Express News Service By

With the new season of the I-League starting on Saturday, football enthusiasts across the country will be waiting to catch the action on their television screens.

Their wait, however, is set to go on for another week with officials of the Taj Entertainment Network (TEN) deciding to blackout the first round of matches citing ‘technical reasons’.

Until a couple of days ago, telecast of the league was supposed to start with the first match between Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar. Newly formed Bengaluru FC’s debut versus Mohun Bagan was also supposed to be telecast on Ten Action.

But I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said the television network has decided to give the first round of matches a miss as they had not completed arrangements at the stadiums. “They have informed us that they are yet to finish their preparations at the stadiums. This week, they will carry out a recce at the concerned stadiums and will start telecast from next week.”

What makes the situation more farcical is the fact that most of the I-League matches are held early in the afternoon thanks to broadcaster demands. After numerous players and official had complained of heat exhaustion, national coach Wim Koevermans had suggested that matches this year will be held under the floodlights. His suggestions have fallen to deaf ears with most of the matches being held early in the afternoon this season.

Indeed, all first round matches are scheduled to kick off before 4pm, with some starting as early as 2.45pm. But it now appears that the players will have to brave the heat and the sun to cater to the demands of a broadcaster who appears least interested in broadcasting their games.

There was some happy news on the commercial front for I-League enthusiasts with the AIFF announcing telecom giants Airtel as the title sponsors of the I-League. This will mark the first time in three years that the I-League will have title sponsor after ONGC pulled out in 2011.