Thursday, August 02, 2012

Why there are no EFLI scores yet

From EFLI Instagram pictures
The Elite Football League of India (EFLI) has been playing for a couple of weeks, but, aside from the score of the inaugural game (Columbo Lions 12, Mumbai Gladiators 6)  there are no other scores other game results that I've been able to find. From visits to the site I can tell that other people are searching for scores as well.

The games have in fact started, from an EFLI press release:
Seeing these players and coaches work through their various practice conditions, the stadium issues, three exhibition games and all the other preparation leading up to opening day, what happened on Opening Night was amazing. The games were competitive, the enthusiasm among the teams was tremendous and the opening ceremonies were outstanding. There were many places where history was made, but one which stood out to me came toward the end of the opening ceremonies. All eight teams were lined up on the field, five from India, one from Pakistan, and two from Sri Lanka. They all stood respectfully as the national anthems from each country were played, with players from the anthems' country singing along. Once all three anthems were done and fireworks started going off above the stadium, the players from all the teams came together, started jumping up and down, high-fiving and embracing. When one considers the deep-seeded hostilities between countries like India and Pakistan which date back thousands of years, and how the last time a Sri Lankan sports team was in Pakistan there was a terrorist attack (2009?) which not only killed several people but has kept any Sri Lankan team from going to Pakistan since, the way all these teams came together in this ceremony was not a small moment. To me, it was historic in many ways.

Then add the athletic plays we saw during all the football, from the diving, all-stretched out interception in one game, to the end around run with an enthusiastic TD dance in another, to the defensive lineman who hit a quarterback so hard it stood him up and knocked him out (welcome to football!) it was truly a night to remember. A look around the stadium at various times showed fans having a great time. I don't know if they were even aware of everything they were seeing, but they enjoyed what they saw.
So, why the problem getting scores? Reading the EFLI Twitter feed I discovered the following tweet, "the games are being aired on a delay on Ten Sports so we are holding back results until then." Further Tweets state that they are working on streaming at least some of the games online.

I must say the EFLI seems to be bungling it when it comes to fan relations. Instead of the above, even if you have to keep your scores double top secret, how about at least putting together a highlight video? You know -- show something.

Their main site seems to be geared towards news for investors, which is understandable I suppose, but there is precious little they've put out for fans. I'm completely puzzled as to why they've put virtually no effort into their league and team Facebook pages.

Perhaps it is just an Indian cultural thing, but I would think -- even if they wanted to keep a lid on scores until the games are on TV -- that they would still be marketing their league to fans via Facebook. At a minimum, why no coaches and players profiles, roster lists, bits and pieces of news, galleries, etc. on their pages? Worse, questions asked on the Facebook pages are virtually never dignified by an answer.

Come on EFLI -- Facebook and the lack of news makes it look like your league is dead already. How about some news about the games and players?

No comments: