The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is looking at a February-March 2017 timeframe in finalising a roadmap for the proposed Indian Super League (ISL), I-League merger, involving 10 or 11 teams, but insisted on Monday on a patient, comprehensive approach rather than a swift and messy unification of the two domestic tournaments. The planned composite league with all the eight Indian Super League (ISL) and select I-League teams has been in the pipeline for sometime with the AIFF also formulating a rough sketch of the merger with ISL becoming the top-flight tournament and the I-League, to be renamed League One, becoming the second tier event, which has met with ample criticism and confusion.
Former champions Salgaocar have already declared to skip the impending I-League, to start in January next year. Fellow Goan clubs are also reportedly mulling the same route but are yet to make public their intentions. The AIFF originally pushed for a 2017-18 unveiling of the new-look league. The governing body is looking to stick to its original deadline. But for that to happen all contentious aspects have to fall in place by February-March next year.
The new league will ideally comprise 10 teams -- the eight ISL franchises and two I-League clubs, reigning champions Bengaluru FC and runners-up Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan reportedly better placed at making the cut. But the AIFF is also open to a 11-team format with another Kolkata heavyweights East Bengal also in the fray. "The number of teams to participate in the league is yet to be decided," Das added. Accommodating the contrasting demands and ideology and legacy of traditional I-League clubs and the corporate franchises of the ISL have come in the way of the AIFF's ambitious plan. "We can't take any shortcuts. We have to think of a well define plan and all stakeholders have to be taken aboard. "The time frame spoken of is being set by everybody except us. We are step by step moving in the direction and I can't say how many clubs will play in it," Patel told IANS at the same event. "We respect all the legacy clubs that have contributed to Indian football. But at the same time we have no shortage of interest among new clubs who want to play in I-League," he added.
The AIFF also set a taskforce together with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to put together a satisfactory path for the composite competition. The AFC later committed only to providing expertise for the plan but made it clear that decisions of any magnitude will have to be taken but the AIFF alone. FIFA's new president Gianni Infantino recently advised the AIFF to safeguard the interests of the traditional I-League clubs during the merger. The AIFF is currently saddled with the tough task of finding a middle path to incorporate the needs of the clubs and franchises. The financial disparity between the clubs and franchises along with the number of foreigners to be allowed per team are two of the several disputable issues plaguing the AIFF. Balancing the guidelines of FIFA and AFC with the interests of corporate franchises have proved to be AIFF's biggest setback, with no satisfactory solution in sight.
Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia believed a seven-month league could be a solution to India's current domestic matches congestion. "Right now the football calendar is in a difficult situation. Many players are out of action because of the short tenure of ISL and I-League. So a long league of seven months would help in stabilising the structure," he said. Legendary striker I.M. Vijayan said the new league should incorporate several I-League clubs as it will give opportunity to all top-flight footballers a chance to ply their trade. Presently due to the scarcity of clubs participating in the I-league and the stipulated eight franchise format of the ISL a large number of players, including some well known ones, have been clubless with their future thrown in the dark. "There are a lot of players. But due to pull out of clubs like Salgaocar many players are clubless. If the merged league has greater number of clubs then the free players will get a chance to play," Vijayan told this correspondent. "The new league should also employ AFC's four foreigner rule rather than the six imports allowed in ISL."
However, the much talked about merger may not happen next year, said Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
“We would have liked it to happen in 2017, we still do, but it looks unlikely,” said Patel, on the sidelines of a programme organised to launch ‘Back to The Roots’, a book on football written by Shaji Prabhakaran, who is also the FIFA development officer for south and central Asia. Former India stars such as IM Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia, Jo Paul Anchery, Raman Vijayan and Bruno Coutinho were present as was former India and JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh.
The main area of contention is the lack of clarity on which teams from Kolkata and Goa would take part in the amalgamated competition that is supposed to be India’s official football league, said Patel.
According to a proposal mooted by the AIFF and IMG-Reliance, the federation’s commercial partners, earlier this year, the league would be called the ISL and run for six to eight months, beginning after the 2017 under-17 World Cup.
But while Bengaluru FC’s participation was a given, since they are the reigning I-League champions and there is no ISL franchise from that city, it seems there is no consensus yet as to who from Kolkata and Goa would participate.
While FC Goa represent the state in the ISL, it also has teams such as Salgaocar, Dempo and Sporting Clube de Goa in the I-League. Kolkata has Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in the I-League and Atletico de Kolkata in the ISL. Though the number of teams in the 2017-18 ISL was not made public when the proposal was shared with all stakeholders here last May, sources in the AIFF said it is unlikely to be more than 10.
That means with all eight ISL franchises being given automatic entry, according to the terms of their contract, a formula needed to be arrived at to pick two teams from the I-League. With only a year left for the new season, there is no clarity on that yet.
So, going by current indications this season’s I-League may not be the last one. What could, however, happen, according to a source in the AIFF, is that the ISL in 2017 would have 10 teams. That would mean a longer and bigger ISL with the I-League winners continuing to representing India in AFC tournaments.
Earlier, speaking at a panel discussion after the book launch, Patel called the ISL, in its current avatar, a disrupter. “We (the AIFF) have set the cat among the pigeons,” he said, while explaining that without the ISL, football in India wouldn’t have got the shake-up it needs. At that discussion, Bhutia mentioned the lack of opportunities at the youth level in his time and said the kind of exposure the India uner-17 team is getting is proof that some things have changed for the better.
