Elite Football League of India (EFLI) organizers Friday formally announced plans for “an eight-team pro league made up of Indian players and coaches that will open next year,” according to the AP. The inaugural season is “to run from November 2012 to February 2013." The league “plans to add eight more teams during the second year and four in each subsequent season” until ‘22. The league after 10 years of operation “would have 52 teams representing all Indian cities with a population in excess of 1 million.” The EFLI is “confident of finding a niche despite being new to the country.” EFLI CEO Richard Whelan said that the new league “hopes to capitalize on the success of India's victory in this year's cricket World Cup on home soil.” The EFLI “will invite 600 companies to attend an orientation program to discuss strategy for long-term business affiliation.” The league “hopes to attract not just corporate backing but also support from the army, city municipalities and political parties” (AP, 8/5). Strategic Alliances VP Richard Scheer, who is the league’s principal investor, said, "I envision that in three years, the EFL will be bigger (in India) than the NFL (is in the United States)." The INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES noted Zee Entertainment Enterprises, India’s “biggest media conglomerate,” reportedly has “expressed serious interest in broadcasting the EFL’s games.” Zee has “signed a letter of intent to televise 33 regular season games and three playoff games to an estimated 500-million potential viewers in India, Sri Lanka, The Maldive Islands, Bangladesh, Nepal, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, and Pakistan” (IBTIMES.com, 8/7).
