Explained: Kerala FA's 12-year commercial rights deal and the plan to revamp football in the state

An Indian conundrum needs an Indian solution. It was suggested so in Lakshya Scheme – a long-term vision document proposed by former AIFF Technical Director Robert Baan. The Lakshya Scheme forms the inspiration around which the new 12-year commercial rights deal between Kerala Football Association (KFA) and Meeran Sports LLP and Scoreline Sports Pvt Ltd consortium will operate.

Here's the breakdown of the plans ahead in Kerala football.

A new league added

As per the agreement, the consortium is set to start a new professional league. The agreement has been approved by 13 district associations barring Thiruvananthapuram, which is currently suspended by the KFA. The State association will continue to wield control over football in Kerala.

The league, penciled for a 2023 start, will have teams from various districts. The idea is to start with a minimum of eight teams and play a home and away format. It will serve as an addition to KFA's existing list of properties which includes the Kerala Premier League (KPL). In fact, all three signatories are contractually committed to continuing the KPL.

Also Read | Lack of competitive leagues, youth development and more: What ails Indian football

Foreigners will be allowed as per AFC regulations to increase attractiveness of the league, but a strict salary cap will be placed to ensure financial stability. Players from outside Kerala will also be allowed but there will be a mandate on a minimum number of players from Kerala per team. U-21 players — the development players — will all have to be from the district where the team is from.

The clubs will be allowed to participate in any tournament across the nation as well. The league will be open for any clubs including existing KPL clubs. However, whether defending I-League champions Gokulam Kerala FC and ISL side Kerala Blasters want to join remains to be seen. There are plans for promotion and relegation if the league picks up and expands.

Also, the KFA will create a new tournament where KPL finalists and new league finalists will play each other for a spot in the I-League 2nd Division.

Infrastructure

"There are willing investors who want to set up new teams. But, there are conditions — they need to invest in infrastructure, have their own stadiums — modular stadiums, not concrete monsters," said Sudhir Menon, CEO of Scoreline Sports.

"The current model involves clubs spending a lot of money to gain access to temporary infrastructure. So there are no assets for the clubs, just brand image. So to get them on board, they have to agree to build infrastructure and focus on youth development.”

Taking into account land identification and the cost involved, the idea is to have the infrastructure up and running within 3 years.

Ecosystem development

The idea behind owning the facility is that the clubs have capital and incentive to run year-long youth programmes and to commercialise their venue as part of other football ecosystem programmes, all of which will generate revenue. Further, this feeds into a women's team since they already have the infrastructure and coaches in place.

Youth development will be area-based, meaning teams can only work out of their districts.

"We are inspired by the NCAA draft format. So we need to develop an ecosystem for the college teams. There are already college games so we will have the draft based on merit and not money and will use college football to find talent," said Sudhir.

"We also want jobs for coaches and players. There are around 800 coaches with coaching licenses from AIFF and only 30 vacancies for full-time or professional jobs. So with new teams, college and school tournaments, there will be opportunities for coaches which will be part of the regulations," Sudhir said.

There are plans to help increase college and school tournaments and to potentially change the senior inter-district tournament from a knockout tournament to a round-robin format with two groups of seven to ensure more games for players, before knockouts.

Finances

The consortium is confident of getting investments worth around Rs 350 crore into the football ecosystem over the 12-year period.

"The first thing is to get the calendar sorted," said Sudhir. "The association currently is compelled to wait for sponsors and also look at the AIFF calendar to organise competitions. This agreement solves that matter as we are giving a financial commitment. The KFA can freely plan their annual competition calendar."

The consortium will pay Rs 15 crore to the KFA for the commercial rights for 12 years. A further 15 percent of the profit per year from the new company is also promised.

The expenditure for clubs on football-related activities is calculated to be under Rs 5 crore a year while the revenue from telecast, tickets and central pool will all be part of the team's income. The investment into the infrastructure, from each team, will further add value to the football ecosystem.

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