A staggering 1 million fans have so far thronged stadia across the country to watch the ongoing Indian Super League, as India's most-watched football league sets yet another benchmark in its inaugural season. This landmark achievement continues to signal the countrywide excitement for the League, and is a further proof point in the organisers' determination to herald the 'birth of a football nation'
Furthermore, the average match attendance recorded by the ISL since its inaugural tie on Oct. 12th till yesterday's match between FC Goa and Kerala Blasters FC at 24,357 reinforces its position as the highest across the whole of Asia. The ISL also makes it mark against the major global leagues and has surpassed Italy's Serie A in average attendance to become the fourth best in world football. The league now trails only Germany's Bundesliga, the Barclays Premier League and Spain's La Liga in terms of average attendance.
Indian Super League kicked off with 65,000 people attending the opening game between Atletico de Kolkata and Mumbai City FC on 12th Oct 2014, while a crowd of over 49,000 turned up on 6th November to watch the Kerala Blasters FC vs. FC Goa game in Kochi. That number swelled to a full capacity stadium with over 57,000 attending the Kerala Blasters FC vs Atletico de Kolkata game, surpassing expectations and serving up an electric atmosphere inside the ground.
This feat was repeated again last night with another full-house at Fatorda stadium, Goa having 19,752 fans in attendance, which brought the ISL cumulative attendance figure to 9 lakh 98 thousand - just 2,000 short of the 1 million mark. With today's Match No 42 scheduled at Guwahati between NorthEast United FC Vs Chennaiyin FC, ISL is set to surpass the mark of hosting 1 million live fans. The crowd numbers seen at ISL matches is testament to the sustained popularity of the League which continues to pull in ever-greater crowds past its halfway mark.
Fans attending the matches are also diverse, with football purists alongside those new to the sport as well as families turning out in force at the stadia. Apart from the chance to watch some of football's greatest legends take to the field, some high-quality international players and the emergence of Indian stars, the dramatically improved stadia facilities and overall entertainment offer are proving to be major draws for the crowds. Tickets have also been sold at various price-points in keeping with the ISL's aims of taking football to the widest possible audience.
The League's ambitious broadcast plan, with the ISL telecast live across eight channels in five languages, is another major factor in driving crowd attendance. Fans across the country, eager to experience the noise and excitement typical of the ISL, have gone to a live football match for the first time after watching the games on their TV screens.
"We are delighted to have hosted 1 million fans across the eight stadiums already in our first season and are proud to be counted as the world's fourth best football league in terms of average attendance. We have always believed that the sport of football, if given the right platform, has the potential for tremendous growth in India," a ISL spokesperson said.
"With the first season of the ISL now drawing closer to its business end and fans starting to build an affinity for their local clubs and heroes, the numbers are only expected to swell further. ISL in its first year has taken a massive step towards driving the birth of India as a footballing nation and promises to scale greater heights in the years to come."
The ISL is already the most watched non-cricketing sport in India with 364 million viewers tuning in to catch the action live on their TV sets. The League has also dominated social media trends notching up over 7.7 billion impressions on Facebook and Twitter.
The Indian Super League is being beamed across a global audience, expanding the reach of the most exciting new football league across 5 continents and in 23 languages. In India the Indian Super League is being telecast live on eight channels across five languages on Star Sports 2 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi), Star Sports HD 2 (English), Star Gold (Hindi), Star Utsav (Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jalsha Movies (Bengali) and Suvarna Plus (Kannada). It is also available live on www.starsports.com
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