As
the dream of PPL is in the process of becoming a reality and Pakistani fans are
eagerly waiting to hear good news and PCB still being vague in details about
the event and social media is abuzz with unconfirmed news. I thought I may go
ahead and share with the entire cricket mad Pakistanis of what the event should
look like from a fan’s perspective.
Name of the Event:
To
be really honest, I would like a unique name for our tournament which defines
the T20 tournament of Pakistan. Case in point Spain’s La Liga & Australia’s
Big Bash, two unique names which almost every sports fan knows. And frankly
there are too many Premier Leagues in
our region. Why not something in Urdu?
Total number of
Teams: 8
There
are speculations that 16 teams would feature in the event, which is a bit too
many for my liking. Having B-Teams would mean less competitive matches and
dwindling viewership. I think 8 is the magic number. Less teams means less
diluted pool of talented players which can lead to stronger teams and good
competitive matches. With very less chance of foreign player showing up we need
to keep the players pool tight to get exciting matches. In the end, the product
has to be appealing to the customer. Easy wins by strong teams over B-teams
would weaken the tournament.
Number of matches:
Divide the teams into two groups of 4. Each team plays each
other twice in group stages on home and away basis. Top two teams advance into
next stage “Super 4” where they also play each other twice on home and away
basis and best two teams meet in the “3 match finals”.
So it means a team will play 6 matches in group stage and 6
in Super 4 stage.
Team Representation
Areas:
This
is a no brainer. Teams should represent large populous cities with a large fan base
for economic viability, good stadiums & infrastructure. Provinces like Sind
and Baluchistan where there are not many big cities may use the Province name
to broaden the appeal and fan base.
As
the tournament will progress teams can expand their fan appeal. Fans of Sialkot
Stallions and Karachi Dolphins can be found almost everywhere which proves two
things 1. Have a star studded lineup and 2. Winning tournaments will win you
fans.
Team Names:
One
of the most crucial aspect of creating a fan base is to have an appealing Team
name. Although, I like the names of Teams currently playing FB T20 but it does
create a certain type of similarity as all the teams are named after animals. Teams
should be creative and think out of the box to choose a name. Teams should be
allowed to take up name which shows an action, values, personal or regional
characteristics etc. The vital aspect is that the cricket fanatics relate
themselves to it. Lahore Badshahs somehow stuck the right chord with Pakistani
fans, maybe it was the presence of some great Pakistani cricketers or maybe the
name was our very own. What would you prefer! Lahore Kings or Lahore Badshahs? Maybe the whole fan base was created as the
name was in Urdu.
To
find team names, I think we have to ditch the conventions and go crazy. Why not
have a Sher-e-Punjab XI, a dedication to centuries old most coveted wrestling
title of Punjab.
Faysal Bank T20??
The
brother who was there to help during hard times. The litmus test that yielded
the result: T20 event can be successful
in Pakistan. It would be unfair to discard this tournament. I say keep the
FB T20 as it is. A 7-day carnival who pitch up in a city, provide fun &
laughter and then move on.
There
are many positives to be taken from FB T20. If both are held, it will create a
chance for players to earn more money by participating in both events. Faysal
Bank can hold its FB T20 while PCB will have a share in the ticket sales and sale
of TV rights plus other royalties.
If a
mismanaged and poorly marketed product like FB T20() could be successful, then a
properly conducted event will be huge.
Show Me The Money (the business side):
Its
astonishing how IPL has contributed to Indian economy. Businesses like sports
manufacturing and tourism are benefiters of a successful event. Pakistan may
not have big names like Mallyas or Ambanis but different companies could come
together to form consortiums to own a team or we could go the FC Barcelona way.
Model 1 (Corporate Ownership)
For
the business I say emulate the IPL business model, to be really honest which is
very simple. PCB could invite bids from the Corporations for owning a
franchise, successful bids can be paid to PCB by corporations on 5-10 year installments
and PCB will also keep the central broadcasting rights and sponsorship deals.
Team Owners could keep all the money from ticket sales, sponsorship deals and
official merchandise and a share in central broadcasting rights and central
sponsorship and also both Teams and PCB will work together in maintenance and
development of Stadiums.
Model 2 (Public Ownership)
Another
unique business model that could be adopted is to follow the approach of
leading Spanish football clubs and hand the ownership to fans. Barcelona and
Real Madrid are co-operatively owned by 175,000 members, where membership is
sold to general public who get concessional tickets & merchandise and most
importantly the power to vote on matters of club. Barcelona way is for the pure
love of sports. They are not in it to mint money but to provide their fans with
what they want to see: Good Sports.
Instead
of only an emotional attachment to the club, this could provide a real opportunity
for fans to have a real sense of belongingness with the club and be a part in
the decision making process by the power of vote. Every fan will love to decide
who should be the president of the Club.
Contracting:
It
should be upon Players choice for which team to play. Players should be open to
independent contracting instead of auction with salary caps for teams to keep
it fair (e.g. Teams should be allowed a fix amount of total budget to hire
players). It would be up to players and teams to decide upon the terms of
contract and the payments but in order to stop exploitation of players, PCB
should enforce a minimum amount payable to players by Teams (but not maximum).
Infrastructure:
One
thing that Pakistan will have to do is to improve Infrastructure, better
facilities at grounds, improved ticketing etc. During a recent trip to Pindi
Stadium for FB T20 matches, I was not impressed at how the event was managed
off field. Getting in the stadium was also an adventure. The cricket was
enjoyable but the whole package needs to be upgraded. People will come only if
they feel comfortable and have a good time while watching cricket. Introduce
e-ticketing, hire event management companies to manage all off field
activities.
Everything
can be achieved, we just have to believe in ourselves and keep working hard to
achieve our dreams.
