IHF to organise hockey league in India
The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) is going to organise an annual hockey league on lines of the IPL (Indian Premier League), the most glamorous event of cricket, to bring an unstinting touch of glamour in the sport.
Though, the Indian hockey team is not delivering outstanding performance, but the game itself in the country is rising with every passing day. India hosted significant tournaments in the current year including the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. The
International Hockey Federation (FIH) also awarded more events to India including the qualifiers for the London Olympics and Champions Trophy.
The first major tournament in the field of hockey which wooed thousands of sport-devotees was the Premier Hockey League (PHL), the city-based-format hockey league in India. From 2005 to 2008, the PHL has entertained the sports fans across the country through
its glamorous style. However, the tournament lost its worth and failed to maintain its blossom.
The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) in a joint project with a leading television channel decided to bring back the past glory of the sport through organising an annual hockey league. The new edition of the league will be quite bigger and expensive than the
old one, which is likely to be launched by next year.
The TV channel along with the IHF decided to promote the tournament at international level and conclude the poverty from the game as like as the cricket sport. The event will be played by ten teams while the budget of the league will be worth of millions
of rupees.
A player seeking anonymity, who has recently inked a contract with the league said that it would be a mega event and host players have already been signed contracts in this regard. He further said that it would not only fillip the home-players but also the
foreigners.
Some sources revealed that fifty players from within India have been contracted for this league and the experienced players will be paid almost one million rupees annually. Most of them have already received advance amount of 10% in this regard.
Almost everything in the new hockey league will be on lines of the PHL including live coverage, usage of home and away turfs covering numerous cities; however the numbers of squads will be more than in the previous one.
Among the foreign players, who showed their willingness for the league, Jamie Dwyer of Australia and Jorge Lombi of Argentina are prominent names while there is no sign for inclusion of Pakistani stars thus far.
No matter, who will join the league and who not, but overall it will be quite boosting step for the sport itself in the country.
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