Football in India blossoms online through EISL
The Indian Super League (ISL) which started in 2014, has found an online avatar. The esports variant of the league, the EISL, made its debut in 2021 and recorded a viewership of more than 10 million across mobile devices, Youtube and Jio gaming platforms.
“Fundamentally, esports for football brings in a younger demographic. It becomes easier to go on and fall in love with your club,” says Akshat Rathee, the founder of NODWIN Gaming, the associate organiser of EISL. “So, it recruits more people to your club. It recruits more people to football, more people to watch the ISL.”
In its debut season, the EISL hosted 117 matches. The tournament was a qualifying event for the FIFA Global Series 2022 — one of the world's biggest esports events — and had a prize pool of Rs. 74 lakh, with an additional Rs. 4 lakh for the MVP (Most Versatile Player).
Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC reached the finals with the Marina Machans, represented by Saransh Jain and Navin Haridoss, winning the tournament 2-1 over three rounds in March this year.
Saransh and Navin took home Rs. 15 lakh for the victory, with Navin also winning the MVP.