I.M.Vijayan -- ISL

I.M.Vijayan believes that the Indian Super League (ISL) has gone a long way to ensure that football in God’s own country has been restored as after Kerala Police’s dominance in the nineties, none of the teams came close to making a mark in Indian football’s top flight with only Viva Kerala making a few fleeting appearances in the I-League.
In fact in last season’s Federation Cup hosted at Kochi, fans didn’t show up in numbers as has been the case in the ISL with over 61000 fans thronging to the stadium to cheer for the Sachin Tendulkar co-owned franchise.
“It is God's gift to God's Own Country and a dream performance by the Kerala Blasters. The ISL has led to the resurgence of Kerala football. The game had suffered a slump in the state in the nineties after Kerala Police had conquered everything on the domestic front. The stands suddenly became empty and though fans loved football, there wasn't much of it being played in the state,” he wrote in his column for The Times of India.
He was pleased that once again the people of Kerala have taken a liking to domestic football, which hasn’t been the case for a decade or so.
“The madness was still lurking somewhere, and it is back. The positive thing is that the stands are full again. You roam on the streets today and you'll find everyone discussing Indian football. It's pure nostalgia. In such a situation, it was important that the Blasters did well, and they have. The vastness of our country demands that the football pockets stay active. Once the spirit is back, the country will gain for sure. And that is revolution that the ISL is ushering in,” he opined.
He also believes and hoped that several Indian players will now have the opportunity to ply their trade abroad after having impressed in the ISL.
“The ISL will open the doors for many Indian footballers to get offers from abroad. The ISL has taken Indian football to the drawing rooms of the entire footballing world. It will only go better from here,” he remarked.