MUMBAI: After a two-year gap, the best volleyball players in the country and a host of international stars are set to again turn out for a franchise based professional volleyball league – with a difference though.
Gone from the picture is the Pro Volleyball League, which had earlier been endorsed by the faction-riven Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) and commercially managed by Baseline Ventures. In PVL’s place is Prime Volleyball League, which has the same organisers in Baseline but out of the frame is VFI (some legal pushback is likely on the cards).
Three franchise owners, Thomas Muthoot of the Kochi Blue Spikers, Pravin Chaudhuri of the Ahmedabad Defenders and Safeer PT of the Calicut Heroes, return as founder-franchises of the Prime Volleyball League, along with organizers Baseline Ventures.
The Prime Volleyball League has an operating structure that mirrors that of the NBA and other US sporting leagues where team owners are also stakeholders in the holding organization, thus ensuring a stable financial structure and smoother organization. This offers more value to franchises, both as team owners and investors in the sport and incentivizes long term associations.
Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhuri expressed his satisfaction about the return of high-level volleyball. “We were happy with the quality of volleyball and the production values of the original event (Pro Vollyeball). This new structure gives us the comfort to make long term investments in the sport as we also have a say in the successful running of the league.”
Muthoot added, “Kerala has always had a great volleyball culture and we are delighted to continue our association with the sport.”
Safeer PT, representing the Calicut Heroes, was happy about the opportunities that would become available for volleyball players, “We’ve been in constant touch with volleyball stars from around the country, and for the past couple of years they have been yearning to get on the courts and showcase their talent. I am delighted that they will have that chance again.”
League CEO Joy Bhattacharjya had this to say: “We’ve already seen the quality of Indian and international talent available. What owners and potential sponsors needed was a stable organization, free of interference (emphasis ours), that could function optimally and attract investments from franchises and sponsors. With franchises now being equal partners, we are now in a position to offer that stability and efficiency of operation.”
Organizers Baseline Ventures will be working with the other co-founders to firm up the remaining franchises, sponsors and media partners over the next few months.
