Sun Group, the owners of Bengaluru Franchise in the Indian Super league (ISl), on Wednesday officially pulled out of the inagural edition of the lucrative football tournament starting in October this year.
Even though the organisers did not mention any reason behind the pull out but it is believed that the decision was a fall out of organisers of ISl, IMG-Reliance’s refusal to allow a partnership between the Chennai-based Sun Group and JSW Group-owned Bengaluru FC.
“The Sun Group will be opting out of the Indian Super league football tournament,” Sun Group and IMG Reliance-Star India said in a joint statement. “This decision was taken on the mutual consent of Sun Group and IMG-Reliance and Star India, the organisers of the league. Sun Group arrived at the decision after internal deliberation and discussion, and wish to thank the Indian Super league management for all its support. “IMG-Reliance and Star India wish to assure that all the 14 Indian players drafted earlier for Bengaluru franchise will have their representation in Hero ISl,” the statement said.
ISl to be revealed at Manchester convention
Plans for the eagerly anticipated Indian Super league (ISl) and the 2017 U17 FIFA World Cup will be officially presented to the global football industry at the Soccerex Global Convention, held in Manchester between September 6-10. The move comes after the confirmation of the attendance of a senior Indian delegation was made. The session will begin with Kushal Das, General Secretary of the All India Football Federation, delivering a standalone keynote speech, outlining the explosion of the game in India.
Managed by IMG-Reliance, the ISl has attracted investment from India’s biggest companies and celebrities, with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, DEN Network, PVP, John Abraham and Ranbir Kapoor becoming team owners, as well as partnerships with leading European giants such as Atletico Madrid and AFC Fiorentina.
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the first global football tournament hosted by ‘football’s sleeping giant’ and will play a crucial role in developing youth football in India.
With FIFA earmarking a potential 38 million US Dollars investment for the tournament, there are numerous business opportunities for suppliers from across the football spectrum, to engage with the key decision makers from the AIFF to learn about the multiple commercial opportunities the tournament will create.