Vishnu Prasad By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Last week, a Twitter account run by Mohun Bagan fans put out a tweet that purported to reveal information about the club’s I-League fixtures. “As per our information, Mohunbagan will be starting their @ILeagueOfficial journey on 18th November when Mariners will be facing Indian Arrows at Home,” the tweet said. Beneath was a reply by Ranjit Bajaj, owner of fellow I-League club Minerva Punjab FC. “Guys, any info on @Minerva_AFC first match?” it read.

With the Indian Super League and I-League running side by side this year, the contrast couldn’t have been starker. The ISL’s fixtures were announced in the third week of September, nearly two months before a ball would be first kicked in the league. The I-League, with around 20 days to go before the first game according to sources, still doesn’t have an official fixtures list.

I-League officials say that fixtures are bound to be released over the next couple of days and that the arrival of Star as broadcaster has made drawing up a schedule a bit more complex.

Indeed there are club officials who believe this is a necessary evil, like Praveen VC, CEO of new entrants Malabar FC, who feel that Star’s entrance is a big boost for the league. Others are not convinced though.

“The same conditions applied for the ISL, but their fixtures were drawn up early enough. Why are we being treated like stepchildren?” asks Bajaj.

“Every time I go to a sponsor and give him a presentation, the one thing he asks me is ‘But when is your team playing?’. I can’t give him an answer for that. We have had sponsorship interest from many quarters but no one has signed on the dotted line because we don’t know when we’re playing,” says Bajaj.

That seems to be a trend with many of the less-established teams, those who don’t have the brand value to sell to sponsors yet and must instead market the fact that they play in the country’s ‘top-tier league’.

“We are looking to tie up with sponsors who can take care of things like travel and accommodation. It’s difficult to do that when you don’t know when you will be travelling,” says Rohit Ramesh. The Chennai City FC owner has been forced to relocate his team to Coimbatore because Chennaiyin FC will be playing at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where they played their home matches in, last year.

For the big guns though, it seems to be business as usual. “We have not had any difficulty in getting sponsors this year,” says East Bengal’s Debabrata Sarkar. “I’m sure they’ll announce the fixtures soon. This was how it is every time.” Familiarity, it seems, breeds resignation.

vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com