IPL for football?

Kolkata: Taking a cue from the highly successful Indian Premier League, India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has proposed introducing a similar tournament for football.

It is learnt that Bhutia prepared a `project report` of the Indian Football League and held a discussion with AIFF boss Praful Patel a month ago. Model-turned-actor John Abraham is said to be lending a helping hand to Bhutia, though the India captain has no intention of buying a team if it materialises. A discussion between the two on an IPL-like tournament in football was said to have had taken place during the opening of a football academy.According to a source in the AIFF, they were not sure of the IFL which has been proposed in a six-week period after the end of I-League. "We are not sure whether there has been a presentation on this ... But we hear Bhutia had a talk with Patel on this. A lot of modalities need to be worked out," the source said. Bhutia was said to have proposed an iconic player that would cost the team approximately Rs 1.5 crore.AIFF Vice-President, Subrata Dutta, said, "There has been a proposal. But we need to see whether it can be fit into the football season. It`s still early to say." Bhutia was not available for comment. PTI