Mumbai: The Indian Super League is set to roll again with the bidding process of the much-anticipated IPL-style football tournament starting from on Monday.
IMG-Reliance, the tournament organisers, will be floating a tender through `Invitation To Bid` documents, inviting bids for nine cities across the country from which eight franchises will be finally selected.
The league was to begin in January but had to be postponed owing to scheduling problem and lack of a window.
Promising to revolutionise the sport in the country, the league has the backing of All India Football Federation, and is likely to see big names such as former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke, former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo and former England forward Michael Owen.
The nine cities in the reckoning are Bangalore, Chennai, Dehli, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
"International Management Group Worldwide and Reliance Industries Ltd.`s joint venture in India, `IMG-Reliance`, together with Star India Pvt. Ltd. Today announced its plans to commence the bidding process for Indian Super League clubs through `Invitation To Bid` tenders starting Monday, 3rd March 2014," IMG-R said in a statement.
"The ambitious Indian Super League ? an unrivalled football championship to be staged from September to November 2014, will foster local talent and feature international stars with the aim of making the game one of the country`s flagship sport," it added.
"Off these nine cities, winning bidders for the top eight cities will be granted the right to own and operate a new football club and participate in the Indian Super League."
Ernst & Young, the advisory firm, has been entrusted the responsibility of evaluating the bid documents, following which the winning participants will be announced by first week of April.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.