Pakistani football eclipsed by Indian counterparts yet again

The miserly conditions of Pakistani football have yet again fallen to shame, as India has launched an ambitious Premier League that is set kick-off next month and boasts legends like Fabio Cannavaro, Jay Jay-Okacha and Robert Pires in their midst.

The lethargic PFF only recently introduced measures to ensure that only clubs would be playing in this year’s Pakistan Premier League. The Federation also devised ‘Fast-Track programmes’ for youth development and their measures are seen as positives one
by everyone in the football fraternity.

However that is peanuts compared to what neighbours, India are up to.

The AIFF in partnership with the Celebrity Management Group (CMG) are set to start a Football League along the same lines as the IPL and have already contacted a host of top stars to play in it’s inaugural season.

Robert Pires, the former Arsenal star, is set to feature in this new initiative and claims that with the amount of money on offer, it was something he could not refuse.

“Since I had nothing in Europe, why not try something completely unknown? I’ve never been over there. I am proud to be the first Frenchman to go and play there. And eight weeks is nothing."

“If my (club) president likes me, it could be €790,000 Euros. It is a lot of money. I’m not going to complain about that am I? But I’m not going there as a tourist. It’s a new adventure,” he said.

The six-team league is based on its successful cricket cousin and according to CMG Director, Bhaswar Goswami; the local fans should turn up in huge numbers in order to watch the talents on display.

"We have planned a tournament that is tailor-made for Indian fans. Indians are crazy about big names and we will give them the opportunity to see top stars in action,” the official said.

The league itself will kick off on the 25^th of February and should be a major stepping stone in developing football in India.

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Posted by Shahrukh Sohail on Jan 17 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry