With four new teams and a whole new format, Pro Kabaddi has become India’s biggest sporting league. The league’s commissioner Anupam Goswami tells Akshay Sharma the idea behind this expansion and boding for the future

What made you change the format of the tournament and expand the leagueIJ

In any case, with more teams we were going to have a longer season. What we have looked to do is be fair to all teams and give them the longest possible window to be relevant. That is where the format comes in. For example, you can be at the bottom of the table but there can be a sense of a rivalry which you may be winning. So you layer the competition in as many ways as possible.

How successful have you been in creating a loyal fan following for PKl teamsIJ

In countries like India, a sense of nationalism and patriotism works more. But Sports is also a genre where the winner becomes the biggest brand and in Kabaddi we are lucky because it’s not as if one team wins every time. We have had Patna which is a two-time winner but other teams like Jaipur Pink Panther and U Mumba have also won. So brand is something for which teams have to do a lot more. They need to work their geographies well and also work at the grassroots level. If they employ local talent, they will work as brands.

Were new teams introduced to increase the tournament’s geographical profileIJ

By increasing the number of teams, we are showing our commitment to the sport and to the league. We want to see a big league and we feel there is room for growth. We have been able to expand for two years after our coming into existence. That is a sign of success. We haven’t gone for expansion only in those geographical areas which are easy to grow in. We have done so in four solid geographies in terms of the size of State, the territory, the population and the contribution to the economy. Pro Kabaddi now covers around 80-90% of the country’s GDP. These are early days yet and we need to give some time to grow further.

Is it a big challenge to sustain the level of popularity over a three-month period every seasonIJ

We are doing modern sport, not a lottery. We are aware of the challenges. Essentially, brands are built around tenure, size and supply. Other sports are available round the year. Yes, there should be more good quality Kabaddi available, but right now it’s just PKl. A lot of thinking and strategizing has gone into it. If we are able to increase the consumption basket significantly across the 12 geographies, other people will give us their attention.

Do you think that the demographical profile of PKl viewers has changedIJ

All leagues target metro cities. We are different. We target small towns like Patna and Sonepat. In Season 1, PKl had the highest number of female respondents on digital platforms compared to any other sport, including cricket. In other sports the percentage of women respondents was around 7% but in Kabaddi it war around 20%. A lot of commentary was coming from urban middle-class women. This sport is popular among children too. A lot of elite schools are forming Kabaddi teams. They don’t have a Kabaddi coach, a Kabaddi court, a Kabaddi mat, they don’t have competitions to go to but they are setting up matches. So it’s happening. While we strongly want to retain the original catchment of Kabaddi, we also want to create new ones. I territories like Andhra Pradesh Kabaddi is exploding.

Women are also taking to Kabaddi in a big way. A Women’s PKl on wayIJ

Do I see a scope for women’s PKlIJ I see it massively. The Women’s Kabaddi challenge was the most viewed women’s sporting event in the history of Indian sports television. The final was rated higher than the final of the ICC Women’s World T20. We would like to have a women’s Kabaddi championship. When we do it, we will do it at a breakthrough level which will be at least comparable, if not higher than what we did for PKl with men’s Kabaddi.

Do you have a timeframe for itIJ

Right now, I am expanding the league which is a big step. I have to make these 138 matches work. So, that is my priority. We are still understanding the lessons from the Women’s Kabaddi challenge. It happened in Season 2 and worked for us fantastically. But we have to create great women athletes.