What a day for Indian football! The Premier League Soccer (PLS), one of the biggest football extravaganzas of Indian football, attracted the global attention during its auction of players and coaches on 30th January 2012. The superstars of world football, who mesmerized us with their magical skills, were auctioned in Kolkata to participate in the much hyped League. The list includes Hernan Crespo, Fabio Cannavaro, Robbie Fowler and Jay-Jay Okocha. Crespo, the Argentine genius, was picked up by the Barasat team at an exorbitant amount of US$ 840,000 while Cannavaro, the World Cup winning captain of Italy, was recruited by the Siliguri franchise at a price of US$ 830,000. The other two icons, Robbie Fowler and Jay-Jay Okocha, were picked up by the Kolkata and Durgapur franchisees respectively. These two franchisees paid US$ 530,000 and US$ 550,000 for Fowler and Okocha. The renowned coaches of the football world were also auctioned. Fernando Couto of Portugal was bought by the Howrah franchisee as the icon coach at an amount of $ 240,000. Earlier the teams were sold to various corporate bodies for a period of ten years a list of which is given below:
| Franchisee | Owner | Amount |
| Barasat | Uro Infra Reality India Ltd | Rs. 25.15 crore |
| Siliguri | Aajay Consultants | Rs. 18 crore |
| Kolkata | Camelia Group | Rs. 11.5 crore |
| Durgapur | Tulip Infonet | Rs. 7.6 crore |
| Howrah | Syncsys Infotech | Rs. 9 crore |
The Haldia franchisee, which remained unsold, is likely to be sold to a Kolkata based company.
The global broadcasting right of this high profile League has already been sold to the international media company, MP & Silva, which will show the League in 50 countries. The organizers are in search for a broadcaster for India.
It is expected that PLS will play a significant role in changing the scenario of football of this country. However, this is not the only news from Indian football! The biggest news is that India may emerge as the host of U-17 soccer World Cup. Considering the immense potential of the country, FIFA has encouraged India to participate in the bid process of the U-17 World Cup. It is expected that FIFA will extend its full support to India to organize the prestigious tournament. Thus, this is the right time for the stakeholders of Indian football to work together to make this attempt successful. The effective execution of this event will help India to establish its place in the football map of the world.
