ISL- LEAGUE FORMAT- IN THE RIGHT PATH OR NOT

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ISL- LEAGUE FORMAT- IN
THE RIGHT PATH OR NOT

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very thankful to my professor for his guidance during my research titled “ISL- LEAGUE FORMAT-
IN THE RIGHT PATH OR NOT” that further helped me in completing the current research processes. On
the other hand, with the help of my fellow subordinates and my assessors,I was able to proceed accurately
with this work without being deviated from the finalized course of action.

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ABSTRACT
This research deals with the topic that is related to the “ISL- League Format- In the Right Path or
Not. The Introduction section tries to figure out the problems related to the “Indian Super League
(ISL)”. This research can help answer the following questions that are associated with the
capabilities of some of the players in India. This search can help answer the following questions
that are associated with the capabilities of some football players in India. This chapter deals with
the research aims and objectives that can be helpful to get a clear idea about the current state of
“The Indian Super League (ISL)”. This chapter also has the research rationale part that tells about
every aspect of the issue that is related to the “Indian Super League (ISL)”
The Literature Review section deals with facts that are related to the “Indian Super League
(ISL)”. This signifies that how the Chinese and Japanese football leagues are growing. The
benefits of the long-term leagues and improvement in the grass root level has also been conducted.
The importance of promotion and relegation in a league with reference to its advantages and
disadvantages have been performed in this section. The Indian football league is now known to be
involved in the Indian Super League or ISL. The ISL and Indian football more generally, appears
to have financial and governance problem. Financial performance has been an issue since the
league's rebranding and formation and clubs have cost control issues that have been commonplace
in other major sporting leagues around the globe. However, the ISL also faces further challenges
at the governance level due to its peculiar structure and arrangements between the league,
franchisees, and broadcasters. From a governance perspective, these need addressing so that the
game can move forward. The is still in its infancy as a product and has time on its side. However,
there are early warning signs that we have presented here that require attention. Failure to do so
may lead to stagnation and regression in the future.
Chapter 3 has discussed different methods used in this research including research approach,
philosophy, Data collection method, data sampling, and analysis of data. With the help of
explanatory research design, inductive approach, and interpretivism philosophy, the researchers
have collected primary data by conducting interviews of ISL professionals by developing a set of
10 open-ended questions. After data collection, the researchers have performed Purposive
sampling and descriptive analysis for interpreting the collected data.

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Chapter 4 has presented the findings from the interview and has analysed the data using descriptive
analysis. Regarding the ISL league structure, it has been found that ISL is improving day by day
and resolving many of the drawbacks from the last 10 years. In addition to that, this chapter has
also illustrated that ISL is currently supporting the improvement of Indian footballers and Indian
football itself. Different factors like absence of relegation and promotion along with challenges in
Grassroots development have been found to be key issues that are restricting Indian football to
grow further. However, in the current scenario, different strategies including adoption of
international football tactics, engagement of more foreign players and coaches as well as making
the ISL a long-term league have allowed the ISL to improve and this will take another some years
to ISL to reach at international level.
Chapter 5 has completed the overall Research and presented the key findings of the whole study.
Addition to that, every objective with its relation to the study have also been justified in this chapter
while recommending some strategies for the improvement of ISL in future days. Additionally, the
limitations of the study have also been discussed and it has been found that insufficiency of time
and lack of financial support have become the major limitations of this study. Lastly the future
scope of the study has also been elaborated with respect to the future Research and studies in the
same field of Indian football.

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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ 2
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 10
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 10
1.2 ISL- the “local experience”................................................................................................. 10
1.3 Structure of the ISL football league.................................................................................... 11
1.4 Justification and rationale for study.................................................................................... 13
1.6 Aim and Objectives............................................................................................................. 16
1.7 Research Questions............................................................................................................. 16
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 18
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 18
2.2 Conceptual framework........................................................................................................ 18
2.3 How Japanese and Chinese football are growing? ............................................................. 19
2.4 Benefits of the long-term leagues ....................................................................................... 20
2.5 Improvement in the grass root level of the league .............................................................. 21
2.6 Coaching points in making a successful league.................................................................. 23
2.7 Motivation for the small football clubs in playing ISL....................................................... 24
2.8 Importance of promotion and relegation............................................................................. 25
2.9 Is ISL only conducted for the purpose of entertainment? ................................................... 26
2.10 Policies used by the developing nation (India) in comparison to the developed nations
(Japan and Korea) ..................................................................................................................... 27
2.11 Influence of the foreign football players over Indian football players ............................. 29

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2.12 Literature gap .................................................................................................................... 30
2.13 Summary........................................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 32
3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 32
3.2 Methodological Framework................................................................................................ 32
3.3 Research Design.................................................................................................................. 33
3.4 Research Approach............................................................................................................. 34
3.5 Research Philosophy........................................................................................................... 35
3.6 Collection of data................................................................................................................ 36
3.7 Data sampling ..................................................................................................................... 37
3.8 Data analysis ....................................................................................................................... 38
3.9 Ethical Consideration.......................................................................................................... 39
3.10 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................. 39
CHAPTER 4: DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS .................................................................. 40
4.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 40
4.2 Data Findings ...................................................................................................................... 40
4.2.1 Findings related to the ISL league structure ................................................................ 40
4.2.2 Finding out the significance of ISL in improving Indian football and adaptation of
international tactics in developing opportunities for Indian players to play abroad ............. 41
4.2.3 Finding the key issues for the failure of the Indian football team at the international
level....................................................................................................................................... 42

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4.2.4 Finding the strategies and initiatives to improve ISL and its effectiveness in improving
Indian football....................................................................................................................... 43
4.3 Data analysis ....................................................................................................................... 44
4.3.1 Analysing the ISL league structure.................................................................................. 44
4.3.2 Evaluating the significance of ISL in improving Indian football and adaptation of
international tactics in developing opportunities for Indian players to play abroad ............. 46
4.3.3 Analysing the key issues for the failure of the Indian football team at the international
level....................................................................................................................................... 47
4.3.4 Recommending strategies and initiatives to improve ISL and its effectiveness in
improving Indian football ..................................................................................................... 49
4.4 Chapter Summary ................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................. 52
5.1 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 52
5.2 Linking with the Objectives................................................................................................ 53
5.3 Recommendations............................................................................................................... 54
5.4 Research Limitations........................................................................................................... 56
5.5 Future scope of the study.................................................................................................... 56
References..................................................................................................................................... 58
Appendices.................................................................................................................................... 71
Appendix 1: Interview Transcript............................................................................................. 71

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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Increase in the number of audiences in India during ISL........................................... 11
Figure 1.3: Format of playing ISL ................................................................................................ 13
Figure 1.2: Popular Championships in India ................................................................................ 14
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework ............................................................................................... 18
Figure 2.2: Young Chinese players playing football .................................................................... 20
Figure 2.3: Benefits of the long-term leagues............................................................................... 21
Figure 2.4: Inhabiting grass root football in a sports field............................................................ 22
Figure 2.5: AIFF sponsored grass root leagues in football........................................................... 23
Figure 2.7: Sports policies followed in India ................................................................................ 28
Figure 2.8: Annual trends followed in Japan regarding participation level annually shoed
graphically..................................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 2.9: Comparison of market values between the Indian football players and foreign football
players across teams in ISL........................................................................................................... 30
Figure 3.1: Methodological framework ........................................................................................ 32
Figure 3.2: Advantages of Explanatory Research Design ............................................................ 33
Figure 3.3: Benefits of Inductive approach................................................................................... 34
Figure 3.4: Advantages of Interpretivism Philosophy .................................................................. 35
Figure 3.5: Benefits of Interview .................................................................................................. 37
Figure 3.6: Benefits of Descriptive analysis ................................................................................. 38
Figure 4.1: Structure of ISL to AFC ............................................................................................. 45
Figure 4.2: Improvement of Indian Football through ISL ............................................................ 47

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Figure 4.3: Key issues for failure of Indian Football.................................................................... 49
Figure 4.4: Key factor in Grassroots development in Japan......................................................... 50
Figure 5.1: Recommendations for the improvement of ISL ......................................................... 55

