garuda and Bengaluru Yodhas.
• India’s star wrestlers viz. Yogeshwar Dutt, Amit Kumar, Geeta Fogat, Ritu Fogat etc. are associated with this league. Current champion is Haryana Hammers.

Pros and Cons of League Sports

Pros

The professional leagues lead to greater inflow of funds which would upgrade the infrastructure and increased the followers of a sports. In a country with high unemployment rate, commercialization of sports gives lucrative career and attracts youth to focus on sports career. It also promoted innovation in the sports and contributes to exchequer in the form of greater revenues.

Since foreign sportspersons do participate in India’s pro leagues, it leads to increase in soft power and better competitive prowess of Indian sportspersons for winning international competitions.  The mixed pool of players from different countries and the best coaches of the world, allows a player to further hone his/her skill.

Cons

Despite so many advantages, there are several cons of such leagues. Firstly, the sports leagues become the venue for the rich and powerful to indulge in self-aggrandizement. Secondly, the sporterpeson is not expected to play well but also entertain and it’s possible that game itself takes the backseat over personal graft. Thirdly, the sports leagues are money-minting businesses and are prone to unethical practices including spot fixing, gambling etc. as we have witnessed in last few years. Fourthly, the increased commercialization and the consequent privatization of the sports related infrastructure may oust the deserving candidate due to want of money. Thus, those who can arrange money only can avail training and build their career. Lastly, it may discriminate between games, as a result- already popular games would have a sports league system and the not so popular game would be further pushed behind curtains of anonymity.

Conclusive Notes

In cash starved nation, where the avenues for the flow of public funds are never ending, commercialization can be a ray to lighten up India’s sporting talent. However such stride into commercialization of sports be treated with caution and effective regulatory framework be put in place.  Taking cue from Lodha committee suggestions, the sports institution in our country be further strengthened.