The Big Daddy of US sport — American Football — took a step closer to thelaunch of its first season in India on Monday. The Elite Football League of India (EFLI), governing body of the sport in India, which was founded in 2012, unveiled its first privately-owned franchise — the Hyderabad Skykings — here on the day.
The EFLI had plans to launch a franchise-based league in India last year. However, visa restrictions on players of a Pakistan-based team and a few other technical difficulties forced the body to hold the league in Sri Lanka, albiet on a much smaller scale.
But the EFLI seems to have overcome the initial hiccups as the body — backed by many US-based businessmen and a few NFL players — rolled out the carpet for the league with the launch of the Hyderabad team and announcement of an exhibition match.
As of now, the Skykings, owned by the US-based Venkatesh Movva, will be the only privately-held franchise.
The other eight teams, which include six from India and one each from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will be owned by the EFLI itself.
“The Hyderabad team is like a pilot project. We want to see how things shape up. But we do have plans to auction the other teams in future,” said Movva, who is also one of the prominent faces of the EFLI.
To promote the sport before the official commencement of the league, the EFLI would hold exhibition matches in major cities in India, starting with a clash between the Skykings and Bangalore Warhawks at the astro-turf hockey stadium at Begumpet, in Hyderabad on July 20.
The league already has around 272 players on its roster — 34 in each team. The players will be given monthly salaries — `15,000 for Grade A player and `12,000 for Grade B — throughout the year.
Meanwhile, the Elite Football League of India has also put forward a proposal to astro-turf the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad to hold their league matches here.