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
This research focuses on the performance as well as management related challenges of “Indian
Super League (ISL)” and its adverse effect of Indian Football team altogether. According to
(Harper et al. 2019), this research can help answer the mentioned questions that are associated
with the capabilities of some of the players in India. Therefore, by taking a part in the football
teams the players of India can represent their country at the international level (Plumley et al.,
2020). The article of (Gupta and Sharma, 2019) is suggested that The “Indian Super League
(ISL)” is necessary to create a good platform for the talented players of India so that it could also
represent the Indian Football Team at the terminal level.
However, the Introduction section beholds and tries to explain the research background, the aims
and objectives related to the topic, research rationale, research questions, and a summary of the
whole topic.
As per scrutinizing the article (Lunawat, 2021), it can be stated that this research topic can be
helpful to get exact knowledge about ISL and the different facets that are associated with this topic.
The section after the introduction section is a LiteratureReview that can be helpful to get the exact
knowledge about the current position of the football teams of India and also about the future scopes
that are associated with this game.
1.2 ISL- the “local experience”
“Indian Super League (ISL)” has become the most popular type of entertainment factor that has
been liked by many football lovers of the country. It kicked started its journey on 12 October 2014.
About 11 clubs take part in the championship that takes place almost every year. Many big
celebrities in India are the main sponsors of these football clubs. There are about 8 seasons that
have been conducted in India since it has been started in 2014 (Bandyopadhyay, 2020). “Indian

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Super League (ISL)” also helps in the investments that can be helpful to reconstruct the stadiums
so that they can accommodate more audiences in it. The “Indian Super League (ISL)” can be
helpful to create a very good platform for the talented players of India so that they could also
represent the Indian Football Team at an international level.
Figure 1.1: Increase in the number of audiences in India during ISL
(Source: Footballbenchmark.com, 2022)
The future of India concerning football is a little bit shaky, as it cannot grow as they lack the
number of sponsors in India. The poor family background of some of the players is making them
unavailable for the selection in the teams (Gupta and Sharma, 2019). Due to this reason, the future
of the “Indian Super League (ISL)” is a little bit under the darkness.
1.3 Structure of the ISL football league
Based on the statements proposed by Lunawat (2021), the ISL (“Indian Super League”) is on of
the top football leagues that has been played in India. This football league has been organized by
enacting the commercial partners with AIFF (“All India Football Federation”) and FSDL

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(“Football Sports Development Limited” in partnership with “RelianceFoundations”(Menezes,
2022). “Hero Moto Corporation” has officially taken up the sponsor of this league. The structure
of the league has been illustrated below in brief.
This league comprised of eleven teams across every venture and corner of India. The naming of
the team has been kept also in this way. Each team or club play against each team for two times in
the form of a “round robin style”. The winning team gets three points and the losing team gets
zero points. Each draw match will include one point each to the teams playing. The top four teams
will be playing the playoff (semi-final) and then the Champions will be determined to undertake
the ISL trophy each season and table topper will be the shield winner (ISL, 2022).
As argued by Bank (2022), the management of the ISL has been significant by making significant
communication has been displayed with all the sponsors, owners, team members, and many more.
The major medium in broadcasting the ISL to the audiences has been undertaken by “Star Sports
Network” to generate high and potential revenues along with the advertisements. The teams and
its owners in playing the all-round levels of the tournament in football (Mukherjee et al. 2022)
have significantly set up the branding and venue set up of the teams. For instance, if the match is
being played in Kolkata, the entire responsibility will be taken up by the team owners, sponsors,
and advertising committee. In the statement said by Strauss et al. (2021), the management
committee have been responsible in taking the overall responsibility of hiringreferees from AIFF
and sometimes FIFA authorized referees. The respective owners of the venues (Saxena et al.
2021) have undertaken the entire security, ticketing and other marketing activities. The guidelines
of the ISL are as follows-
 The football clubs of the ISL can sign a maximum of six foreigner players
 ISL allows playing a maximum number of four players in a football game
 The ISL normally completes a season with an approximately time span of 3 months

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Figure 1.3: Format of playing ISL
(Source: slideplayer.org. 2022)
1.4 Justification and rationale for study
The issue that this particular research tries to highlight is related to the problems that the “Indian
Super League (ISL)” is facing currently. The championship started for about more than five years
ago but still, it has not gained much priority and much attention from the Indian audience as it was
expected to get (Harper et al. 2019). The “Indian Super League (ISL)” is considered the “sleeping
giant” in the field of football. The revenue earned by the “Indian Super League (ISL)” is nearly
40% less than that of the revenue earned from the “Indian Premier League” (Gupta and Sharma,
2019). The championship has failed to lure the required amount of audience which is also
responsible for getting less number of sponsors for the respective teams. Due to this reason, it is
very problematic to get the required amount of funds for the different players. This factor has
permissively conducted a holistic matter and performances of the proper factor of analysis of the
“Indian Super League” or (ISL) the football competition and the team “members franchisee”
between almost 2014-2015 and accordingly 2019-2020along with the specific concentration or
focus on the financial matter (Mondal et al., 2022). The performance that is permissively sporting
and cheerful in metrics is identified. The appropriate factor of methodology can be said that the
utilization of the PAM for the professional or corporate football team permissively consists of 8
indicators that are interconnected to the financial sector and economical indicators. The findings,

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which are proper for this study, are primarily obtained by “dissecting the annual accounts’ of the
ISL franchisee that can be said between the “2014-2015 and 2019-2020". The proper results are
primarily accumulated with the financial issue. Various types of franchisees have primarily
reported various poor corporate or financial performances for the proper period or study. There are
various issues along with the "debt and profitability". The appropriate findings and the statistical
evidence that is permissively common and better in the financial factors in terms of health leads
to the proper superior and courageous performances in the ISL. The proper implications of this
phase are quite challenging at the level of governance because of the “peculiar structure” and the
proper arrangements and reproductions between “league, franchisee and the broadcast”.
Figure 1.2: Popular Championships in India
(Source: Statista.com, 2022)
The Indian audiences love football but they usually like the league format of international football.
The concept of Indian football is not much elaborated on and loved by Indian football fans. The

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poor condition of some of the players of the Indian football teams is also very much responsible
for the backlashes that the “Indian Super League (ISL)” is currently facing (Jadhav and Raizada,
2021). The football clubs that are generally located in foreign countries like “Barcelona”,
“Manchester United” and many more get the appropriate amount of funds that can be useful to
improve the gaming skills of the players. On the other hand, the players who are associated with
the “Indian Super League (ISL)” do not get much recognition in India. The ISL faces various
issues or challenges to the governance level because of the unstructured, inappropriate, or peculiar
structure. Besides that, the proper arrangements of almost between the “league, franchisee, and the
broadcasters”. The financial or the corporate performance of this research study has permissively
shown various issues since the process or the time of inception of the league and the proper
franchisees that have accumulated the issue of the fact of the cost control or cost balancing
purposes (Nikhil et al., 2021). Besides that, the appropriate stage of infancy in the stage of warning
the signs that are specifically identified or recognized can be formulated to lead the stagnation and
the process of regression of the league in failure, if it is not properly addressed.
The incapability of the big heads who are associated with the organization and developments of
the “Indian Super League (ISL)” to lure the required amount of audiences and also arrange the
required amount of funds that can be helpful to train the Indian football players has to lead to the
downgrading of the championship. The glamorous effect of other leagues like “Chinese league”,
“the Asian League”, “The Saudi league” and the “Japan league” has seen much success in their
respective countries. They try to generate more than 50% more revenue that gets added to the
economy of their respective countries (Khan and Kirubanand, 2019). On the other hand, the
“Indian Super League (ISL)” has not become very much popular in foreign countries. It has not
been able to improve the gaming skills of the respective players who are associated with this
championship.
This research tries to highlight the future of the “Indian Super League (ISL)”. Looking at the
current state of the players and the different difficulties in the championship it can be said that the
nearby future of this sport is very much shaky in this country (Lunawat, 2021). The poor condition
of this country and the poor economic background of some of the players are making them
unavailable to the selectors. This specific research work has permissively tried to highlight the
future and various issues or consequences of ISL. according to those states, the poor condition of

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the specific issue or the country and the poor condition of the financial factors are can be discussed
in this research study.
1.5 Aim and Objectives
Aim: The main aim of this research is to find out the exact future of the “Indian Super League
(ISL)”. This research also tries to highlight the fact whether the league format of the “Indian
Super League (ISL)” is on the right path or not and the impact of the “Indian Super League
(ISL)” on the Indian football players.
Objectives: this research can be helpful
● To know about the pros and cons of the “Indian Super League (ISL)” related to the
further development of the sport
● To know the current state of the teams and the players so that it can be helpful to train
them more for this game
● To get an idea about the Indian football players and also their capabilities and
incapability
● To determine whether a 5-month league is enough for the players so that they become
ready to play for the national teams
1.6 Research Questions
The different research questions are as follows:
What are the current state of the teams and the players so that it can be helpful to train them
more for this game?
What are the pros and cons of the “Indian Super League (ISL)” related to the further
development of the sport?
What are the capabilities and incapability of Indian football players?