Sources:
AIFF may decide on ISL, I-League merger early next year - Oneindia
Merger of ISL and I-League unlikely in 2017: Praful Patel | football | Hindustan Times
So, what are your views on it, guys?
Former champions Salgaocar have already declared to skip the impending I-League, to start in January next year. Fellow Goan clubs are also reportedly mulling the same route but are yet to make public their intentions. The AIFF originally pushed for a 2017-18 unveiling of the new-look league. The governing body is looking to stick to its original deadline. But for that to happen all contentious aspects have to fall in place by February-March next year.
The new league will ideally comprise 10 teams -- the eight ISL franchises and two I-League clubs, reigning champions Bengaluru FC and runners-up Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan reportedly better placed at making the cut. But the AIFF is also open to a 11-team format with another Kolkata heavyweights East Bengal also in the fray. "The number of teams to participate in the league is yet to be decided," Das added. Accommodating the contrasting demands and ideology and legacy of traditional I-League clubs and the corporate franchises of the ISL have come in the way of the AIFF's ambitious plan. "We can't take any shortcuts. We have to think of a well define plan and all stakeholders have to be taken aboard. "The time frame spoken of is being set by everybody except us. We are step by step moving in the direction and I can't say how many clubs will play in it," Patel told IANS at the same event. "We respect all the legacy clubs that have contributed to Indian football. But at the same time we have no shortage of interest among new clubs who want to play in I-League," he added.
The AIFF also set a taskforce together with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to put together a satisfactory path for the composite competition. The AFC later committed only to providing expertise for the plan but made it clear that decisions of any magnitude will have to be taken but the AIFF alone. FIFA's new president Gianni Infantino recently advised the AIFF to safeguard the interests of the traditional I-League clubs during the merger. The AIFF is currently saddled with the tough task of finding a middle path to incorporate the needs of the clubs and franchises. The financial disparity between the clubs and franchises along with the number of foreigners to be allowed per team are two of the several disputable issues plaguing the AIFF. Balancing the guidelines of FIFA and AFC with the interests of corporate franchises have proved to be AIFF's biggest setback, with no satisfactory solution in sight.
Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia believed a seven-month league could be a solution to India's current domestic matches congestion. "Right now the football calendar is in a difficult situation. Many players are out of action because of the short tenure of ISL and I-League. So a long league of seven months would help in stabilising the structure," he said. Legendary striker I.M. Vijayan said the new league should incorporate several I-League clubs as it will give opportunity to all top-flight footballers a chance to ply their trade. Presently due to the scarcity of clubs participating in the I-league and the stipulated eight franchise format of the ISL a large number of players, including some well known ones, have been clubless with their future thrown in the dark. "There are a lot of players. But due to pull out of clubs like Salgaocar many players are clubless. If the merged league has greater number of clubs then the free players will get a chance to play," Vijayan told this correspondent. "The new league should also employ AFC's four foreigner rule rather than the six imports allowed in ISL."
However, the much talked about merger may not happen next year, said Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
“We would have liked it to happen in 2017, we still do, but it looks unlikely,” said Patel, on the sidelines of a programme organised to launch ‘Back to The Roots’, a book on football written by Shaji Prabhakaran, who is also the FIFA development officer for south and central Asia. Former India stars such as IM Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia, Jo Paul Anchery, Raman Vijayan and Bruno Coutinho were present as was former India and JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh.
The main area of contention is the lack of clarity on which teams from Kolkata and Goa would take part in the amalgamated competition that is supposed to be India’s official football league, said Patel.
According to a proposal mooted by the AIFF and IMG-Reliance, the federation’s commercial partners, earlier this year, the league would be called the ISL and run for six to eight months, beginning after the 2017 under-17 World Cup.
But while Bengaluru FC’s participation was a given, since they are the reigning I-League champions and there is no ISL franchise from that city, it seems there is no consensus yet as to who from Kolkata and Goa would participate.
While FC Goa represent the state in the ISL, it also has teams such as Salgaocar, Dempo and Sporting Clube de Goa in the I-League. Kolkata has Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in the I-League and Atletico de Kolkata in the ISL. Though the number of teams in the 2017-18 ISL was not made public when the proposal was shared with all stakeholders here last May, sources in the AIFF said it is unlikely to be more than 10.
That means with all eight ISL franchises being given automatic entry, according to the terms of their contract, a formula needed to be arrived at to pick two teams from the I-League. With only a year left for the new season, there is no clarity on that yet.
So, going by current indications this season’s I-League may not be the last one. What could, however, happen, according to a source in the AIFF, is that the ISL in 2017 would have 10 teams. That would mean a longer and bigger ISL with the I-League winners continuing to representing India in AFC tournaments.
Earlier, speaking at a panel discussion after the book launch, Patel called the ISL, in its current avatar, a disrupter. “We (the AIFF) have set the cat among the pigeons,” he said, while explaining that without the ISL, football in India wouldn’t have got the shake-up it needs. At that discussion, Bhutia mentioned the lack of opportunities at the youth level in his time and said the kind of exposure the India uner-17 team is getting is proof that some things have changed for the better.
Sources:
AIFF may decide on ISL, I-League merger early next year - Oneindia
Merger of ISL and I-League unlikely in 2017: Praful Patel | football | Hindustan Times
So, what are your views on it, guys?
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