CHENNAI: On a day when Prime Volleyball League (PVL) — an initiative of Baseline Ventures — was formally launched in Hyderabad with the announcement of the six teams taking part, the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) attempted to throw a spanner in the works by stating that it could penalise the players who participate in the private league.
The Prime Volleyball League is a rechristened version of the Pro Volleyball League, which was held in February 2019. Five of the six teams remain the same while a new team from Bengaluru — Bengaluru Torpedoes — will replace the team from Mumbai, U Mumba. Chennai Spartans, meanwhile, will now be known as Chennai Blitz. The other teams are Calicut Heroes, Kochi Blue Spikers, Ahmedabad Defenders and Black Hawks Hyderabad. The team from Chennai had won the PVL two years ago. The players’ auctions are set to be held in December.
“Those who play in PVL may be penalised by the federation. The people organising PVL have selfish interests. We won’t recognise the private league,” VFI secretary Anil Choudhary told this daily on Wednesday. Choudhary said that the national federation will start its own league for the players soon.
“The inaugural season of Pro Volleyball League was held in 2019. After that, we realised that they don’t have the right intentions, which is why the second season was not held,” Choudhary claimed.
The organisers of PVL, though, are confident that the league will face no hiccups. Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO of PVL, insisted that there is no legal ground for the federation to prevent players from exercising their right to earn a living. “When Ramavatar Singh Jakhar was secretary of VFI, he made a statement to the Competition Council of India in a court of law where he stated that the federation has no objections to anyone starting a volleyball league. Legally, they have no ground to stand on. Nobody can stop a player from exercising his right to make a living,” Bhattacharjya said.
The players, according to Bhattacharjya, are tired of the federation’s ways. “Without taking the players into confidence, we wouldn’t start something like this. Among our owners, we have people who are intimately associated with the players. Five of the teams have returned. Even the international players are delighted that the league is starting and are ready to return. If the VFI wants to start its own league, then go ahead. The more leagues there are, the better it is for volleyball. No player we have spoken to is worried about the federation because they are sick of the federation,” he explained.
For the players, it is a tricky situation to wriggle out of. While senior player M Ukkrapandian — who played for Kochi Blue Spikers in 2019 — had said a few days ago that the players will abide by the federation’s rules, he is now hoping that an amicable solution can be found between the two parties.
“We will see what happens. They might come to an understanding. As of now, we don’t know how things stand. We will play in whatever league is in front of us,” the 35-year-old from Tamil Nadu said.