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Whether a 5-month league is enough for the players to become ready to play for the national
teams?

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Literature review is significantly a part of academic writing that provides understanding and
knowledge of the previous specified topic in a context. This literature review is required to gain
the proper knowledge and foundation about the topic. This has been also conducted to identify
research gaps, “conflicts in previous studies”, and “carrying a new investigation”. In this literature
review, the significant growth of the Japanese and Chinese football has been discussed based
benefits of the long-term leagues and improvements in the grass root level. The motivation for the
small clubs and policies undertaken by India in comparison to Japan and Korea has been
conducted.
2.2 Conceptual framework
Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework
(Source: Self developed)

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2.3 How Japanese and Chinese football are growing?
According to Ando et al. (2022), the Japanese football was its lowest level in the year 1991. The
football players of Japan was not at all designated and expert in this sport. The final height models
of production have been mentioned based on the Japanese Football players in this article. Their
top football players have been playing the amateur leagues in many small areas within Japan. The
progressive birth of the Japan League, commonly called J-League, was being played soon that
became the professional football league in Asia. All the amateur football players were now ready
to be trained hard, focused, and concentrated for playing this league. Since Japan has been
scheduled to play and trained hard so that they become eligible in every league they want to play
(Lee and Tan, 2021). The soccer league of Japan has been one of the popular sports in Japan where
every player whether being amateur, professional and expert, takes part in this league to highlight
their skills and talent in playing football. This had been one of the oldest leagues played in Japan
that reached its peak when this was introduced in the 1968 Olympics Games. The inception of the
league in football had been successful in Japan as they were successful in attracting the audiences
even in the domestic matches. The participation in the Champions League played in Asia, also
took part by Japan and immensely showed good results in the future of football for Japan.
According to Sullivan et al. (2021), the China has been one of the nation that simply brought the
immense success in many of the football leagues. When the President “Xi Jinping” had supported
this sport in their country, the high paid clubs in the European League, UEFA League, Barclays
Premier League, and many more had come into existence. The high funding had been availed and
their major clubs have been playing the CSL (“Chinese Super League”) that became the first eye-
catching events and signing. Since then, the growth of football in China has been considerably
growing as many players have been playing in European leagues, Italian Leagues, Spanish
Leagues, and many more.
As opined by Cockayne et al. (2021), China has been making high money in conducting the
football leagues. The season of 2015-2016 generated approximately 420 million Euros which had
been increased almost 2.9 times as compared to the previous season. The transfer and the amount
of money generated has been immense with the significant players being emerging in making this
industry bigger in front of the other leagues happening in other European nations.

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Figure 2.2: Young Chinese players playing football
(Source: chinadaily.org, 2022)
2.4 Benefits of the long-term leagues
Long-term leagues have been played in the purpose for generating high amounts of revenue from
the audiences by selling the tickets and other purposes. Although, these tournaments have been
played for other benefits that have been illustrated below in brief.
More matches to be played
Many Super Cups and Asian Cups have been occurred that would significantly be played for
occurring more matches for the tournament. The players also avail this opportunity to display their
skills and talent by delivering their playing methods to the selectors and owners for playing in the
top most and bigger leagues (Thomas, 2022).
Job opportunities
A unified league would significantly provide the players to rank up their individual score in the
World ranking of football. The third division of players would tried to come up in the second

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division and would open to many job opportunities to them such as coaching, managing the team,
and many more (Serrano et al. 2022). The young player can also groom its skills and features by
learning under the experts and with other players.
Greater opportunities of marketing
The significant marketing opportunities would be gained by broadcasting the game in the
television and social media platforms. This would generate the high amounts of money and
revenue in this field (McLeod, 2022). The incorporation of the regional language to display and
display the game would attract a greater number of audiences to watch their favourite teams
rivalling each other. This would attract the eyes of the spectators and audiences and in turn will
make the tournament in a successive path.
Figure 2.3: Benefits of the long-term leagues
(Source: Self developed)
2.5 Improvement in the grass root level of the league
Based on the statement proposed by An and Zhang (2021), the grass root level in terms of football
has been signified to improve the mental health and physical health of the football players. The
role of the football volunteers have been explored in the grass root level in the football leagues.
More matches to be played
Job opportunities
Greater opportunities of marketing

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The young Indian professionals did not avail any support from their family and friends in building
a career in this field. The young football players did not avail any infrastructure facilities that
would be recommended for them to display their talent and highlight their skills in the sports field.
This also means that the identification and the relevance in understanding the features of the
football players for prioritizing, developing, and needs of the sport. The basic level of the football
leagues needs to be understood by establishing and providing the infrastructure for the players
such as equipment, health needs, and other amenities (Chen et al. 2022). This is something that
has been performed by the non-professional and non-elite organizations for encouraging the mass
participation in terms of the popularity of the sport. This also provides opportunities in conducting
the opportunities for social inclusion and facilitates the interest and focus on the significant sport.
As this is known to all that football, is a rough and sweat game that enables those football players
to be tackled, injured, score goals, and win matches for their respective The development in the
grass root level of the sport seemingly evaluates the foundation and aims to incline the participation
of the professionals, amateurs, veterans (coach), and many more.
Figure 2.4: Inhabiting grass root football in a sports field
(Source: footballknowldege.org, 2022)
As argued by O’Gorman (2018), the development of the grass root level in football is very
necessary so that the young talents can be revealed. In India, the talent regarding football are

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actually enormous and want to be a part of the district leagues and national football leagues to
display their talents. The young football players needs to be encouraged by the football
associations and football clubs so that they can also play in the national leagues such as ISL and
I-League (Lusheng et al. 2022).
In contrast and as said, by Ahuja and Schwarz (2018), the development of the youth programme
is not so advanced in India. The management of football in India have been developed with the
strong youth development programme in India. The infrastructure facilities present is not so prime
and advanced so that a young football player can be emerged and play significantly in a big league.
Therefore, the football associations have to take up a concrete step regarding this issue so that
young football players can also highlight and take up the interest and shine in the future (Coker et
al. 2021).
Figure 2.5: AIFF sponsored grass root leagues in football
(Source: the-aiff.org, 2022)
2.6 Coaching points in making a successful league
According to Semmelroth (2021), the coaching skills are very important in playing football and
sharpening the skills and features of a football player. In Korean football leagues, the significant

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training has been provided to the players with an effective and tough training. The football players
would have to be trained hard to make strong enough with the learning of the basic skills. The
basic skills such as heading, dribbling, “running off the ball”, shooting, receiving and passing
the ball, and many more. The significant equipment have been provided to them with effective
practice and training for more than 4-5 hours a day (Park and Ok, 2022). The coaches in Korean
leagues have been trained enough to coach their team significantly so that they can also take quick
decisions during the real match (ibid).
As opined by Naderian Jahromi Akhavan (2021), Government of “People’s Republic of China”
has established many training centres for the establishment of their football players in an effective
way. The coaches have been instructed to avail proper training in learning from the basic skills to
the advanced skills required to play football. From this perspective, this has been displayed that
the Chinese football players train at least 6-7 hours a day in sharpening and brushing their football
skills significantly.
2.7 Motivation for the small football clubs in playing ISL
There are significant associations of about 37 states that are affiliated under AIFF. Most of the
football clubs play their own football league that occurs in the respective states. The Ist division
football clubs are “ATK Mohan Bagan FC”, ‘Mumbai City FC’, “SC East Bengal”, “FC Goa”,
and many more that play in the ISL. Many I-League 1st division and second division teams
significantly play the tournaments that occurs once a year. The motivation of the teams and players
would effectively achieved if the players can perform better in their own divisions. For example-
“Churchill Brothers”(a team in I-League= first division) can come and play in ISL if they perform
well in their division tournaments. The players and the coaches of the team have to make a position
very consistently so that they can perform well and meet all the characteristics in playing ISL in
the future (Bason, 2022). The proper establishment of the communication with the coach, selecting
committee, and the team members have to be fine and continuous so that the team members can
perform well, win matches, and earn trophies and respect to be played in the ISL. For example-
the former football clubs in the I-league (“East Bengal”, Bengaluru, and “Mohan Bagan”) were
the four members of this tournament. They had successively performed better in their own aspect
and have been promoted to the next first Division League known as ISL.

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2.8 Importance of promotion and relegation
According to the statement proposed by Jamil et al. (2021), the relegation and promotion is
significantly a system that generally occurs between the several divisions of the football leagues
and football teams in a season. This is a process where the best performance of the lower division
team has been promoted to the next higher level. The respective leagues that use this type of
process and follow this protocol are known as “open leagues”. Subsequently, this may also
possible that the least performed football team can be relegated to the next lower division group
(Sloane, 2021). For instance, if “SC East Bengal” could not perform and play well to win matches
for three consecutive seasons, the team can be shifted or relegated to the next first division of the
I-League. This system also details in the overall ranking of the team in after playing the total
number of matches in a complete year. This process significantly affects and measure the overall
ranking of the football clubs or football teams. The process of relegation and promotion can
respectively continue in the playoffs, qualifying rounds, and through distinct divisional levels with
teams that can be exchanged among the “adjacent divisions”. During a season, the football teams
performing better have been promoted to the next higher level of division known as “Promotional
Zone”. On the other hand, football teams or football clubs performing least have been relegated to
the next lower level of division known as “Relegation Zone” (Borges et al. 2022).
Advantages and disadvantages of promotion in a league
Advantages
According to Rizvandi et al. (2019), the football skills and technical skills with an overall
performance of the football team can provide the promotion in the football leagues. The promotion
of the football clubs in a certain division motivate the football players and play along in a way
with full of confidence and vigour. This also forces the football clubs to accomplish trading of the
football players and acquire top talent. The lower division team can come up to the higher stage or
divisions to play the major leagues tournaments across the world.
Disadvantages

26
The financial reasons and other factors within the football clubs significantly can grow in a
competitive manner. The viewers of the league can more be viewed on the TV than in the venue.
The fan base towards the league can significantly break off the momentum in the football league.
Advantages and disadvantages of relegation in a league
Advantages
The financial impact can readily relegate a football team in a football league. The football players
can strictly play and train hard to grow up in the tournament divisions. This provides competition
along the bottom relegated clubs to win and go up higher. This also allows more football clubs to
play to the upper divisions after winning matches and tournaments (Jadhav and Raizada, 2021).
Disadvantages
Based on the statement by Nikhil and Nimkar (2021), the financial impact can readily relegate a
football team in a football league. The confidence and discipline of the football players goes down
within a football league (Khasnis et al. 2021). The owners of the football clubs have to pay the
money from their own pocket to join the football leagues. The relegated clubs can experience a
huge amount of financial loss in playing a tournament in a league.
2.9 Is ISL only conducted for the purpose of entertainment?
In the statement said by Rani (2019), ISL was inaugurated its first season in 21st October, 2013
that had made a great hype in the minds of the fans and audiences. The inaugural edition of the
ISL was held in the year 2013. The owners of the ISL and other marketing committee members
thought that this was the perfect time to launch some talented and skilful football players from all
round the nation in one roof. Many Indian football players have been performing well in their
divisional state league tournaments as well as I-League. Players such as “Sunil Chhetri” “Jeje”,
“Liston Colaco”, “Robin Singh”, and many more have been significantly picked up different
teams in the auction table of the ISL (Jadhav and Raizada, 2021). The statement showcased in the
heading is not true at a level as this league significantly avail the Indian football with good number
of skilful players, which have the potential to perform better in the future. Although, this league is
one of the entertainment zone for many audiences and spectators as Football is a game of sweat

27
and skills to perform and win matches for the team. Many I-League 1st division and second
division teams significantly play the tournaments that occurs once a year. The confidence of the
teams and players would effectively achieved if the players can perform better in their own
divisions.
As opined by Nikhil and Nimkar (2021), the ISL has been established for the entertainment
purpose in the field of football. The owners of this organization have been significantly making
their own profits and generating the high amount of revenue each season. The shortcomings of this
league are- the football matches are considerably holding their matches in one venue and resulted
in high revenue and money from the spectators.
2.10 Policies used by the developing nation (India) in comparison to the developed
nations (Japan and Korea)
Based on the statement proposed by Khasnis et al. (2021), the sports policies used in India had
been implemented in India after the independence. At first, the Federal Government of India had
incorporated “All India Council of Sports (AICS)” in apprehending the sports standard in the
entire nation. Secondly, in the year 1982, just after the “Asian Games”- the “Department of
Sports” had been renamed as “Department of Youth Affairs and Sports” which implemented
many sports activities and sports processes under one roof. All the district sports association,
national sports associations in all states had been formulated under this department (Mitani and
Asahi, 2022). The “National SportsPolicy” had been initiated in 1984 with all the regulations and
rules that had been undertaken under this policy. The “Department of Youth Affairs and Sports”
had been reconstructed and renamed as “Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports” in the year 2000.

28
Figure 2.7: Sports policies followed in India
(Source: simplysport.org, 2022)
As opined by Mcleod and Star (2020), the conflicts between this sports code have been analyse
and described briefly in this article. The “National Sports Development Code of India” had
formulated and implemented in 2011 with the mission and vision to play sports in an efficient way
without foul play. All the rules, restrictions, and norms for all the sports activities has been
displayed and notified here in this code. The salaries of the management, owners, referees,
coaches, district and national associations also have been displayed and revised in this sports code.
Recently, the Government of India and the “Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports” have
significantly joined in a venture to introduce a new ministry in defining popularity in aero sports
activities in India.
In comparison to India, the sports policies in Japan and Korea are different in terms of rules, norms,
and regulations (Waki et al. 2022). The activities involved in sports have not been significantly
introduced in the early times for those nations. Although, many sports have been originated from
there, but the rulers believed that the sports activities were for leisure time and entertainment. In

29
the recent times, Japan had implemented the “International Cooperation and Exchange through
Sports” in 2019. The Ministry of Sports in both Japan and Korea had recently established the
“Play True Code” to enable and develop the activities pf sports in a legal way without doping.
The Olympic movements had been not significant for both the nations but their activities and
policies in sports had not been significant in a variety of sports to be encouraged like India.
Figure 2.8: Annual trends followed in Japan regarding participation level annually shoed
graphically
(Source: nippon.org, 2022)
2.11 Influence of the foreign football players over Indian football players
The influence of the foreign football players have been significant as compared to Indian football
players. They have been highly paid in the auction table over Indian players. However, their
experience may vary over some of the Indian players, but the payment is high (Kim et al. 2022).
In many Indian football leagues, the incorporation of the foreign players have been common such

30
as ISL, I-League, AFC Cup, and many more district and national level football tournaments. In
European leagues, the foreign players from Spain, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, and many more are
signed a contract for playing in their football clubs or a period of say 2 years (Kang and Houlihan,
2021). However, many Indian players have been played in the district football clubs and second
division football clubs in many countries. For example- “Sunil Chhetri” had played for “Sporting
CP” (2nd division football club in Portugal) in the 2013-2014 season. Another example of
“Bhaichung Bhutia” can be considered as he played in England 1st division football club named
“Bury FC” (Halder and Rahaman, 2022).
Figure 2.9: Comparison of market values between the Indian football players and foreign
football players across teams in ISL
(Source: footballbenchmark.org, 2022)
2.12 Literature gap
The time management gap has been one of the biggest gaps in conducting this dissertation. This
dissertation could be worked down properly if more time needs to be availed to the participating
researchers and professors (Singh and Sharma, 2022). More research work could be performed by
highlighting the aspects and factors of the topic significantly. The resource gap has also been

31
considered as the gap in this literature review (Sinha et al. 2022). The primary resources and
questionnaires may have been performed better from the respondents and participants in answering
the questions in a better way.
2.13 Summary
On a concluding note, in this literature review, various aspects regarding Chinese and Japanese
Super Leagues have been discussed with reference to their growth across their nation. The structure
of the ISL with broadcasting and marketing evaluations have been displayed. The benefits of the
long-term leagues along with the importance of the grass root level has been performed
significantly in this literature review. The roles of relegation and promotion with policies of India
in comparison to Japan and Korea has been conducted. Lastly, all the areas have been covered
effectively to prepare an academic literature review and dissertation regarding this topic
significantly.

