A club that hadn't won in their last seven outings was playing a relegation-threatened side whose home city’s total population was a modest 7,000. But then, Strasbourg had beaten three of the top five teams in Ligue 1 and Guingamp had taken out Neymar’s Paris Saint-Germain to reach the finals of the Coupe de la Ligue BKT.
So while sitting on the sidelines of the final of a league that’s been all about unpredictability this season, it really shouldn't have come as a surprise when the Indian media travelling to Lille for the event was informed about Ligue 1’s plans for the country.
“They (Ligue 1 officials) have already visited India. They are looking to associate with some league in India,” revealed Arvind Poddar, Chairperson of BKT, the Indian tyre company that’s the title sponsor of the Coupe de la Ligue.
Having started his association with the tournament only this season, Poddar also revealed the league’s plans of bringing the league to India.
“Basically, they want to bring the Coupe de la Ligue to India. They are looking at various options. It’s not very clear from them right now what they are looking to do – whether they will tie up with the ISL or what they will do. I know they already had some meetings when they came to visit us in India,” said the 61-year-old who was ranked 91st in Forbes’ Richest Indians survey in 2018.
The second-most revered title in France, the Coupe de la Ligue, or the League Cup, is a tournament that sees 42 teams participating from the top three divisions of the country. The most successful team in the tournament’s history has been Paris Saint-Germain with their record eight wins, including the last six seasons, before their premature exit this January.
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