 |
| © AP Images |
The auction of franchises for the upcoming Premier League Soccer (PLS) was completed Sunday. Kolkata was expected to be the costliest franchise but it was the Barasat outfit, located on the northern edge of Kolkata that fetched the highest price.
Uro Infra Reality India Ltd bought Team Barasat (Base price Rs. 8m) for a mind-numbing Rs 251.5 million. The Camellia Group paid Rs 115 million for the Kolkata franchise.
The other main purchases were as follows
Aajay Consultants - Siliguri, Rs 180 million
Syncsys Infotech (P) Ltd - Howrah, Rs 90 million
Tulip Infonet (India) Pvt. Ltd - Durgapur, Rs 76 million.
The only team that remained unsold was the Haldia franchise, with a base price of Rs 70 million which means that the league will be a five-team affair in its inaugural season instead of the six-team one that was originally planned.
Celebrity Management Group, the promoter of the PLS, has given out all franchises on a ten year lease.
The players’ auction will be held on Monday which is modelled exactly on the same lines as that of the Indian Premier League, with icon players and the like. The only difference is, in the PLS, even the coaches will be auctioned.
Icon players and prices:
| Player |
Country |
Base Price ($) |
| Hernan Crespo |
ARG |
840,000 |
| Robbie Fowler |
ENG |
450,000 |
| Jay Jay Okacha |
NIG |
550,000 |
| Fabio Cannavaro |
ITA |
780,000 |
| Robert Pires |
FRA |
715,000 |
| Juan Pablo Sorin |
ARG |
550,000 |
Coach Prices
Samson Sia Sia (Nigeria $ 190,000)
Teitur Thordarson (Iceland $ 210,000)
Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia $ 200,000)
Peter Ried (England $ 165,000)
John Barnes (England $ 200,000)
Each franchise can pick four foreign players including one 'icon'. The auction for Indian players, however, is expected to happen in the second week of next month.
MP & Silva acquires PLS global broadcast rights
International sports media company MP & Silva has acquired the global broadcast rights to the first season of the tournament.
Till now, the rights to the deal and the financial matters have not been disclosed, however, it will reportedly operate on a minimum guarantee and revenue sharing basis.
CMG is also said to be in talks with three broadcasters for the South Asia broadcast rights to the new football league.
CMG expects the total sale of commercial rights to amount to between $5 million and $6 million, CMG executive director Bhaswar Goswami told Indiantelevision.com . This includes both the broadcast rights and sponsorship deals.