The tourism Minister, PA Mohamed Riyas has announced that the second edition of the Champions Boat League (CBL) will take place from September 4 to November 26, 2022. The CBL tournament structure is modelled after the Indian Premier League (IPL). The races will take place in 12 different locations across five districts in Kerala.
The first leg of the snake-boat races will take place on September 4 at Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, alongside the renowned Nehru Trophy Boat Race.
The tournament is being organized by Kerala Tourism as a series of weekend activities after the inauguration at Punnamada Lake. The tournament will conclude with the President’s Trophy in Kollam on November 6. CBL-2, like its predecessor, will have half of its legs in Alappuzha, two in Kollam and Ernakulam, and one each in Thrissur and Kottayam.
In addition to the district headquarters city, the venues in Alappuzha will be Pulinkunnu, Kainakary, Karuvatta, Pandanadu (Chengannur), and Kayamkulam. The locations in Ernakulami will be Piravom and Marine Drive, while the Kollam district venues will be Kollam town and Kallada. Other locations are Thazhathangadi (Kottayam) and Kottapuram.
The inaugural CBL season was launched in August 2019 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the presence of the former cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar. It included nine teams and total prize money of INR 5.86 crore.
PA Mohamed Riyas unveiled the jerseys of the nine CBL teams during the announcement event. He said, “There will be an allied round, featuring a competition of small boats, at the Chaliyar river in Kozhikode.”
The final will be held at the scenic Ashtamudi Lake, which is located 60 kilometres north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram.