Top Indian hockey players could soon be seen in action in the prestigious Premier League of the Netherlands as several Dutch clubs have queued up to sign them after the Athens Olympics.
At least five of the 12 clubs in the Netherlands are keen to sign Indian stars for the high-profile Dutch Premier League, according to the Managing Director of FieldhockeyTV, John Goedegebuure, who is acting as the facilitator for the clubs to rope in the players.
"There is an increase in demand for Indian players in the Premier Hockey League. We have been approached by a number of clubs to sign Indian players and they are some of the best clubs in the country," Goedegeburre told PTI over phone from Amsterdam.
He said some of the players have already been short listed for the League after consultation with marketing consultants in India, Percept Profile, "who have already started their work."
Goedegeburre said the clubs are ready to offer "attractive" pay packages to the Indian players, who last year caught their imagination with some impressive performance in the elite Champions Trophy held in Amstelveen, Holland late last year.
"I can say this is not going to be a matter of worry for the players since its going to be attractive."
Though he declined to name the clubs interested in the Indians, Goedegeburre said the move is aimed at cashing in on the popularity of the stars as well as their artistic style of play.
"We need more and more professionals in the Dutch League. There are a number of foreign players currently playing, but the Indians are quite popular here. They have very good technical skills and their style of play is different," he said.
"It's like a platform between the east and the west. The League will see the best from both India and European countries.
"There is not much time before Olympics and everyone has a tight schedule. But we are making the moves before the start of the mega event," he said.
"We have been in constant touch with Percept Profile for some times now. We have short listed two to three prospective players in consultation with our representative Sharkey's and Profile," he said.
Profile's Delhi Branch Director Sunil Kalra admitted that his company is in talks with "some of the players" but declined to name them.
"Players are upbeat. We are working on the details and the itinerary which does not clash with national and international requirements."
More from rediff