MUMBAI: After all the bombastic statements from the AIFF of xyz I-League clubs participating in the upcoming 2019 Hero Super Cup (as too the delusional ones from the “old guard” of East Bengal FC) comes the reality check.
21 March, the final deadline set by the All India Football Federation for I-League clubs to indicate if they were ready to participate in the upcoming Hero Super League came and went with no revert from the eight recalcitrant teams. Indian Arrows, the AIFF’s development team, was the only I-League side entered in the qualifying rounds of the Super Cup that remained ready to compete.
As things stand, the I-League clubs’ stance is that they are willing to play the Super Cup if they get a meeting with AIFF president Praful Patel AND the qualifers of the tournament are played again.
The earliest any meeting with Patel can happen is mid-April (the Super Cup final is scheduuled for 13 April) and the AIFF has made clear that the qualifiers will NOT be played again. The Super Cup is scheduled to kick off on 29 April. Ergo, as things stand, the 2019 edition of the Hero Super Cup is dead in the water.
9 I-league clubs present Indian football future blueprint
Nine I-League clubs have presented their own blueprint for the future of Indian football, which they not only intend to present to Patel, but also share with the Indian Super League clubs, Goal reports.
The roadmap prepared by the I-League clubs proposes a unified top-division called the ‘Indian Football League’, which also includes the ISL teams, and having 20 teams as well as a 16-team second division league.
“In one line, we want a unified league which we refer to as ‘Indian Football League’. No ISL, no I-League, only Indian Football League with 20 teams. That means, 10 teams of ISL and 10 teams of I-League and a strong 16-team second division league. So, a total of 36 teams from all over India will be covered,” Mohun Bagan finance secretary Debashish Dutta told the football website.
“If you study here, we have kept 2 crore (Rs 20 million) participation fee for all the clubs – no 15 and 18 crores franchise fee. ISL franchises are losing around (INR) 30 crores per year, which is a huge loss. After spending so much money, tomorrow they will go. In five years if they lose 150 crores! Money is money. It’s their hard-earned money,” he added.
