BHUBANESWAR: The Volleyball Federation of India on Sunday announced the inaugural season of the Indian Volleyball League. Critically, the IVL, which is tentatively scheduled to tip off around June-July, has been sanctioned both by both the Asian Volleyball Confederation and International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
Additionally, if the IVL laumch goes as per the schedule proposed by VFI, Eurosport India – Discovery Network’s sports channel – has been onboarded as broadcast partner .
Interestingly the media rights deal that Eurosport India has inked with VFI for IVL covers not just the India territory, but globally. Audiences will also be able to live stream the league at discovery+ app.
All good of course, but an immediate question does comes to mind. Whatever happened to the arbitration proceedings that VFI’s erstwhile commercial rights partner Baseline Ventures had brought against the governing body for the Olympic sport in India, which in November 2019 had terminated the ten-year commercial rights agreement that the agency had signed just a year prior for conducting the Pro Volleyball League?
The Pro Volleyball League completed just one season before getting entangled in a legal mess. The last one had heard of said legal mess was in November 2020, when Baseline claimed victory in its case brought against VFI, with the national body reportedly ordered to cough up Rs 4 crore (Rs 40 million) as damages, Rs 500,000 in legal fees, apart from 12% interest “from the date of announcement of arbitral proceedings till the date of payment”.
In the judgment delivered by sole arbitrator Justice (Retd) K Kannan, which has been appealed to a higher court, VFI’s counter-claim, seeking Rs 14.93 cr (Rs 149.3m) in damages from Baseline, had reportedly been thrown out.
Did Baseline “see the money”? Highly unlikely. What is the status of the case? Probably floating somewhere in the labyrinth that constitutes the Indian legal system.
Cut to the present, Baseline has mounted the inaugural season of the Prime Volleyball League (Pro Volleyball League rebadged, presumably because the legal status is still in dispute). With Sony Pictures Networks India on board as broadcast partner, the tournament is currently in play.
Coming back to the IVL, the plan is to have six to eight new franchises (Prime Volleyball League has 5 franchises) representing various cities across India. The teams will have a mix of top players from the Indian national team along with talented players from various states as well as a host of top international players in its roster for the inaugural season.
Ruchir Jain, head of Eurosport India and Distribution – South Asia, Discovery, Inc. said: “It’s been our constant endeavor to build communities for all sports alike, and now to have volleyball in our roster is a proud moment. We are delighted to be playing a role in popularizing the fast-paced exciting sport of volleyball across India and helping Indian volleyball reach to sports fans across the globe. The Indian Volleyball League is definitely the future that the sport deserves, and we are not only excited to play our part in this but also would commend the Volleyball Federation of India for their vision in making Indian volleyball truly global in nature.”
Also sharing his thoughts on the occasion, Prof (Dr) Achyuta Samanta, Member of Parliament & president, VFI, said: “It is a momentous occasion for Indian volleyball, and we are thrilled to have a globally respected brand like Discovery on board with us. We are sure they will help us take the league to places and together we aim to uplift the sports standard in the near future as one of top international volleyball leagues globally.
Ramavtar Singh Jakhar, zonal executive vice-president, Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), and chairman, Indian Volleyball League, said that he is very happy that Eurosport India has come forward to partner with Indian Volleyball League, which will go a long way in developing the game of volleyball in India. He added that young volleyball players in India will benefit and surely the Indian Volleyball League will become a “rousing hit in India and abroad”.
The IVL is proposed to be an annual feature in the global volleyball calendar and will soon announce the process of applying for the ownership of new franchises through the official website of the IVL & VFI.
Expecting there to be many a slip between the cup and the lip, SportzPower will await the launch of the IVL. IF all goes according to VFI’s plans, one clear advantage that players in IVL will have is a pathway to represent India if they are able to “make the cut”.
