EFLI

As surprising as it may sound, American football is all set to take India by storm. Come November 2012 and the Elite Football League of India (EFLI) is expecting to hit the television screens to raise the pitch – la IPL cricket style. The league was launched on Friday and its founders expressed great confidence of the sport being embraced by the Indians. Sunday Zeller, an American brand marketing consultant and EFLI founder, announced that the league will be held from November 2012 to January 2013 in Pune. Attempting to arrive as a serious sport, the league will begin with eight city-based teams (Bhubaneswar Warhawks, Mumbai Gladiators, Hyderabad Skykings, Goa Swarm, Pune Blacktigers, Kolkata Vipers, Delhi Defenders and Punjab Warriors) to be bought by investors round the globe. Ten Sports has been roped in as the broadcastor for the 56 plus two play-off games for the inaugural league. The organizers have also tied up with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to use their grounds. The organizers, however, are expected to shared 15% of the profits with the sports ministry. Whelan made it clear that the teams will be all-Indian with no players from the US. Popularly known as football in the US, the American Football is a variant of the traditional game of football where two teams, comprising 11 players each, contest to score as many goals (points in this case) with the ball. Much like Rugby, in American football, players advance the ball either by running with it (called rushing), by throwing it to a teammate (called passing) or by kicking it with an objective of scoring points by taking the ball beyond the opponent’s goal line.