Investors Battle For Ownership Of Kerala Franchise In Newly Proposed IMG-R League

Talk of a Kerala franchise in the newly proposed IMG-R league "has stroked a battle royale amongst investors, with a gaggle of them queue up for its ownership," according to Nikhil Jitendran of GOAL. Whilst the very notion of a parallel league to run alongside the I-League "is getting whipped by traditional club owners, a bevy of investors look to gain control of the Kerala franchise of the new league." According to the New Indian Express sources, the investors groups, which number close to a dozen, "are mostly composed of Non-Resident Indians." They are "hell-bent on promoting a Kochi-based club, with a view to grapple the frenzy for the game." A group of investors from the Thrissur district of Kerala "have planned an entity on a public-private partnership model" (GOAL, 8/21).