Panaji: The rough and tumble sport of rugby is on the verge of creating its own version of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Promoters of rugby in India feel that the success of cricket via the IPL medium could be successfully replicated in the sport of rugby and that Goa would be an ideal choice for being the favoured pitch for the sport in India.
Pramod Khanna, president of the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), said that the IPL-like formula will be announced soon and that the initial pool will comprise eight teams, which will subsequently be raised to 16.
"We are working on an Indian Premier League like idea," said Khanna, who was in Goa to announce the HSBC Asian Rugby Sevens series, a major Asian tournament held in Goa over two days beginning Saturday.
"We have already got a very good response from the sponsors who have been approached," he added.
Asked whether it was difficult to source sponsorship for an up and coming sport like rugby, Khanna said the IRFU's appeal to corporate sponsorship was already yielding dividends.
"The corporate class is getting attracted to the sport. In fact we are having a special rugby tournament for corporates in Mumbai. More than 50 corporate teams are taking part in it," he said.
‘Rugby is the second most popular game in the world and is among the fastest growing sport in India. We believe that Goa would be an ideal destination for promoting rugby in India,' Khanna said.
He added that a major international rugby tournament was being organised next year, featuring some of the best teams in the world.
"We want to provide rugby lovers and supporters an opportunity to witness world class matches first-hand. The plan is to bring more such international matches to other parts of India as well," he said.
Promoters of rugby in India feel that the success of cricket via the IPL medium could be successfully replicated in the sport of rugby and that Goa would be an ideal choice for being the favoured pitch for the sport in India.
Pramod Khanna, president of the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), said that the IPL-like formula will be announced soon and that the initial pool will comprise eight teams, which will subsequently be raised to 16.
"We are working on an Indian Premier League like idea," said Khanna, who was in Goa to announce the HSBC Asian Rugby Sevens series, a major Asian tournament held in Goa over two days beginning Saturday.
"We have already got a very good response from the sponsors who have been approached," he added.
Asked whether it was difficult to source sponsorship for an up and coming sport like rugby, Khanna said the IRFU's appeal to corporate sponsorship was already yielding dividends.
"The corporate class is getting attracted to the sport. In fact we are having a special rugby tournament for corporates in Mumbai. More than 50 corporate teams are taking part in it," he said.
‘Rugby is the second most popular game in the world and is among the fastest growing sport in India. We believe that Goa would be an ideal destination for promoting rugby in India,' Khanna said.
He added that a major international rugby tournament was being organised next year, featuring some of the best teams in the world.
"We want to provide rugby lovers and supporters an opportunity to witness world class matches first-hand. The plan is to bring more such international matches to other parts of India as well," he said.
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