Premier Hockey League India

The Premier Hockey League (PHL) is a joint project of ESPN-Star Sports, Indian Hockey
Federation (IHF) and Leisure Sports Management and is modelled on the grounds of U.S.
NBA league. The PHL was conceived to give a shot in the arm to the domestic hockey
scenario and to revive the sagging interest in the game of hockey. Hockey is India's national
game and the country proudly boasts of having eight gold medals to its credit, along with
lifting the World Cup once. However, in the recent time, the game has been on the back foot,
as more interest has been drawn towards other sports. One of the preliminary reasons for the
fading popularity of the sport was the rise of corporate teams, such as Indian Airlines and
Punjab & Sind Bank.

Premier Hockey League is a step forward to change the whole scenario of the game, by
bringing in regional flavour to it. It has incorporated teams from the traditional hockey
bastions, such as Mumbai, Punjab, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu. PHL also boasts of teams from
other cities, like Hyderabad and Bangalore, where the game has got some fan following. The
inaugural edition of the PHL kicked-off at the Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad, on January
13, 2005. The league comprised of 5 members - Bangalore Hi-Fliers, Chennai Veerans,
Hyderabad Sultans, Maratha Warriors and Sher-e-Jalandhar.

Format
Initially, the PHL had two tiers - division 1 and division 2. However, in 2007 the division 2
was permanently scrapped. Played during the months of December and January, the format of
PHL has continuously changed since its inaugural session in 2005. As per the last season, the
league followed a single round-robin format, wherein all teams played each other once. Later,
in the semifinals the top four teams contended against each other, wherein the team that stood
in the top position competed with one at the fourth position. The teams that stood in the
second and third position competed against each other. This was followed by the finals,
adopting a best of three format, for the top 2 teams. Generally, there are a total of 26 matched
that are played for each session.

Innovative Features
According to the standard format, the game of hockey is played in 2 sessions - each of 35
minutes. However, PHL has incorporated a slew of innovations to make the game more
exciting and spectator friendly. To rope in more funds, PHL has four sessions each of 17.5
minutes. This format has been proved beneficial in two ways - firstly more breaks would
mean more advertising time and eventually more funds. Secondly, these time outs are
extremely beneficial for the teams as they can chalk out new strategies during the course of
the game to defeat their opponent.

In case, the match results in a deadlock even after the full time, the number of players of each
team is gradually reduced till a result is obtained. Talking about the point system, a win
within the stipulated time earns the winning team 3 points. However, a win after the full time
fetches 2 points to the winning team and one to the losing team. In the course of the game,
every team is allowed to field up to five international players. Another inventive feature
added to PHL is the penalty shootout competition, modeled on grounds of the Major League
Soccer penalty shootout.

In the penalty shootout competition, 5 members of each team play against the goal keeper of
the opponent team, one at a time. Just when the umpire blows the whistle, each player would
have a total of 8 seconds in which he has to score a goal, with only the goal keeper defending
the goal. The player can take as many shots possible within the stipulated 8 seconds. Another
exciting aspect of the game is the timeouts, similar to those in basketball and volleyball.
These timeouts are mandatory and has to be taken once in each half of play. In case a team
does not avail the timeout, it would be imposed by the technical bench 2 minutes from the
end of the second/fourth quarter.
Rebranding :
There has been a regular demand from the Indian players to revive the HIL as they credit it
for reducing their inhibition of playing against foreign players and gaining exposure,
experience, and confidence to play modern hockey, eventually helping the national men’s
team win the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
New Name & Logo for Premier Hockey League in India
"No Labels, No Limits" : League Now Defined by the Talent and Skill of Its Athletes
The Premier Hockey League (PHL) is a joint project of ESPN-Star Sports, Indian Hockey
Federation (IHF) re-defines the league’s brand based on the skill and talent of its athletes as
opposed to their gender and is the first professional women’s sports league in North America
to lift the word ‘women's out of its title.
The Premier Hockey League is home to some of the best professional athletes in the India
who deserve to be recognized for their abilities and to be empowered as equals in sport, This
league has come a long way since its inception in 2005 and we believe that this is the right
time and the right message as we strengthen our commitment to growing the game and
inspiring youth.
The PHL name was inspired by empowerment, gender equity, and inclusivity with respect to
differences in the gender identity of current athletes, prospective players, and league
stakeholders. Expansion across the Indian States, and the increase of international talent also
helped pave the way for a rebrand with global appeal.