Indian football entered the realm of big money, with the successful auctioning of franchises, players and coaches signalling the start of the inaugural Premier League Soccer (PLS) here on Monday.

The first fully professional tournament in the country is drawn on the lines of the Major League Soccer in the United States and inspired by the success of its cricketing cousin near home, the Indian Premier League. The total auctioning process fetched an investment of around Rs. 106 crore, which has surpassed the budget for any football tournament in the country by many counts. The tournament will involve five major footballing centres of Bengal.

Despite a couple of postponements in the date of bidding, the tournament was realised in almost its entirety with five — out of the initially planned six — franchises securing bids. Barasat, the district headquarters of North 24 Parganas, fetched the highest price with the URO Group buying it for Rs. 25.15 crore over a base price of Rs. 80 lakh, for a 10-year period. The four other franchises — Kolkata, Siliguri, Durgapur and Howrah — also fetched much higher bids than its base prices.

With each franchise given a spending cap of Rs. 12.5 crore ($2.5 million) and asked to employ a coach of international stature and a former World Cupper as an ‘icon' player, the auctioning saw a good tug-of-war for prized names.

Players and numbers

Hernan Crespo, the famed Argentine striker, fetched the highest price of Rs. 4.2 crore and was picked up by Barasat. Fabio Cannavaro, the World Cup-winning captain of Italy in 2006 — was bought by Siliguri for Rs. 4.15 crore. Robert Pires, the French midfielder, was picked up by Howrah for Rs. 4 crore, while English striker Robbie Fowler (2.65 crore) and Nigerian midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha (2.75 crore) went to Kolkata and Durgapur respectively.

Among the international coaches, former Portuguese defender Fernando Couto fetched the highest price of Rs. 1.2 crore and was snapped up by Howrah. Samson Siasia of Nigeria and Teitur Thorandson of Iceland fetched the next highest price — Rs. 1.05 crore each — from Durgapur and Barasat.

The auction process also saw the franchises bidding for Asian and other overseas players. Among the five South Korean players in the Asian player segment, 23-year-old midfield Park Ji-Sung fetched the highest of Rs. 70 lakh (over a base price of Rs. 45 lakh) by Kolkata. Among the overseas players (non-World Cuppers), Nigerian midfielder Robert Egbeta fetched the highest of Rs. 1.75 crore (over a base price of Rs. 50 lakh) as Kolkata secured him after a bidding war with Howrah.

The tournament is scheduled to start in March and the dates will be finalised after a meeting with the franchises on Thursday.

Franchise details: Barasat: Owner: URO Infra-Reality India Ltd (Amount: Rs. 25.15 crore); Coach: Teitur Thorandson (Iceland, Rs. 1.05 crore); Icon player: Hernan Crespo (Argentina, 4.2 crore); Asian player: Park Byoung-Gyu (South Korea, 45 lakh); Overseas players: Joaquim Botero (Bolivia, Rs. 90 lakh).

Durgapur: Owner: Tulip Infonet (India) Pvt. Ltd. (7.60 crore); Coach: Samson Siasia (Nigeria, 1.05 crore); Icon: Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria, 2.75 crore); Asian: Kim Bong Kyeom (South Korea, 57.5 lakh); Overseas: Alonso Solis (Costa Rica, 1 crore), Jose Carlos Castilo (Guatemala, 40 lakh).

Howrah: Owner: Syncsys Infotech Pvt. Ltd. (9 crore); Coach: Fernando Couto (Portugal, 1.2 crore); Icon: Robert Pires (France, 4 crore); Asian: Byun Yoon Chul (South Korea, 57.5 lakh); Overseas: Jose Gabriel Rios (Bolivia, 90 lakh), Diego Madrigal (Costa Rica, 60 lakh).

Kolkata: Owner: Camellia Group (11.50 crore); Coach: Peter Reid (England, 1 crore); Icon: Robbie Fowler (England, 2.65 crore); Asian: Park Ji-Sung (South Korea, 70 lakh); Overseas: Robert Egbeta (Nigeria, 1.75 crore), Daniel Varella (Costa Rica, 60 lakh).

Siliguri: Owner: Aajay Consultants (18 crore); Coach: Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia, 1 crore); Icon: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy, 4.15 crore); Asian: Hwang Gyu-Hwan (South Korea, 45 lakh); Overseas: Santino Quaranta (USA, 90 lakh), Limberg Gutierrez (Bolivia, 90 lakh).

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