Hockey India League to return in a new avatar with lower costs, fewer venues
The Hockey India League is returning after a seven-year break, but with scaled-down ambitions and lower costs as the organizers look to build a sustainable event riding on India’s recent successes.
New Delhi: The Hockey India League (HIL) is returning in the 2024-25 season after a seven-year break, but with scaled-down ambitions and lower costs as the organizers look to build a sustainable event riding on India’s recent successes.
The upcoming edition will feature eight men’s and six women’s teams, with separate leagues for the first time. The first match will be held on 28 December and the event will conclude around February, according to details disclosed on Thursday. Hockey India said it will focus on developing talent in both men’s and women’s sport.
“The IPL has given us a good model and this will also have the format of a central pool,” Dilip Tirkey, former India captain and president of Hockey India, told Mint, referring to income from like television rights and title sponsorships. “Out of that central pool, we will provide a part of the proceeds to the franchises.”
To be sure, the earlier version of the league also had a similar pool but the revenue was not enough to cover high costs. Earlier editions had multiple venues, which increased the cost. Also, there was no dedicated window, and a packed international calendar meant unavailability of top players
“Unlike last time, we are not aiming very high, and we are going to make sure no trouble is caused to the franchise teams so the leagues remains sustainable,” said Tirkey. “We have also decided we will only stick to two venues–Rourkela and Ranchi. If we have to sustain the league in the long run, we need to reduce the expenses of the franchises.”
Support for Indian hockey has grown after the men’s team won two bronze medals in the last two Olympics, and the women’s national squad’s global rankings also improved after competitive performances. Yet, in its first avatar, high operational costs were a significant burden, with substantial expenses for player salaries, travel, accommodation, and training facilities. Limited sponsorship revenue exacerbated the situation as field hockey did not attract sponsors at the same scale as sports like cricket, which its income.
“There is no doubt that hockey has a perception problem in the country but Indians do have an emotional attachment to it. On the other hand, cricket has proved commercially more viable,” Tirkey said. “Hockey needs to also work commercially, and this is time we will be able to monetise it better, even though we’ve lost thirty years in the process.”
In 1983 when the Indian cricket team won the World Cup, it was print and electronic media that popularlized the sport further, according to him. “We now are in the same position with hockey.”