NEW DELHI: Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a Reliance and Star India co-owned joint venture that organises the Hero Indian Super League, is reportedly set to open bids for two new franchises to join the ISL after the current season’s final on March 17.
“The plan is to get the bidding document out after the ISL final,” a senior AIFF official told The Tribune. “The number of teams will depend on how many actually bid. We know East Bengal have an investor in Quess and they want to play the ISL, but (Mohun) Bagan don’t have a tie-up yet. They may come up with a tie-up with someone,” the official added.
The teams looking to bid will have to follow a few regulations. They have to pay a minimum franchise fee estimated to be between Rs 180-200 million. Earmarked dressing rooms, a training venue and a youth academy are some of the criteria that have to be met by the respective teams.
“As per the contracts, all the ISL teams will have to have youth academies by the end of fifth year. And since this is the fifth year, FC Goa is already on the job and so are a few other teams. East Bengal has a youth academy already,” the official told the daily.
It is understood that East Bengal wants a concession on the franchise fee but it is unlikely that the league committee will heed to such a request. “Everyone will want to pay less but the fee will be determined by the league committee and it has to be paid. We will try and be reasonable but frankly it will be unfair to those teams that have paid a higher fee,” the AIFF official said.
In a related development, I-League CEO Sunando Dhar, speaking in Coimbatore, reiterated an assertion he had made last month, which is that the ISL would be the top league in the country from the next season on, and also that the ISL would NOT have promotion and relegation for the near-to-mid-term.
“Ideally, a league has to be based on the principle of promotion and relegation. I do not think the new league will be based on this principle because of the contractual obligations in the Indian Super League (ISL),” Dhar said.
“Relegation and promotion may not be possible initially. But, the system should fall in place after some years. The idea is to get a new system in place first and to tweak it later,” explained Dhar.
As per the roadmap drawn during meetings between AFC and AIFF, India is expected to have a new league format from the 2020 season. Teams from the I-League are expected to join the ISL but the number is still not clear although there are indications that Mohun Bagan (reportedly after merging with ATK) and Quess East Bengal are expected to be the teams from Kolkata because of the huge fan following enjoyed by these two clubs.
And what will be the fate of the clubs competing in the I-League this season? They will remain the top of the heap of the “rest of the Indian club football field” with a new name and entry into continental tournament’s barred looks to be the most plausible scenario.
Ergo for I-League defending champions, whose title win qualified them for the AFC Champions League 2019, would be well served to savour their maiden (and presumably last) presence on the continental stage. They take on Iranian side Saipa FC in a preliminary round match of the Champions League in Tehran later Tuesday.
For the record, the I-league started as the successor to the National Football League (NFL) in 2007 and seven clubs have won the title since its inception. Goa’s Dempo Sports Club is the only club in India to have won the I-league three times. Goa’s Churchill Brothers FC has won the I-league twice along with Bengaluru FC and is in contention for the third title in the final year of the league. Salgaocar FC from Goa, Mohun Bagan, Aizawl FC and Minerva Punjab are the other teams to have won the championship.
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