Published 16:08 IST, August 3rd 2020
ISL ranked as fourth-biggest football league in the world on Instagram: Report
The ISL has been ranked as the fourth-biggest football league based on Instagram fan interactions, only behind the Premier League, LaLiga and Bundesliga.
The Indian Super League (ISL) has been ranked as the fourth-biggest football league in the world on Instagram, only behind the likes of the Premier League, LaLiga and Bundesliga. This year, the ISL managed to garner up to 38.1 million fan interactions on Instagram between January 1 and June 30. Interestingly, the ISL managed to rank above the Serie A despite the Italian league boasting of five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in the country's top flight.
ISL Instagram fan interaction numbers behind only Premier League, LaLiga and Bundesliga
According to a recent study done by Spanish sports business institution, Deportes y Finanza, the ISL managed to accumulate 38.1m fan interactions on Instagram. Since it's inception in 2014, the ISL has received a massive following and reputation from fans all across the globe. Also, even considering that India is the second-most populated country in the world, the fanbase for the ISL is relatively humungous since cricket is the most followed sport in the country.
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LaLiga leads the way for the most Instagram fan interactions at 319 million with the Premier League in second place, having 296 million Instagram fan interactions for the first half of the year. In third place comes the Bundesliga, which amassed 53 million and the ISL was just under 15m behind in fourth place. A Mumbai-based expert revealed that the ISL is only expected to grow in popularity in India, with the number of fan interactions likely to continue increasing.
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ISL Instagram fan interaction in India betters Serie A
Interestingly, the ISL managed only 46 games during the first half of the year and wrapped up the 2019-20 season by March 14. However, the other major European leagues were forced to halt their respective seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic from mid-March onwards. The Bundesliga was the first of the big 5 European leagues to resume from May 16 onwards. The resumption of the Premier League and LaLiga quickly followed.
Surprisingly, the ISL managed to land ahead of Italy's Serie A, who came in fifth with 18.1 million Instagram fan interactions. Despite the lesser number of games in comparison to other major European leagues, the ISL scored heavily on digital fan engagement last season. According to reports, there a staggering 74.82 million interactions were recorded across the league’s social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube).
ISL 2019-20 season to be held in a bio-secure bubble?
The ISL's organisers, FSDL, have already begun talks of hosting the 2020-21 season in a bio-secure bubble due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ISL 2020-21 campaign is expected to be held in Goa from November to March.
Image Credits - ATK Mohun Bagan Instagram
Updated 16:08 IST, August 3rd 2020