| Country: | India |
| Founded: | 2011 |
| Folded: | 2013 |
| Teams: | 6 |
Premier League Soccer (PLS) was an Indian football league competition established on 1 January 2012, which was to take place in the state of West Bengal. The league was expected to begin its first season on 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.[1] [2]
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 and Siliguri.[3] [2] Each team was to play every other team twice (once at home and once 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.[4]
, there had been no television deal for the 2012 PLS season announced.[4]
A list of clubs for the 2012 season was to have been decided after an auction on 10 to 12 February 2011.[4]
| Team | Price | Owner | Icon players | Overseas players | Asian origin players | Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barasat Euro Musketeers | Rs 25.15 crore | Hernán Crespo $840,000 | Christian Lara $200,000; Joaquin Botero $180,000 | Park Byoung-Gyu $90,000 | Teitur Thordarson $210,000 | ||
| Bengal Tuskers | Rs 18 crore | 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 | Robert Egbeta $350,000; Daniel Varela $120,000 | Park Ji-Seung $140,000 | Peter Reid $200,000 | |||
| Manchester Howrah | Rs 9 crore | 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 | Jay Jay Okocha $550,000 | José Carlos Castillo $80,000; Alonso Solís $200,000 | Kim Bong-Kyeom $150,000 | Samson Siasia $210,000 | ||
| Haldia Heroes | base tag of Rs 70 lakh | - | - |
In the last week of February, 2012, Utpal Ganguli, the secretary of the Indian Football Association, announced that the league had 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.[5] [6] [7] [2]
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.[8]