32
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
Methodology in research can be described as the process of explaining the way in which a
researcher is independent for carrying out particular research. In other words, methodology is a
logical as well as systematic plan for resolving a research problem based on a particular approach
for ensuring the reliability as well as validity of the results addressing the objective of the research.
This chapter is going to describe the methodological aspects of this study while justifying each of
the methodology for elaborating their appropriateness for getting selected for this particular
primary qualitative research.
3.2 Methodological Framework
Figure 3.1: Methodological framework
(Source: Created by Learner)

33
3.3 Research Design
Research design is defined as the overall strategy chosen by a researcher for integrating various
components of a particular research by following a logical as well as coherent way. In this study,
the researchers have chosen the ExplanatoryResearch design while using primary qualitative data
collected from the interview. Explanatory design of research has been conducted here to explain
the key factors that are effective for the improvement of the Indian super league which was not
researched well before (Bentouhami et al. 2021). This Research design has also allowed the
researchers to describe the demand priorities for ISL while focusing on the explanation of other
aspects like key challenges and improvement requirements in a detailed manner. In addition to
that, following this Research design the researchers have got the chance to explain what is
happening in the league structure of IS while justifying the root cause behind it (Ivankova et al.
2018). Lastly, this Research design is usually lowcost and has the abilitytodevelopthefoundation
of a research which can also lead for future research on the same topic.
Figure 3.2: Advantages of Explanatory Research Design
Describe the demand priorities for ISL
Focusing on the explanation of other aspects
Explain what is happening in the league structure of ISL
Justifying the root cause
Low cost
Ability to develop the foundation of a research

34
3.4 Research Approach
Approach of a research referred to the plans as well as possible for research that describes different
steps from abroad assumption to the detailed method of collecting data, data analysis and
interpretation. In the current primary research, the researchers have selected an inductive research
approach in which the researchers started with a set of observations from the interview and then
the researchers have moved to a more generalised set of propositions about the data findings and
analysis of the interview transcript (Liu, 2020). With the use of an inductive research approach,
the researchers got different benefits based on which they have become able todevelop a grounded
theory for the facts related to the Indian Super League (ISL) (Gioia et al. 2021).. In addition to
that, the inductive approach has also enabled the researchers to have flexibility in attaining and
describing the facts close to the context of ISL while supporting the generation of new thoughts
for improving the effectiveness of ISL in Indian football betterment (ibid).
Figure 3.3: Benefits of Inductive approach
More
generalised set
of propositions
Able to develop
A grounded
theory
Flexibility
Describing the
facts closed
deleted to the
context of ISL
Generation of
new thoughts

35
3.5 Research Philosophy
Research philosophy can be described as a system of beliefs as well as assumptions of the
researchers about development of knowledge through a research. Interpretivism philosophy has
been chosen by the researchers to set up a belief about the facts related to ISL. In the process of
interpreter philosophy researchers can arrive at the interpretation of collected data and can make
proper use of thequantitativemethod for analysing the primary qualitative data. At the same time,
Chowdhury (2019), has stated that interpretivism philosophy is responsible for research validity
that analyse the facts and present the results that are "closed to the truth". Moreover, the
positivism philosophy has also allowed the researchers to start with the qualitative data and build
subjective reports with the validity imposition (Ryan, 2018).
Figure 3.4: Advantages of Interpretivism Philosophy
Interpretation
of collected
data
Make proper
use ofthe
quantitative
method
Research
validity
"Closed to the
truth"
Build
subjective
reports with
the validity
imposition

36
3.6 Collection of data
Data collection refers to the process for gathering as well as measuring information on the variables
included in research(Roulston and Choi, 2018). In other words, collection of data is a process of
gathering information in an established systematic manner that enables the researchers to answer
the research questions while testing hypotheses as well as evaluating the outcomes(ibid). In this
research, the researchers have chosen a primary qualitative data collection method for collecting
qualitative data by conducting interviews of the professionals associated with management and
coaching of the Indian super league In the interview, the researchers developed a set of 10 open-
ended questionnaires and shared it to the professionals for conducting online interviews via Zoom
meeting.
Conducting interviews and collecting primary data has allowed the researchers to find out the
right candidates while conducting detailed assessment with reliable sources of information
(Twohig and Putnam, 2022). In addition to that, the selection of primary data collection with
interviews has also allowed the researchers to carry out more accurate screening of the facts
regarding ISL along with capturing the verbal as well as nonverbal gestures of the participants
while keeping focus on different views (DiCicco‐ Bloom and, Crabtree, 2019). During the
interview the researchers have also become able to capture the emotions as well as behaviour of
the participants along with the most recent data regarding ISL and its development in future
days(Ibid).

37
Figure 3.5: Benefits of Interview
3.7 Data sampling
Data sampling can be defined as the practice for analysing a subset of the overall data to uncover
meaningful information from a larger data set. As it has been difficult to gather data from a larger
population, a Purposive sampling method has been chosen by the researchers to select the
participants of the interview (Campbell et al. 2020).
Purposive sampling is a judgmental as well as selective or subjective way of selecting sample and
this is a form of non-probability sampling in which the researchers rely upon their own judgement
and in this research selective professionals associated with Indian Super league were selected for
interview using Purposive sampling (ibid).Using this method of sampling the researchers have got
health to make the most out of a particular small population of interest and have arrived at the
valuable and not baised research outcome (Guarte and Barrios, 2020). It has also enabled the
researchers to collect quality responses from the interviewees that has led them towards getting
Interview
Find out the
right
candidates
Detailed
assessment
Reliable
sources,most
recentdata
regardingISL
Carry outmore
accurate
screening
Capturingthe
verbal as well
as nonverbal
gestures of the
participants
Capture the
emotions as
well as
behaviour of
the participants

38
better insights as well as more precise results of the research regarding Indian Super League (ISL)
(ibid).
3.8 Data analysis
Data analysis can be described as a process of inspecting, transforming, cleansing, as well as
modelling of collected data with a common goal of uncomfortable useful information for
informing conclusions while supporting the research outcome to answer the research questions
and meet the overall aim of the research. In this research, the resources have chosen descriptive
analysis in which researchers have described and summarised the key data points in a
constructive manner presenting the patterns of improvement in isl while fulfilling every aspect
and conditions describe the interview participants (Lawless and Heymann, 2020).
Figure 3.6: Benefits of Descriptive analysis
Describedand summarisedthe key data
points in a constructive manner
Fulfilling every aspect and
conditions
Determine the behaviour of the
participants
Reveal different patterns
Provides more content
Practical application
Eliminating potential bias

39
The use of descriptive analysis has helped the researchers to analyse different facts for developing
and indent knowledge and understanding of the core research problem. Descriptive analysis has
also allowed the researchers to become enabled to determine the behaviour of the participants
and include those factors while conducting data interpretation (Kemp et al. 2018). This method of
analysing primary qualitative data has also held the researchers to reveal different patterns which
could have been hidden in the raw data of interview transcript while in a building the researchers
to observe and interpret the factors affecting the performance of ISL and Indian football at a glance.
Additionally, Stone (2022), has stated that, descriptive analysis of qualitative data provides more
content which can be useful for practical application while eliminating potential bias present
within the data. Therefore, in this research, the researchers have also been allowed to get a
sufficient content of data to analyse without any potential bias that has increased the research
reliability and validity in front of the readers.
3.9 Ethical Consideration
In order to avoid any ethical issues, the researchers have included some ethical considerations such
as providing concerns to each of the participants before taking the interview. In addition to that,
the researchers have also ensured the participants that their identity will remain closed and they
will not be harmed by any kind of circumstances. Additionally, in order to secure the collected
data the researchers have taken help of Data protection act 2018, in order to avoid data breach and
the loss of research data (Legislation.gov.uk, 2018).
3.10 Chapter Summary
This chapter has described the methodological aspects and different methods used in this primary
research. At the starting of this chapter, the Research design has been described followed by
elaborating the research approach, philosophy, Data collection method, data sampling, and
analysis of data. Each of the methodological aspects and chosen methods have been described
while justifying their suitability for this research with the key benefits. Based on the benefit of
each of the methods, the appropriateness of every method has been described in this chapter while
presenting the importance of each method in the current research.

40
CHAPTER 4: DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction
The top men's professional football league in the “Indian football league system” is called the
Indian Super League (ISL). The “All India Football Federation” (AIFF) and their corporate
affiliate “Football Sports Development Limited” (FSDL) are in charge of organising this league.
Its actual name is Hero Indian Super League due to sponsorship relations with Hero MotoCorp.
Data Finding is the process of analysing collected data to identify patterns, correlations, or trends
using logical and analytical reasoning. In these data findings, Researchers did these findings to
spot "conflicts in prior studies" and "conduct a fresh examination”. This chapter is going to present
the data findings of the interview and analyse the data using descriptive analysis. The goal of the
study is to determine the ISL league structure, the primary causes of the Indian football team's
failure, and the importance of ISL in enhancing Indian football and the strategies the league should
adopt in order to succeed long-term.
4.2 Data Findings
4.2.1 Findings related to the ISL league structure
Each season of the Indian Super League features 11 teams. The competition is divided into 22
rounds using a "double round-robin format", with each club playing the other twice—once at home
stadium and once at the opponent's stadium for a total of 20 matches. Four of the top clubs from
the league stage qualify to the playoffs and The ISL Final determines the season's champion.
Additionally, teams are ranked based on total points, the League Winners Shield going to the team
with the highest ranking at the conclusion of the regular season. According to Prashant Godbole,
the head of marketing and operations of Jamshedpur Football Club, an ISL team, any league that
has promotion and relegation is far healthier because it makes the league more competitive. In
addition, the ISL currently has four foreign players playing on the pitch, which encourages Indian
players to participate, display their talent, and perform.

