Huge news for Indian football fans, as the national football team has finally got an official broadcast partner. The Star network has decided to broadcast all matches of the Indian national football team on its television channels.
The marketing partners of the Indian national team, Football Sports Development Limited have already shared the official fixtures of the Indian team with the Star network. The season began in March 2017 and will continue for 12 months. Over the course of the season, the Indian team will play 15 matches, including 8 matches at home.
This is what a Star India spokesperson had to say,
“This is a huge step forward for us. Broadcasting the national fixtures is a significant addition to our line-up of football properties and validates our network as the premier destination for football fans. We are pleased to showcase India’s international matches which will provide a special experience to fans to follow the India National Team during primetime on our on-air and digital platforms.”
Also Read: AIFF clarifies their goof up over India’s U-17 win
Indian football is on the rise, as they recently broke into the top 100 in the FIFA rankings. This is India’s best ranking over the last 20 years.
India was ranked 101st when the April rankings were released and with no fixture scheduled for the month of May, India had to be dependent on Malawi’s showing against Madagascar to jump break into the top 100. And Malawi obliged by losing both their African Nations Championship qualifiers against Madagascar, to help push India into the famed top 100.
The national team has suffered from a lack of exposure from the media. While cricket and even the likes of badminton get far reaching media coverage, football barely gets any mention at all. The average football fan in the country knows the names of every player of their favorite football team playing in Europe, but they can barely name a few of their own national team players.
That is why this partnership with Star is a major plus for Indian football. This is a huge step forward for Indian football and it might just turn out to be the turning point for the game in this country.
