Mumbai: Former Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla forward Frederic Kanoute believes that having one season-long league will be more beneficial for Indian football.
The former Mali international, who scored 23 goals in 39 appearances for his country, said that India needs one strong league at the helm to progress in football.
“It would be good to find one strong league. And I think the ISL is here to do develop football,” Kanoute said in an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle. “The long term idea is to have one league that runs longer than three months.”
Kanoute also said that a number of the European players are interested in a move to the ISL. However, he believes that most of these players want to make such a move only towards the end of their career.
“There is a lot of interest about ISL in Europe, but most players are only willing to come here towards the end of their career,” said Kanoute.
Kanoute, who is in Mumbai as a La Liga ambassador, for screening of the ‘El Clasico’ clash between Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, also spoke about the growing popularity of the Spanish league in India.
Speaking ahead of the big clash, the former Sevilla striker said that although the ‘El Clasico’ is the biggest match on the Spanish football calendar, other teams also need to generate support from fans outside Spain.
“This is a special game, whether we like it or not. This game is of interest to everyone who loves football,” said Kanoute. “You have some of the best players, if not the best player in the game. Also, the rivalry between the two (teams) have been very strong.
Kanoute, who had won the erstwhile UEFA Cup twice with Sevilla, also expressed his happiness at the fact that the ‘Rojiblancos’ are currently sitting pretty on the third position in La Liga table.
“I was really happy to se Seville at the top of the table, a couple of weeks back,” said Kanoute. “Obviously it is much more difficult for them to stay in that position, but they are doing well. Now they are third, with the same points as Barcelona, and its good to see them doing well.”