41
Richardson Lobo, the proprietor of a professional school sports organisation that offers coaches
for athletics, handball, and football also supported that statement. Prashant Godbole also stated
that, due to the current system, the teams compete in the AFC Cup and Champion League, seeking
to raise the bar of performance year after year. Having this promotion and relegation league run
year-round throughout the nation is beneficial for Indian football. In India, the ISL structure is
considered to be a tier 1 league. The AFC and FIFA now recognise the ISL as the top tier league
in the nation, added by Hemant Pawle, the director of the Football School of India academy and
the owner of a professional I-league squad for boys' and girls' teams in the under-13, under-15,
and under-18 age brackets. Therefore, it can be said that the ISL has developed since it first began,
winning accolades from all around the world and giving Indian players the opportunity to compete,
showcase their talent, and play with other international players.
4.2.2 Finding out the significance of ISL in improving Indian football and adaptation of
international tactics in developing opportunities for Indian players to play abroad
Without a doubt, the Indian Super League (ISL) has popularised Indian football. The competition
has greatly increased interest in the sport throughout the nation. Prashant Godbole asserts that
during the past eight years, Indian football has significantly improved in terms of quality. Even
though India's team's ranking is still in the 90s and 100s, however, they have recently earned a spot
in the Asian Cup. Since neither the national team nor the clubs' teams always play the same style
of football, India needs to enhance the technical ability of its players to compete and play against
all playing philosophies.
In order to enable Indian players to adapt their style in various clubs, India must develop and attract
the top players in the world. Hemant Pawle stated that, many foreign coaches are in charge of the
teams in the ISL. In order to train the ISL teams, foreign coaches bring their players from various
nations with them. As a result, when these players are mixed with Indian players, the quality of
Indian players and the level of playing commitment that Indian players need increases in
comparison to foreign players, because they must match the standards that the foreign players
playing in the league currently have. Therefore, in order to meet the standard, a large number of
young people have joined the national team since they are now concentrating on how to play, how
the foreigner actually plays, and what the foreign coaches are looking for in a squad.

42
According to Pawle,India can adopt the Spanish tiki-taka style of play because every coach wants
their team to have greater ball possession. Tiki-taka is therefore the best style of play for India to
embrace when it comes to ball control. In contrast, Richardson Lobo stated that Indian players
should play according to their own style of play rather than adhering to the rules of another club.
The players in the tiki-taka game have a counter-attacking mentality, and football players are quite
swift and skilled with the ball whereas Indian football is more of a possession game because it is
entirely dependent on individual skill. He also added that, foreign coaches have a different way of
thinking, and they play very differently. The Indian footballers receive new exposure and a top-
notch training environment, and are also being developed under international supervision.
Therefore, in order to give Indian football players, the finest environment possible, ISL teams
make significant investments in infrastructure and facilities. Therefore, the ISL's framework will
advance and aid in the development of the Indian players.
4.2.3 Finding the key issues for the failure of the Indian football team at the international
level
There are numerous reasons why the Indian football team has failed, including a lack of
infrastructure, clubs' lack of professionalism, the sluggish development of young players etc.
Richardson Lobo stated that the clubs for the academies should follow a certain path so that the
children may understand why they need to join the ISL club. Most of the ISL clubs don't have their
own exclusive grassroots academy. Lobo quoted that, “For example, as I know. Bengaluru FC has
its academy school, where the coaches and technical directors constantly contact the team's head
coaches. They made sure the coaches could also be groomed so that they could participate in the
skill set. Whereas In Mumbai, you can see that we do not have a Mumbai city FC grassroots
academy. Therefore, we need to resolve all these issues first”. In contrast to that, Prashant
Godbole stated that, there are currently no significant problems that are to blame for the Indian
football team's failure. The problem was there prior to 2010, and the overall infrastructure has been
built now. Today, clubs and state governments both fund the teams and support them. The squad
needs to keep working hard, and the results will be seen very soon if they are successful in making
the ISL popular.

43
On the other hand, Hemant Pawle coined that ISL is not entirely a failure in his opinion. ISL has
given the Indian national team a platform, and during the previous three to four years, there have
been 60 to 70 player pools from whom a head coach can select. As a result, many young players
are now receiving a probable list, thanks to the ISL. The finest players who are in the best shape
might thus make it to the international team. The lack of infrastructure and the failure to prioritise
grassroots development more highly would be considered failures. However, the general
infrastructure has evolved, and good grounds have been created, which will aid in the development
of Indian football, thanks to the ISL, I-league, and 2nd level i-League. Therefore, a number of
difficulties that contribute to the Indian football team's failure, but work on resolving them have
already begun.
4.2.4 Finding the strategies and initiatives to improve ISL and its effectiveness in improving
Indian football
There are numerous approaches to take in order to enhance the ISL and its effectiveness in
improving Indian football. According to Prashant Godbole, the ISL intends to extend its season
to 10 months. The Indian Super League from October to March, the Durand Cup in August to kick
off the season, and the Super Cup in April and May. So that's a calendar at full capacity. Hemant
Pawlealso supported that statement and quoted that, “we should at least look at a 9-month league”.
In contrast, Richardson Lobo argued that there are no maximum international breaks, no filler
competitions, and they cannot expand the league with repeated games featuring the same number
of teams.
Talking about Grass root academic improvement, Prashant Godbole stated that, in order to begin
football training at a young age, educate the coaches, so they can transfer knowledge at a high
level, and play lots of games in youth programmes so that youngsters know they are competitive.
Based on this statement, Richardson Lobo added that the private entities also come to sponsor
these student tournaments. On the other hand, Hemant Pawle coined that ISL has to do the same
instead of concentrating on the senior teams alone, as Indian football is already doing well with
grassroots development. Discussion on the International Exposure of Indian players, Richardson
Lobo stated, ISL teams should recruit more foreign players and coaches to learn about other styles
of playing strategies, gain new exposure, and create a great training environment for Indian players
to train in. By virtue of taking international players, ISL also got fans from other hemispheres.

44
Hemant Pawle added that it will influence youngsters to become part of teams. Therefore,
different types of strategies proposed by interviewees improve the power of ISL and get
international recognition.
4.3 Data analysis
4.3.1 Analysing the ISL league structure
Based on the findings it has been identified that the league structure of ISL has changed a lot from
its starting point. The qualitative data collected from the interview has found out that the ISL
structure is adopting the lead structure of AFC cup which is well recognised at the international
level. According to Prashant Godbole, ISL has now 4 international players on the field which is
helping the Indian players to take part as well as perform while showing their talent in front of
them. Therefore, the league structure is allowing 4 international players who are playing with the
Indian players and helping them to improve their qualities in the field. On the same point, Iguchi
et al. (2019), has stated that, in the Japanese football or J-league, there are more than 5 to 6
international players that have been found to be playing in each of the teams and that is supporting
the presence of national and international players in an equal balance. Therefore, it is also
important for ISL to increase the number of foreign players that can eventually improve the
equality and structure while supporting the Indian players to improve their skills and quality on
the field.

45
Figure 4.1: Structure of ISL to AFC
(Source: Indiansuperleague.com, 2022)
On the other hand, Richardson Lobo, owner of Pro school Sports, has mentioned that, the support
of Reliance company working with the All-India Football Federation (AIFF), has opened up the
chance for ISL to came into the view of recognition and currently the long-term structure of ISL
has a greater opportunity to grow in future days. In contrast, Peng et al. (2019), has stated that,
Chinese Super League has also been found to be sponsored by Red Bull that has also allowed the
league to get financial support and make the players able to get training from world-class coaches
as well as international infrastructure. In addition to that, Hemant Pawle, the former director of
Football School of India has discussed that ISL has become the tier 1 League in India and
becoming recognised by the AFC and FIFA (Liu et al. 2019). On the same point Massidda et al.
(2020), has stated that, The other five teams in the Japanese League where relegation and
promotion has increased the league competition. Therefore, it can be stated that ISL is improving
day by day and getting recognised at international level with the support of Reliance firm and
considerable improvements in the league structure. However, there is no relegation and promotion
rules are present based on which the last two teams from the tier 1 ISL can be relegated to tier 2 I-
league. These improvements can make effective changes in the league structure which can be
beneficial for the Indian super league to flourish in future while recognised by international
football organisations.

