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Many people hadn’t heard much about the Indian Super League until a recent segment about it on BBC’s Football Focus. A lot of money is being pumped into it and with little information currently known it could be a chance for bettors to specialise on Indian Super League betting.
Doing the research and studying required to be a profitable bettor is always easier when it’s fun and following the Indian Super League will definitely be that. Arsene Wenger is confident that the ISL will be successful and was quoted saying, “I know that the people there (India) watch the Premier League and I’m convinced that with such a huge population, it will take off.”
For a long time, it has been a common perception that India is but a sleeping giant in the football world. Even top officials like Sepp Blatter have said the same about the country’s football ambitions and expressed the hope that it will break the shackles and finally see a lot of development and interest in the game.
While the European leagues and the international tournaments are still watched a lot, it is the local leagues that need support. But until now, the Indian football body, AIFF has not been able to generate the kind of money or interest in the I-League as it had hoped.
But now, the Indian Super League has finally arrived and it is seen as something that will increase the interest in the game and get more youngsters involved. The star value that the ISL brings is phenomenal and people are sure to arrive in large numbers to the stadium to see their favourite players show their skills right in front of their eyes.
In fact, the main attraction of the ISL is the number of international stars that have signed up for the tournament. Legends such as Robert Pires, Nicholas Anelka, Freddie Ljungberg, Alessandro Del Piero have all signed up for various teams in the ISL.
And it’s not just the players that have added some much-needed flair to the tournament; almost all the owners of the teams are Bollywood stars and former cricket superstars of the country.
For example, Kerala Blasters is owned by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar while Atletico de Kolkata is jointly owned by the Spanish champions Atletico Madrid and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly. Bollywood stars such as Ranbir Kapoor and John Abraham also have stakes in various teams and they have all added glamour to the game.
Even the facilities have been upgraded in the stadiums, with synthetic pitches ensuring that the game itself is good to watch and the stars can show their skills.
All the international stars taking part in the game can only be good for Indian football as even in the short time they are going to stay, they would be able to impart a lot of knowledge to the local lads and improve the standard of the game in India.
Teams:
The eight teams are Atletico de Kolkata, Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos, FC Goa, FC Pune City, Mumbai City FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Northeast United.
Format:
All teams play all others twice – home and away – before the top four teams qualify for the semi-finals. The semi-finals will also be on a home and away basis which will be followed by the winner-take-all final. There is a total of 61 games in this first season of the Indian Super League.
UK punters can watch Indian Super League matches on Star Gold which is also available through the SkyGo app while continental bettors can find them on Eurosport or Eurosport player.
The Indian Super League matches are underway and are taking place most days from now up until the final which is on December 20th. The best place to bet on them is at Bet365 who offer the widest range of markets on the Indian Super League.