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- Dubai 04:25 05:43 12:19 15:46 18:50 20:09
India's Ravi Pal (left) battles for the ball with Pakistan's Muhammad Rizwan during their match at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia on Wednesday. (AP)
Field hockey’s world governing body on Wednesday unveiled plans to start a franchise-based league competition in India on the lines of the successful Indian Premier League cricket.
It is a key part of moves by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to boost the profile of the sport worldwide, with India, where the game is popular, acting as “the hub”.
“We will organise a professional league in India and the champions of that league will participate in the World Club Championships,” Leandro Negre, president of the FIH, told reporters.
Negre said the FIH was working closely with all member associations to be able to find a window for the high-profile event in the international calendar.
“The timing is important. It will be held only after the London Olympics (in 2012). We need to find a window for the tournament, a good moment of the year,” the FIH chief said.
The IPL revolutionised cricket when it burst onto the scene in 2008 with a high-octane blend of international star players, scantily clad cheerleaders and Bollywood glamour.
Using the short Twenty20 form of the game, IPL matches are usually three-hour events packed with music, delirious crowds and countless television advertisements.
Negre praised India’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games last year and said the country would soon become the “hub of world hockey.”
India will host the hockey Champions Trophy in December, men’s and women’s Olympic qualifiers in February 2012 and the Junior World Cup in 2013, among a host of other events.
Negre also said the FIH will kick-start a new event next year - the World League, the final of which will be held in India in 2013.
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