Icons Padel League — a franchise league modelled on the team ownership and live auction format of cricket’s Indian Premier League — is coming to Manchester this autumn.
The first season will include six founding franchises, with teams built after Auction Night later in September.
Every team is anchored by a top-ranked Padel Icon and a rising Padel Captain, with franchise owners bidding in real time to fill the remainder of their squads from an open pool of players, in front of a live crowd and streamed to the league’s online audience.
The Icons are full-time professional players and the Captains top-ranked regional players. The three categories of player are elite, advanced and intermediate. Among the Icons already locked in for the first season is LTA No.1 Josep Aymerich.
Following five weeks of group-stage matches and two weeks of finals, the ticketed Grand Final will be held in October, with a cash prize pool shared between the leading teams.
In true franchise league style, the matches will be streamed live on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, in conjunction with one of the UK’s largest TikTok agencies, building the audience from the off.
After the debut season in Manchester, there are plans for the teams to play further seasons in other locations in the UK.
Wasim Riley, co-founder of Icons Padel League, says: “Padel is exploding in this country, but there’s never been a proper league for it. We wanted something with real teams, real rivalries and a season people can follow, and that’s what we’ve built with Icons Padel League.
“This league is built around content from the ground up, made for social media and live streaming, not bolted on after the fact. We want padel to be entertainment, something any type of viewer can watch and enjoy, not just the people who already play. Manchester is the perfect place to prove the concept, and this is just the start.”
