NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) will NOT declare the Indian Super League (ISL) as the top-tier of Indian football when its executive committee meets here on July 3.
All the three parties – AIFF, its commercial partner Football Sports Development Limited (FDSL) and the I-League clubs – have reportedly agreed on a compromise formula.
Which is that the AIFF will maintain status quo of holding both ISL and I-League for AT LEAST another year. According to the Indian Express’s Mihir Vasavda however, status quo will be maintained for THREE more years. Vasavda tweeted: “AIFF to seek permission from AFC to continue with the current arrangement for another three years, wherein I-League and ISL will be held simultaneously: @praful_patel #IndianFootball”
AIFF president Praful Patel had called a meeting with the clubs on Wednesday where FSDL representative Sundar Raman, the Reliance Sports CEO, was also present, to thrash out the compromise formula.
The clubs also met amongst themselves to fine tune their strategy before they met Patel. According to Tribune India, the clubs have their own set of demands, the two main one being that the structure of I-League should not be changed and even more importantly, that the marketing and broadcasting rights of the league should be handed back to AIFF (emphasis ours).
After the meeting, the AIFF released the following statement:
“Mr. Praful Patel, President, All India Football Federation, along with Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF, and Mr. Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League on Wednesday (July 3, 2019) met representatives of 10 Hero I-League clubs to discuss the future of the Leagues, and broad framework of football in India.
“AIFF as a custodian of Indian Football is concerned about the well-being, and the future of Indian Football including Hero I-League clubs whose contribution to Indian Football has been long-standing.
“Indian Football’s backbone has been the developmental and promotional activities, including the youth programmes conducted by the Hero I-League clubs. With the advent of the Hero Indian Super League, which is also a league recognised by the Asian Football Confederation, it is imperative to find a viable, and sustainable mechanism to mitigate the concerns about the future of the Hero I-League, and its clubs.
“AIFF and the Hero I-League Clubs have agreed and will work together to find a solution to all issues including the calendar, scheduling, broadcasting, and the continuation of the Hero I-League for a defined period, till the roadmap is ascertained in a time-bound manner in consultation with FSDL, and the AFC.
“A lot of other meaningful issues were also simultaneously discussed, and it is hoped that all issues regarding the future of the Hero I-League vis-Ã -vis the Hero Indian Super League will be resolved shortly.
“The Hero I-League clubs were happy to have engaged in the discussions which will pave the way for a resolution of the pending issues, and thanked the AIFF President for his understanding, and patient hearing.”
