By David Owen
June 17 – Television viewership of the early stages of 2012 European Championships suggests that football may be gaining popularity in one of the few parts of the world it has still to conquer: India.
The dominance of cricket in the vast country – the world’s second most populous – has tended to limit inroads made by potential rivals such as Olympic sport and football.
However, audience levels achieved in India for the first four matches of Euro 2012, currently taking place in Poland and Ukraine, appear to offer grounds for encouragement.
According to The Times of India, which cited Neo Sports, who are broadcasting the tournament in India, the first four matches saw a jump of over 50 per cent in television viewership, compared with Euro 2008 in India’s six main cities.
These metros consisting of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.
Pan India viewership for the competition’s early stages was said to have risen 25 per cent from 2008, with total tune-ins increasing by just over a third.
The newspaper quoted the broadcaster’s chief operating officer Prasana Krishnan as saying that the: “opening numbers are fantastic and the high viewership growth over the last edition is a good indication of the growing popularity of football”.
The national team (pictured above) is ranked a lowly 164th in the world and has never played in a World Cup finals tournament.
It has enjoyed more success at the Olympics, being represented the last time the Games were staged in London, in 1948, when they went down just 2-1 to France, and finishing fourth at the 1956 Games in Melbourne.
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