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Indian Super League signs partnership agreement with English Premier League
MUMBAI: Indian Super League has entered into a strategic partnership with the English Premier League, the world's most popular and successful football league, to bring its best practices to India under an exchange programme.
The Co-operation Agreement between the ISL, co-promoted by IMG-Reliance, the joint venture between IMG and Reliance Industries, Star India with support from All India Football Federation, and the English Premier League will allow the ISL to leverage the league's expertise in nurturing and growing a high quality football competition.
The Indian Super League, set to kick off in September, will receive strategic support, advice and assistance from the Premier League to further the development of the league and its clubs, a release said.
The EPL will also assist in establishing club governance, shaping the brand, fan engagement, defining anti-corruption and anti-doping policies for the ISL, as well as joint promotion of the ISL and Premier League football in India.
Through the alliance, Indian Super League will help Premier League and its clubs in staging football matches and assist in other business development initiatives in India.
This will encourage exchange programmes and partnership building between clubs of two leagues. ISL and Premier League will also cross-promote football coverage on Star India's platform to the growing Indian fan base, the release said.
The co-operation between Indian Super League and the Premier League lends credence to ISL's mission to engage the 200 million-plus Indian football fan base by showcasing a quality football offering with international standards of governance and an unparallelled viewing experience, it added.
ISL will feature eight franchises from Bangalore, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
England's Premier League is the most watched continuous annual global sporting event in the world. Last season, 13.9 million fans attended matches with record average stadium occupancy of 95.9 per cent. Across nine months, 380 matches are viewed in 175 countries with coverage available in more than 650 million homes.
India is the Premier League's number one market in terms of social media engagement, with an average reach of 1.48m Indian fans every week.
