Blackout to end? Fans urge networks to show Indian clubs in Asia; solution may be imminent
THE FOOTBALL FANS left anguished by the blackout of Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC's matches from television took to social media to express their anguish against the networks responsible for it, with Bengaluru FC CEO Parth Jindal also joinging the cause.
After TFG reported on Monday about neither of the AFC Cup group stage matches featuring Mohun Bagan or Bengaluru FC being on the list for beamed on TV, the fans reacted with anger and disappointment at the continuous mistreatment of their beloved clubs by the companies in charge of the competitions they played in. They urged Fox Sports, the main broadcaster of AFC Cup, not to ignore Indian clubs and asked Star Sports, the Indian broadcaster of the tournament, to take a more active role in the process to make sure the matches featuring the Indian clubs are televised.
#AFCcuponStar !!! @FOXSportsAsia @StarFootball @StarSportsIndia .. plzz do show #MB & #BFC 's matches live... fans are crying for it...
— Debjit Majumder (@Dmeister89) February 23, 2016
This is proud moment for us @Mohun_BaganAC & @bengalurufc competing in AFC cup.@StarSportsIndia please broadcast those matches #AFCcuponStar
— sⓊßH€n̷∂µ♕ (@khan_subhendu) February 23, 2016
@StarSportsIndia we and @bengalurufc playing @AFCCup & there is no coverage in India. This is the biggest Asian coverage. Show #AFCCupOnStar
— Mohun Bagan A.C. (@MohunBagan) February 22, 2016
Every year do we need to remind you? Telecast the matches #AFCcuponStar
— Abhishek Shukla (@abhi2810) February 23, 2016
Let's un-football India till ISL starts? @StarFootball @StarSportsIndia @FoxSports #AFCCup #blackout
— Swetha Edessary (@Swethaedes) February 24, 2016
Parth Jindal, the CEO of BFC, also expressed his dismay at himself and the fans missing out from seeing Bengaluru FC taking on Lao Toyota FC away from home, and encouraged all fans of Bengaluru as well as Mohun Bagan to write to Star Sports and Fox Sports not to ignore the Indian clubs' future fixtures in Asia.
Seriously urge and request @FOXSports to allow @StarSportsIndia to show the AFC Cup live in India @bengalurufc and @Mohun_BaganAC
— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) February 22, 2016
Urge all @bengalurufc and @Mohun_BaganAC to write to @FOXSports and @StarFootball - let's have our voice heard
— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) February 22, 2016
Dear @StarFootball @FOXSportsAsia please do at least reply to the fans of @bengalurufc and @Mohun_BaganAC - show some gravitas
— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) February 23, 2016
Soon a petition on Change.org was created by Mumbai Pune Mariners - a Mohun Bagan fan club based in Maharashtra - that quickly surpassed a thousand signatures and is still gaining more support. The comment section of the petition page has become a forum for fans to give a vent to their frustrations with the long prevailing situation. Waseem Ahmed, a member of the Bengaluru FC fan frontier group West Block Blues, wrote,
"You claim to make India a footballing nation through your annoying repeated telecasts of ISL games. Yet you choose not to telecast the much more important games, when two of the most famous clubs from the actual football league in India ( I-League ) Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan AC are representing India at Asian level in AFC Asian Cup . Are you mere puppets of Ambanis and IMGR ? This is not how you Support football in the country that is in dire need of support from sports channels and media."
As the number of signatures on the petition continues to rise, it seems the networks in question have taken the fans' voice seriously. TFG has learned from an internal source that efforts are underway to ensure the matches of Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC are ensured a live telecast. In home matches, we may well get to see Star Sports step up to the plate and turn broadcaster as well as producer. For the away games the issue is trickier, but the signs are hopeful. With a little bit of luck, Indian football fans will get to see two of their top clubs fight it out in Asia early March onwards.
