ISL hoping to change face of Indian football

Unlike in the past, not every youngster in India is fond of cricket these days. A growing number actually love football. Is that the primary reason IMG-Reliance decided to launch the Indian Super League?
It's difficult for me to comment culturally on where India is in terms of different sports and how the preferences are changing. My simple reading of it is that as India becomes, or as Indians become more global citizens as much as Indian citizens through technology and social media, the sport that people talk about globally is football. And, so, it will inevitably happen that more and more people here, particularly the young, will start talking about football.
Firstly, India will have other major sports. Hockey, perhaps, was once there and no longer is; football, perhaps, was once there and no longer is. There is certainly this feeling that other sports will grow hugely in the coming years and we believe that chief amongst those will be football. And that's what we have seen in mostly every country around the world. Those last frontiers that we talk about, whether it's China, whether it's the USA. You see those (barriers) being broken down. And we feel India is ready to embrace its own football product. You may continue to support your English Premier League team, but (it's important that you) have something in your backyard that you are passionate about...

Did your research involve gauging the mood of youngsters in schools and colleges?
Personally, I didn't visit any school or college, but people in our team have. We have our stimulus with research. There are different angles of research: social media, hearing different opinions, reading what's been written. So time will tell if we are right. We want to be very successful, but we know we are not going to achieve overnight success. We don't want to go from zero to hundred in a day. We are ambitious, but we need need to have a great inaugural year. You won't be saying suddenly that India has a superb alternative to cricket. It will take time. Cricket will always have its own fantastic position in India. Where I come from (England), we follow football, cricket, rugby...Sometimes, when I hear people talk about sport, I hear them talk about it on the basis of competition. Man, it's not competition. It's what you love. It's what you are passionate about. That's why we enjoy sport. As long as there will be kids worshipping Virat Kohli and kids worshipping our footballers of the future, (I'll be happy). They can enjoy it all.

How important is it for the ISL to have foreign stars?
It is important. With the greatest of respect to Indian football, the quality isn't of the level we'd ideally want. These foreign players can help elevate the quality of football in India. We have the marquee players who are at the absolute end of their playing careers. They will bring the stardust to the league. And that will, in turn, attract the other foreign players who have never played in India. Look, we don't just want to put on a product for foreign players. (That's why the playing XI will have six Indians). But it's the international players I would focus on. Yes, the marquee players will bring in their discipline, dedication and quality, but the international players will be the heartbeat of the team.

Why is the league so coy about the financial aspect? Why haven't the salaries been disclosed. Also, Baichung Bhutia is of the opinion that you should have held an auction instead of a draft pick...
Look, it's very simple. I will be very open about that. It''s not that our teams are going to make millions of rupees in the first year. If you look at the business model, this is an investment. But we know we are paying the players well. They are happy. Do we see the reason to hold an auction to double that amount of money? No, because the players will benefit for sure, but the teams won't. It just won't help their business model. I won't say that one day when we have the riches of the IPL, we won't go there. Who knows! But certainly in the first year, the financial realities are different.

So how much will a top Indian player make for two-and-a-half months of ISL duty?
Look, the average is Rs 25 to Rs 30 lakh. The minimum is Rs 10 lakh. And the maximum is about Rs 75 to Rs 80 lakh.

What about the foreigners?
The average salary will be $70,000. These are the guys who play top division in some good countries. And they have also played international football.

Do you think the success of the ISL will — say, in 20, 30 or maybe 40 years — enable India to qualify for the World Cup?
I absolutely hope so. This league will help the I-League grow to a new level and that will, in turn, help build a better national team. Because the players will be playing at a higher level week in, week out. Look, we have got some big dreams for India. But remember Rome wasn't built in a day. I have a healthy degree of optimism and I am just keeping in mind the fact that the league won't succeed or fail by chance. It will be because of our efforts.