New Delhi:
Praful Patel, the man who formally takes over the reins of All Indian Football Federation later on Tuesday, has decided that the best way to promote the world's most popular sport in India is to copy India's number one sport cricket. So, he believes that football must follow the Indian Premier League in order to reach the masses.
"We already have the I-League which is the national league. It does have professional clubs and we do have foreign players who are allowed to play for them. But to take it to the next level like the IPL has done in cricket, we are looking at different ways and means," says Patel, who is also the country's Civil Aviation Minister.
"I am very happy that over the last few years we have seen tremendous response from international clubs. They are all looking at football as the game of the future in India," he says.