Bengal Premier League Soccer - Revision history

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{{Infobox football league
| logo =
| pixels =
| country = {{flag|India}}
| founded = 2011
| folded = 2013
| teams = 6
| promotion = None
| relegation = None
| levels = 3
| domest_cup = None
| confed_cup =
| champions =
| tv =
| season =
| current =
| website =
}}

'''Premier League Soccer''' ('''PLS''') was an Indian [[association football|football]] league competition established in 1 January 2012, which was to take place in the state of [[West Bengal]]. The league was expected to begin its first season in 25 February 2012 with the aim to increase interest in football in West Bengal. It was modelled on the lines of the United States' [[Major League Soccer]] and the [[Indian Premier League]].<ref name=Firstpost>{{cite web|work=firstpost.com|title=Move aside cricket, here comes India’s Premier League Soccer|url=http://www.firstpost.com/sports/move-aside-cricket-here-comes-the-indian-premier-league-soccer-187002.html}}</ref><ref name="The Daily Telegraph - 22 February 2012 - Robbie Fowler's Indian payday under threat as Premier League Soccer hits problems">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/9098030/Robbie-Fowlers-Indian-payday-under-threat-as-Premier-League-Soccer-hits-problems.html|title=Robbie Fowler's Indian payday under threat as Premier League Soccer hits problems|date=22 February 2012|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group]]|access-date=6 October 2013}}</ref>

==Structure==
The league was organised by [[Celebrity Management Group]], who had signed a 30-year deal with [[Indian Football Association]], the apex body of football in West Bengal. There would have been six teams in the inaugural 2012 season; they were to have been owned by franchises, who would have to bid for the team for 10 years and pay a yearly franchisee fee. They were to be based in [[Kolkata]], and five regional centres: [[Howrah]], [[Barasat]], [[Durgapur, West Bengal|Durgapur]] and [[Siliguri]].<ref name="Times of India">{{cite news| title=IFA announces launch of Premier League Soccer | url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-04-25/top-stories/29471224_1_ifa-players-license | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114013230/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-04-25/top-stories/29471224_1_ifa-players-license | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 November 2013 | work=[[The Times of India]] | date=25 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="The Daily Telegraph - 22 February 2012 - Robbie Fowler's Indian payday under threat as Premier League Soccer hits problems"/> Each team was to play every other team twice (once at [[Home (sports)|home]] and once [[Road (sports)|away]]). Three points were to have been awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. At the end of the season a table of the final League standings was to have been determined, based on the following criteria in this order: points obtained, [[goal difference]], and goals scored. After the regular season the teams would have played in a play-off style tournament in which there would have been semi-finals and a final. The tournament would have been played across seven weeks, from 24 March to 6 May 2012.<ref name="toi">{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/Stars-lined-up-for-Indian-soccer-league/articleshow/11500274.cms | work=The Times Of India | title=Stars lined up for Indian soccer league - The Times of India}}</ref>

==Media Coverage==
{{As of|February 2012}} there had been no television deal for the 2012 PLS season announced.<ref name="toi"/>

==Clubs and stadiums 2012==
A list of clubs for 2012 season was to have been decided after an auction on 10 to 12 February 2011.<ref name="toi"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Team !! Price !! Owner !! Icon Player !! Overseas Player !! Asian Origin Players !! Coach
|-
| Barasat Euro Musketeers || Rs 25.15 crore || [[Uro Infra Reality India]] || [[Hernán Crespo]] $840,000 ||[[Christian Lara (footballer)|Christian Lara]] $200,000; [[Joaquin Botero]] $180,000 ||[[Park Byung-Gyu|Park Byoung-Gyu]] $90,000 ||[[Teitur Thordarson]] $210,000
|-
| Bengal Tuskers || Rs 18 crore || [[Aajay Consultants]] || [[Fabio Cannavaro]] $830,000 || [[Santino Quaranta]] $180,000; [[Limberg Gutierrez]] $180,000; ||[[Hwang Gyu-Hwan]] $90,000 ||[[Marco Etcheverry]] $200,000
|-
| Kolkata Camelians || Rs 11.5 crore || [[Camelia Group]] || [[Robbie Fowler]] || [[Robert Egbeta]] $350,000; [[Daniel Varela]] $120,000||[[Park Ji-Seung]] $140,000 ||[[Peter Reid]] $200,000
|-
| Manchester Howrah || Rs 9 crore || [[Syncsys Infotech]] || [[Robert Pires]] $715,000 ||[[Jose Gabriel Rios]] $180,000, [[Diego Madrigal]] $120,000|| [[Byun Yoon-Chul]] $115,000 || [[Fernando Couto]] $240,000
|-
| Durgapur Vox Champions || Rs 7.6 crore || [[Tulip Infonet]] || [[Jay Jay Okocha]] $550,000||[[José Carlos Castillo]] $80,000; [[Alonso Solís]] $200,000 ||[[Kim Bong-Kyum|Kim Bong-Kyeom]] $150,000 ||[[Samson Siasia]] $210,000
|-
| Haldia Heroes || base tag of Rs 70 lakh || [[Grey Mind Communications]] || [[Juan Pablo Sorín]] ||- ||- || [[John Barnes (footballer)|John Barnes]]
|}

==Postponement and cancellation==
In the last week of February, Utpal Ganguli, the secretary of the Indian Football Association, announced that the league has been postponed. He did not reveal the new dates or the causes of postponement. It is believed that financial hurdles and lack of venues were the major reasons.<ref>{{cite news|title=India’s new star-studded league postponed|url=http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/22/indias-new-star-studded-league-postponed.html|access-date=23 February 2012|newspaper=dawnnewspaper|date=2012-02-23}}</ref><ref name="Lack of venues sees start of India's Premier League Soccer postponed">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/feb/22/india-premier-league-soccer?newsfeed=true|newspaper=Guardian newspaper | location=London|title=Lack of venues sees start of India's Premier League Soccer postponed|date=22 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=ESPN STAR SPORTS|title=Premier League Soccer postponed|url=http://www.espnstar.com/football/asian-football/news/detail/item757984/Premier-League-Soccer-postponed/|access-date=23 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224022704/http://www.espnstar.com/football/asian-football/news/detail/item757984/Premier-League-Soccer-postponed/|archive-date=24 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="The Daily Telegraph - 22 February 2012 - Robbie Fowler's Indian payday under threat as Premier League Soccer hits problems"/>

In January 2013, the Indian Football Association announced that it had withdrawn support for the venture, citing financial problems, the lack of suitable venues, and the unavailability of overseas players in the period the competition was to have been played.<ref name="goal.com - 30 January 2013 - India's ambitious Premier League Soccer plan finally axed">{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en-ke/news/4631/soccerex/2013/01/30/3712016/indias-ambitious-premier-league-soccer-plan-finally-axed|title=India's ambitious Premier League Soccer plan finally axed|date=30 January 2013|work=goal.com|publisher=[[Perform Group]]|access-date=6 October 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Football in India}}

[[Category:Defunct football leagues in India]]
[[Category:2011 establishments in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Sports leagues established in 2011]]
[[Category:Football in West Bengal]]