Premier Soccer League Could Spark the Emergence of a New Generation of Talent.

The spread of football towards the Asian market has been something that is high on the agenda of every savvy merchandising agent in the game, and the news that India has held its first football auction ought to put a smile on the faces of football club owners and bank managers alike.

The Premier League Soccer (PLS) descended onto Calcutta to host an IPL (Indian Cricket League) style auction, the only difference being instead of cricketers at the top of their game, the footballers involved in the auction where somewhat past their sell-by date. Top of the log was former Chelsea and Argentina star Hernan Crespo, who fetched the sum of $840,000. While this is well short of the £16 million paid for him by Chelsea in the summer of 2003, it still represents a sizeable outlay of the $2.5m salary cap that has been placed on the sides.

The ultimate aim of the PLS is to ignite passion for football in a country where cricket reigns king, and the stars of the game such as Sachin Tendulkar have to employ body doubles to help them move around relatively unmolested.

India currently ranks 158 out of 203 football-playing nations, but Bhaswar Goswami, speaking to the BBC, said: “"I think that we are at the crossroads for Indian football. I am sure that the PLS will provide a new path."

Liverpool has already recognized the potential among the millions of Indian youngsters, and are in the process of setting up an academy in Delhi.

Other stars from yester-year to be sold include Fabio Cannavaro, Robert Pires, Jay Jay Okocha and Robbie Fowler. Managers have also been up for auction, Portuguese manager Fernando Couto has sold for £143,000 and Peter Reid went for £128,000.

Whether the scheme takes off or not, only time will tell, and if it does it will leave the more established football nations looking over their shoulders nervously at what might become the new footballing giants.