46
4.3.2 Evaluating the significance of ISL in improving Indian football and adaptation of
international tactics in developing opportunities for Indian players to play abroad
Indian super league has allowed the Indian players to play in the APC champions League the AFC
cup and currently AIFF has been found to be looking to increase the benchmark of performance.
In addition to that, the quality of Indian football has also been found to have grown a lot in the last
8 years since ISL started. According to Mr. Godbole, world class quality players are coming to
play ISL along with the Indian players all around the world which is giving an impetus to the
quality of game while improving the competitiveness. On the same point Junio and, Rodrigues,
(2022), has stated that Chinese government has been found to release a comprehensive football
reform recently with three major goals including the increase of soccer playing population to 50
million by 2020, the second goal is to become the best team in Asian continent by 2030 and the
third goal is to host world cup and to become the strongest national team by 2050. These goals are
also supporting the improvement of Chinese football and the Chinese super league which is also
needed in India to increase the effectiveness of ISL along with the motivation of Indian football
players.
According to the interviewees, adaptation of different tactics from International Football including
the Spanish tiki taka or the first paced English football can also improve the performance of Indian
footballers and as a whole the effectiveness of ISL. On the other hand, Nagashima et al. (2021),
has argued that in Japan, association gives the most importance to the grassroot footballs and
development of tactical knowledge among them for receiving a height and attention from the
audience. By virtue of developing personalised football tactics Japan has become one of the most
successful football teams in Asia. On the same point Cockayne et al. (2021), has stated that, in
China football means "kicking a ball through an opening into a net without the use of hands".
There are no particular tactics that these countries are following and in the case of Japan they only
developed their strategy based on the adaptability of their players. Thus, it can be stated that, Indian
football needs to adopt their own strategy instead of following the football strategies and tactics
followed by other international countries for improving their quality of Football players and the
game.

47
Figure 4.2: Improvement of Indian Football through ISL
(Source: Indiansuperleague.com, 2022)
Other than the strategic tactics or the strategy goals Hemant Pawle, has pointed out the key factor
of coaching points and it has been described that different foreign coaches are coming to train the
Indian footballers that are allowing the Indian footballers to get mixed with the foreign players and
improve their overall performance. However, Yamamura and Ohtake (2021), has stated that,
Indian Football has its own flavour that can face other challenges in adopting the foreign coaching.
Therefore, it can be argued that it is important to take specialised training from the foreign coaches
for improving the Indian Football quality but it is important to note that India has its own football
tactics which needs to be developed of further for improving the overall Indian football instead of
adopting the tactics that followed by foreign countries or the clubs in foreign leagues.
4.3.3 Analysing the key issues for the failure of the Indian football team at the international
level

48
Based on this study, there are several major reasons why the Indian football team has struggled.
According to Prashant Godbole, there are currently no significant issues that are to blame for the
failure of the Indian football team. Now, the overall infrastructure has been constructed, the teams
are now supported and funded by clubs and state governments. If the team is successful in making
the ISL popular, the results will be seen very quickly. On the other hand, Richardson Lobo argued
that there are still some significant problems to be resolved. For Indian football to expand at the
grass-roots level, a more organised league is needed.
Infrastructure is one of the biggest issues in Indian football. The sport is badly deficient in many
areas, whether it be appropriate stadiums or training grounds. The majority of League stadiums
are for multi-use facilities that either belongs to local or state governments rather than football
clubs (Majumdar et al. 2018). They routinely make the stadium available for public performances
while failing to adequately maintain it. The national team has to frequently travel outside the
country to train for international competitions because of these subpar facilities. In contrast, Kang
et al. (2022) stated that, since the Japan Football League already has their own stadiums where
teams may train before international competitions, they are not subject to these kinds of problems.
Therefore, in order for the Indian football team to develop, the regulating authorities must grant
the clubs access to their own stadium.
Mondal et al. (2022) stated that, inadequate youth development programmes have been a major
issue for Indian football. Although the AIFF has recently made an effort to rectify that by
establishing regional academies, the development has lagged behind some of the higher-ranked
Asian nations like Japan and China (Zhang, 2020). The I-League clubs should also share some of
the blame for this, as the majority of them still do not even have academies, and some merely put
together youth teams in the weeks leading up to tournaments rather than maintaining them all year
long. The ISL likewise adheres to this rule, with most of its teams not having a grass-roots academy
(Richardson Lobo). To make the Indian league more popular, India should adopt the league for
the long term like other countries including China & Japan. In this case, Prashant Godbole stated
that, The ISL wants to have its season for 10 months now. The Durand Cup in August to start the
season, then the Super Cup in April and May, and the Indian Super League from October to March.
So that's a calendar plan for the year.

49
Regarding international tournaments, Indian football struggles because there aren't enough foreign
coaches or players at this time, which prevents them from succeeding in these championships.
Hemant Pawle thinks that the ISL is succeeding in that situation because ISL team’s directors are
spending an increasing amount of money to recruit foreign players and coaches to participate in
the Indian Super League. The Indian footballers eventually gain an understanding of the strategies,
advantages, and disadvantages of other clubs' styles of play, and they finally help to unite the
Indian football squad. Miura (2022) stated that, by bringing in an increasing number of foreign
players and coaches, Japan League has found success.
Figure 4.3: Key issues for failure of Indian Football
In order to get more success and take more and more international players, the Indian football team
also needs more sponsors like Japan League or Chinese super league (Lin et al. 2019). The
presence of competitive matches is also required to draw spectators from other continents. There
are players with a similar mentality; they should travel to India to compete in Indian leagues.
Foreign players who are in Europe and America should also do the same. If India starts doing that
eventually, that will be the only way to attract viewers to watch and follow various Indian leagues
(Richardson Lobo). In order to deal with failure and turn it into success, the governing authorities
of Indian football teams should embrace strategies from other nations, particularly from China and
Japan.
4.3.4 Recommending strategies and initiatives to improve ISL and its effectiveness in
improving Indian football
Infrastructure
is one of the
biggest issues
in Indian
football
Inadequate
youth
development
programmes
have been a
major issue for
Indian football
Indian football
struggles
because there
aren't enough
foreign
coaches or
players at this
time

50
There are a variety of ways to improve the ISL, while contributing to the improvement of Indian
football. Prashant Godbole already stated that the ISL intends to extend its season to 10 months. It
has been observed that the long-term playing concept is already successful in the Japan League
(Yamashita and Kubo, 2020). As a result, Indian football is becoming more and more popular due
to the effectiveness of long-term playing. Fans never get tired because they may watch one league
after another and witness their favourite player play.
In order to educate, motivate, and inspire at-risk adolescents in developing nations to overcome
their greatest health difficulties, live better, more productive lives, and be agents of change in their
communities, Grass root Soccer, a youth health organisation, uses the power of soccer. Academic
growth at the grassroots level is crucial for the expansion of Indian football. Prashant Godbole
recommended in order to start football training at a young age, playing many games in childhood
programmes to let kids feel they are competitive and educating the coaches so they can impart
knowledge at a high level.
Figure 4.4: Key factor in Grassroots development in Japan
(Source: Sugiyama et al. 2020)
In this figure, four key factors for successful Grassroots development are shown in the context of
Japan. One of the key factors is Governance; it includes Vision and philosophy, human resource
and finance. Another key factor is Stakeholders which have been created with the collaboration of
coaches, parents, clubs and Schools. The 3rd one is programmes which includes visiting
kindergarten, festivals, coach education and competition. The last key factor is strategy which

51
carries forward the approaches to children and Benefits of the participation. Chinese Super
League's teams also have been observed implementing these tactics, and they are also finding
success. Youths have a strong desire to participate in the league and have aspirations of excelling
in football (Ikeda and H. 2018). As a result, it can be stated that grassroots development is a very
good strategy that ultimately helps to grow Indian football.
International exposure for Indian players is critical for learning about other cultures and playing
styles. Richardson Lobo suggested that ISL teams and Indian Clubs recruit more foreign players
and coaches to learn about different styles of playing strategies, gain new exposure, and create a
great training environment for Indian players. Hemant Pawle added that it will influence young
people to join the teams. In contrast to the Indian Super League, it has been observed that Japan
plays its league with more than four foreign players, and it is a successful league now (Whitfield
and D. 2022). In the Japanese league, the team is created with both an equal number of international
players and domestic players. By that, the domestic player of Japan is getting an exposure to the
international level; they get to know international player's tactics which will improve them further
in future. More young athletes are demonstrating their devotion, commitment, and hard effort as
there are an increasing number of international coaches. They can even choose to play abroad if
they get a chance. The Chinese Super League also achieved success because they are enlisting an
increasing number of foreign players, who are trained in their strategies and employ them to win
games (Takahara et al. 2021). Therefore, Indian teams might employ the same techniques to
overcome the defeat of the Indian football team(ISL) issues has already started. This chapter also
covers a variety of tactics that can be used to strengthen both the ISL and Indian football and get
recognition abroad.

