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American-style football is seeking an entry into India. But it is unclear whether a country that has a single-minded obsession with cricket will take to this all-American sport. That's because although American-style football ranks among the top favorites in the United States, it has virtually no following in India. That fact has not deterred a group of foreign investors from launching the Elite Football League of India, or EFLI. Eight teams representing India’s largest cities will kick off the EFLI’s inaugural season next November in the western city of Pune. The organizers say there is huge potential in a country of 1.2 billion people. Sports analysts in India are not so sure. Football commentator Novy Kapadia in New Delhi sees the launch of American-style football in India as an attempt at globalizing the sport. But he says it remains to be seen whether the rough and tumble sport will excite Indians, for whom it is “an area of darkness.” “This is really a surprise, a bolt from the blue," Kapadia says. "There has never been attraction towards American football, neither is American football watched a lot on television. Also, genetically and physically it is a game for much stronger people and does not really suit the Indian physique.” The EFLI will have to begin from scratch, training both players and coaches. But it has big plans. It will add new teams in each season for 10 years, or until it has 52 teams representing all Indian cities with a population of over one million. | 
