IMG's name quietly removed from Indian Super League logo and website

IN A SURPRISING MOVE, the International Management Group appear to have relinquished their co-ownership of the Indian Super League.

This has happened without any formal announcement. Just the logo of the ISL has been quietly changed to reflect the absense of IMG. The matter was brought to public attention when some eagle eyed fans spotted the change and posted about it on social media.

Spot the difference! pic.twitter.com/nstAS2qipX

— 𝕹 (@coderzombie) September 3, 2018

The ISL launched in 2014 as a joint venture between IMG, Reliance and Star. All three partner companies owned significant stakes in the brand, although it was Reliance who were at the forefront of the tournament's branding, organizing and execution. Star, as owner-broadcasters, played a major role in marketing and showcasing the ISL to the mass audience.

But IMG's association has been fruitful to ISL in many ways. As a management company with global presence and connections, IMG helped ISL establish a presence that attracted major international brands as sponsors and players of repute to come and take part in the competition. IMG also manage the TV production of the Premier League, and it has been speculated that they played a part in helping ISL net the Premier League as a strategic partner.

IMG's apparent departure from the ISL venture may mean a lot of things. It may be that they cashed out from a property that has, hopefully, boomed in value. It may signify the local partners Reliance and Star's belief in the property, shown by increasing their stakes in it. But it can also be seen as a principal stakeholder abandoning a project that's still developing, especially at a critical juncture where ISL is about to expand further and go through some major changes to become the new top division league of India through a restructuring of India's football league system.

At the time of writing this article there has been no statement regarding this development from the ISL owners and organizers. We'll keep you updated as we get further clarifications regarding the matter.