A game of action and speed, handball has it all to attract audiences, but so far has been sitting on the side benches in terms of popularity. The Premier Handball League (PHL), which begins today in Jaipur, could change all that. “There are many people in India who do not know much about the game, but I am sure the Premier League will help address this gap,” said Shubham Sheoran, a handball player part of India’s 2022 Asian Championship squad, and who is set to play for Telugu Talons in PHL, told FE.
Six teams – Delhi Panzers, Garvit Gujarat, Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra Ironmen, Rajasthan Patriots, and Telugu Talons – will lock horns from June 8 to 25 in the first edition of the PHL, to be played at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium.
“We are optimistic about audiences getting attached to this sport because of its speed and energy,” said Abhinav Banthia, president of Bluesport Entertainment, the official licence holder of the PHL.
Viacom 18 holds the broadcast rights, providing “a great edge with both traditional and digital reach”, Banthia said. The league will go live on Sports 18 HD and SD, Sports 18 Khel, JioCinema, and FanCode.
Sponsorship, too, is key here. While Banthia said sponsors who have signed up “are really passionate and happy to create this new sporting league,” Vineet Bhandari, owner of Delhi Panzers, opined that “the first season for a new sport always gets a tepid response from sponsors as they want to play the wait-and-watch game with viewership. We are not pushing much on the sponsors’ side as we are well capitalised and very hopeful that the second season will have more sponsors lining up.”
Speaking on the investment, the Delhi team owner said, “Investment in any sport has to be a long-term strategy as it never gives you returns from day one.” Adding comment, Maharashtra Ironmen team owner Punit Balan said, “This is a franchise-based league, so there is a franchise fee, logistics cost, etc.” The franchise fee is `10 crore for five years, as per Bluesport Entertainment. While there is investment, the sponsors’ response has been warm, according to Balan. “We have title and associate sponsors onboard, which we do not see often during an inaugural season. I was both surprised and happy to have onboarded a couple of sponsors,” the Maharashtra team owner said.
While the response to the league is yet to be seen, Banthia is looking to stay invested. “The idea is to build the league up and stay invested for long, while getting on board critical partners as we continue on this journey,” the Bluesport Entertainment president said.
Even as this is the first time for handball, expectations are high that the league would take off, as some other leagues have, like kabaddi, aiding the popularity of the sport in India.
“Although the India team has played internationally, handball is not very popular in the country,” said Sunil Taneja, a sports presenter, who will cover the league as a commentator. “But that is going to change with PHL,” he said. “I have followed a couple of other sports leagues, the most prominent being the Pro Kabaddi League. The way the sport was perceived pre-PKL versus nine seasons later, there has been a major change, making it the second-most successful league after IPL,” the presenter said.
Kabaddi bears similarities with handball, given both are energetic and fast-paced sports. The popularity of the kabaddi league can be understood from the fact that the highest bid for a player rose from `12.8 lakh in 2014 to `2.26 crore in 2022 and has made stars out of several national and international players.
Also, “expectations are high since we have seen non-cricket sports having grown in the past 10-15 years. And it is a good thing for a sport like handball,” Taneja said.
Harender Singh Nain, who is set to play for Garvit Gujarat, is optimistic that with the league coming up, more and more people will watch the game. “When I told anyone I play handball, people were confused, but hopefully the league will take the sport to the masses.”
In the end, it boils down to players and how they benefit from the league. While both Banthia and Bhandari emphasised the development at the grassroots level, international exposure, with several international players participating, is also crucial here. “PHL will help us to collaborate with international handball clubs and ensure cross-playing of athletes, thus bringing more exposure,” said Jaswant Singh, coach of Delhi Panzers.
“Before the league, the financial odds for handball players in India were not much, as it lacked good sponsorship deals, media coverage and large-scale events. But PHL will have a positive impact. It will encourage young players to take up the sport, knowing that there is a league that offers potential career opportunities,” said Sheoran.
The format includes 30 round-robin matches, followed by three knockout matches. A match will be played in two halves of 30 minutes each, with a 10-minute break.
The company has reportedly acquired the rights for both men’s and women’s leagues for 10 years, though there is no word of the women’s league so far. The winning team will get prize money of ` 11 lakh, with `5 lakh for the runners-up.