By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
August 20 – Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States could pick-up a few lessons from cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL), the head of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) has claimed.
Sunil Gulati, the Indian-born President of USSF, admitted that the success of the IPL has captured the attention of the world’s sports marketeers.
The value of the IPL is estimated at $4.13 billion (£2.68 million) and, according to global sports salaries review, is the second highest-paid league in the world behind basketball’s NBA in th US.
It is estimated that the average salary of an IPL player over a year would be $4 million (£2.6 million) and it attracts the top players from all around the world, including Australia’s Ricky Ponting and England’s Kevin Pietersen.
The League launched in 2008 amid much fanfare and razzamatazz.
“That was a phenomenal launch,” Gulati told BlogTalkRadio when asked if he could give Indians a few tips about marketing sports events.
“With the commercialisation of sports, you have got to get the product right and they did that.
“They got the best players in the world.
“Because Indian cricket is pretty unique, I am not sure whether it can be done with soccer, football or any other sport.
“But what IPL did was phenomenal.”
“They took the best of the lot, best practices from around the world.
“We could learn from what they did in fact.”
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