PLS to kick off on March 24, final on May 6

Kolkata: The much-anticipated Premier League Soccer (PLS) will kick off in West Bengal on March 24, with the final scheduled to be held on May 6, paving the way for a collision with the Indian Premier League.

The likes of Fabio Cannavaro and Hernan Crespo, along with some of the world's renowned coaches, will arrive in the city early next month as the pre-season training will begin on March 3.

Spanning 35 matches, including five knock-outs, the IPL- style football tournament featuring international stars will have a total prize purse of INR 1.5 crore, with INR 50 lakh for the winners, revealed the Indian Football Association, the organisers of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Grey Mind Communications bought the Haldia franchise, with Argentine 2006 World Cup captain Juan Pablo Sorin as their icon player, while John Barnes will be their coach.

On the sidelines of a meeting with the six franchises of the first edition of the tournament, IFA secretary Utpal Ganguli said the next phase of the auction for the Indian players will be held on February 12, with their base prices in the range of INR 2-3 lakh.

"We have discussed the turf and facilities for the tournament and the venues will be ready early next month as the pre-season training will begin," Ganguli said.

"We have already received the inspection reports for the venues and the facilities available. The work will begin soon to make the facilities in line with the FIFA guidelines," he said.

Ganguli further said that the standard of refereeing would be a prime concern as well, and they were contemplating a mixture of international and local referees for the tournament.

The tournament will have 30 league matches and five semi-finals (on a home and away basis) before the summit clash.

As per the rule, the six new teams will get affiliated with the IFA by attaching themselves with the already existing clubs.

In the first edition, PLS will have six franchises - Kolkata, Howrah, Barasat, Durgapur, Midnapore and Haldia - with one icon player, one icon coach, two overseas players and one overseas player of Asian origin, for which the auction was held on Monday.

The rest in the squad will be Indians, with six U-21, six 'catchment' (local) players and nine-to-14 top Indian players.

Meanwhile, the Premier League Soccer might have taken a leaf out of the IPL but the hugely-successful money-spinning T20 event will be no match for the upcoming football tournament boasting a galaxy of World Cuppers, claimed the organisers.

Utpal Ganguli said they were not worried about the future of PLS, clashing with IPL-5.

The dates of the two tournaments are clashing at a time when cricket is seemingly going through a crisis after dwindling crowd attendance and poor performances by the national team, which has also lost its sponsor Sahara.

On the other hand, the PLS has already grossed over Rs 100 crore in franchisee and foreign player auctions.

"We are overwhelmed by queries from all over the world. Looking at the phenomenal response, I am sure IPL TV right holders will be worried about PLS," Ganguli said.

"I am not here to challenge anybody. But looking at the fan following of football all over the world, I'm sure that IPL will be no match for PLS."

He clarified that the IFA did not have any rift with Indian parent body AIFF, from whom they had taken an "approval."

"They had some queries, to which we have replied. There was some apprehension but no misunderstanding. We have assured them that the guidelines will be followed."

Echoing similar sentiments, Biswapriya Giri of Euro Musketeers (the Barasat team) said, "Football is an international game. We have the stars with us and I'm sure it will be hugely successful."

"We are planning to bring together the magic of Indian icon Bhaichung Bhutia along with Argentine legend (Hernan) Crespo. I'm sure PLS will create a ripple."

The Barasat team have bought the Argentine star for a whopping USD 840,000, while Icelandic Teitur Thordarson will be their coach after being bought for USD 210,000.

PLS is the brainchild of Celebrity Management Group, who are the commercial partners, along with the organisers IFA, as the tournament boasts of international stars like Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Argentine 2006 World Cup captain-Juan Pablo Sorin, among others.