52
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
This study has analysed the development of Indian Super League (ISL) while identifying the issues
and the drawbacks that are contributing as a barrier for this football league to develop further or
restricting it to get recognised at international level. The football league of two major Asian
countries including Japan and China have been compared with the league structure and opportunity
for the national players with that of India to analyse the core issues. In addition to that, a primary
quantity study has been designed in this research by collecting data through interviewing the ISL
officials and the data have been analysed through descriptive analysis.
Based on the analysis it has been found that ISL has developed a lot in terms of its league structure
from its starting point and recently it is getting recognised by AFC and FIFA. At the same time,
an increased number of foreign players in each of the isl team has also developed an opportunity
for the Indian players to not only exhibit their skills in front of them but also get the opportunity
to improve their tactics and field skills. It has also been found that to improve the isl football
quality significant investments for improving infrastructure as well as facilities have been made
by different financial investors in this Tier 1 football League of India.
Moreover, some major issues have also been found that have been identified to be the factors that
are responsible for the failure of Indian football at international level. Among many of the issues
in ISL, absence of promotion and relegation have been found to be the most significant one that
has made these League an entertainment instead of giving the league a competitive edge.
Furthermore, the short-term League structure along with different challenges in the grassroot
development have also been found to be major issues that are restricting this League to be
recognised at international level. However, according to the interviewees, isl is developing and
trying its level best to mitigate all of these issues and has done a lot in the previous years. It is also
important to continue this development based on which the Indian super league will be able to
achieve world class football quality that will not allow this League to be recognised by
international audiences but also it will improve the quality of Indian football.

53
5.2 Linking with the Objectives
This section is going to illustrate the sections where each of the research objectives have been
linked with the study while meeting the overall aim of this research.
Objective 1: “To know about the pros and cons of the “Indian Super League (ISL)” related to
the further development of the sport”
Objective 1 has been covered in chapter 2 and chapter 4 where this research has illustrated the
current scenario of Indian super league and its structure while presenting the challenges this Indian
Football League is currently encountering. In addition to that, in chapter 4, this research has
illustrated the findings of the interview in which the isl officials have stated what is going right
and wrong in the isl football league structure and the coaching points. Therefore, presenting the
current challenges and how the Indian super league is taking initiative to get those challenges
mitigated have justified the objective one and has met it in this study.
Objective 2: “To know the current state of the teams and the players so that it can be helpful to
train them more for this game”
The second objective of this study has also been linked in chapter 1, chapter 2 and chapter 4 in
which this research has described the ISL structure in the introduction chapter. In chapter 2, this
research has described different facts related to the improvement of ISL through grassroot
development, imposition of promotion and relegation, along with influence of foreign players over
the development of Indian players. In addition to that, chapter 4 has also described the lead
structure of ISL while presenting the views of ISL officials regarding the development of this
League and how this can help Indian Football to improve and get recognised at international level
justifying the objective 2 in this study.
Objective 3: “To get an idea about the Indian football players and also their capabilities and
incapability”
The objective 3 of this study has been met in chapter 2 and chapter 4 in which a discussion and
analysis of the improvements of Indian players have been illustrated. In addition to that, several
other factors that are affecting the quality of Indian football players have also been discussed based

54
on the primary data collected through interviewing the ISL officials justifying the objective 3 of
the study.
Objective 4: “To determine whether a 5-month league is enough for the players so that they
become ready to play for the national teams”
The last objective of this study has also been linked with the research topic in chapter 2 and chapter
4 where the importance of long-term League has been discussed. This study has also compared the
league duration of ISL with the and J-league that has help the researchers to identify that ISL can
improve its potential and can get recognised at international level with an increased league duration
which has also started since last 2 years meeting the fourth objective of this research while
justifying the overall aim of this study.
5.3 Recommendations
In order to improve the potentiality of ISL, some of the recommendations are going to be provided
in the section below which will allow this Indian Football League to improve the overall
performance and get recognised by international audience
Recommendation 1: Recommendation for adopting the Scottish League model for allowing the
Indian players to grow their skills
The ISL league structure has been identified to be composed of 10 teams and each of the teams
has the opportunity to play 18 matches in every session. Therefore, everything is getting less
opportunity to improvise their performance and, in this regard, it is recommended to use the
Scottish model of football league structure where 12 teams play 33 matches which makes them
play a greater number of matches for about 9 months (Thomas, 2022). This also improves their
performance in the field and it can also be beneficial for the isl teams to grow their skills in the
football field.

55
Figure 5.1: Recommendations for the improvement of ISL
Recommendation 2: Recommendation for allowing the isl clubs to have a reserve team for
playing in the lower League to improvise the performance of lower division teams
The Indian Football structure has two major tier of leagues including the first tier ISL and the
second tier I-league. However, there is no relegation and promotion between these two legs
restricting the players and the lower division teams to grow up and play ISL. In Germany, it has
been observed that brand Munich allows their reserve team to play in the lower division and in this
way the number of teams will increase in the lower division improving the overall football
performance (Fcbayern.com2021). These also can increase the competition among the lower
division team which can play ISL with bitter performance and the two teams from ISL with lowest
score need to be relegated to the lower division I-league which can be beneficial for not only
improving the overall football performance of India but also the probability to develop grassroot
level players in this country.
Recommendation
1:
Recommendation
for adopting the
Scottish League
model for allowing
the Indian players
to grow their skills
Recommendation
2:
Recommendation
for allowing the isl
clubs to have a
reserve team for
playing in the lower
League to improvise
the performance of
lower division
teams
Recommendation
3:
Recommendation for
improving marketing
in the foreign
countries through
conducting pre-
season in other
countries for
promoting the league
to promote ISL and
its concernin foreign
lands to increase its
recognition in other
countries

56
Recommendation 3: Recommendation for improving marketing in the foreign countries
through conducting pre-season in other countries for promoting the league to promote ISL and
its concern in foreign lands to increase its recognition in other countries
ISL has also been found to have limited marketing in the foreign countries that have been playing
a role in restricting its promotion abroad. Therefore, it is advised to the authority of the Indian
super league to promote it in the foreign lands through conducting pre-season in other countries
for promoting the league to allow different international football associations to recognise ISL as
an international football league (Bondarenko et al. 2020).
5.4 Research Limitations
This study has highlighted different developments in the ISL while identifying the issues because
of which this Indian Football League is not getting recognised by the international football
associations. In addition to that, this research has illustrated the benefits and drawbacks of ISL
league structure while identifying the opportunities that Indian footballs are getting because of this
League. However, different points including the way of making ISL a long-term link or or the
strategies for improving the engagement of foreign players and coaches have been investigated
with several limitations. In addition to that, the interview was conducted through an online medium
that has also restricted the researchers to get more information from the interviewees. At the same
time, insufficiency of time and lack of financial support have also developed some limitations of
the study. In this regard, the researchers have analysed the interview data using descriptive analysis
that has allowed the research to logically review the primary data collected from interview and
with support of other studies, the researchers have tried to present the most accurate analysis and
found that ISL is currently in its development stages and will grow more in the upcoming seasons.
5.5 Future scope of the study
This primary qualitative study has found different aspects that are contributing in the development
of the Indian super league while other factors are restricting this Indian Football League to get
recognised at international level. Therefore, this study will contribute as a template for future
studies on sports science and the studies of Indian football. With some qualitative research and

57
primary qualitative data, this study will help the future researchers to have a scope to research on
other such factors in future based on the findings of this research.

58
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Ahuja, G. and Schwarz, E.C., 2018. Management of football in India. In Routledge Handbook of
Football Business and Management (pp. 577-589). Routledge.
An, T. and Zhang, Z., 2021. Exploration on the Role of Football Volunteers in the Development
of Grassroots Football. Frontiers in Sport Research, 3(2).
ANDO, T., NAGAO, M., MIYAMORI, T., DOHI, M., TATEISHI, T., IKEDA, H. and
YOSHIMURA, M., 2022. Comparing Accuracy of the Final Height Prediction Models for Elite
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Bandyopadhyay, K., 2020. Scoring Off the Field: Football Culture in Bengal, 1911–80. Routledge
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Bank, S.A., 2022. The Emerging Battle for Control of Global Football. California Western
International LawJournal (forthcoming 2022), UCLASchool of Law, Public Law Research Paper,
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Research: A Critical Appraisal of Research on Early Life Exposure to Antibiotics and the
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Bondarenko, V.A., Efremenko, I.N., Manjula, A.A. and Smokova, M., 2020, March. State
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