QUICK QUESTION. How many really believe lightning can strike again for Hero I-League champions Aizawl Football Club (AFC)? The question needs to be raised considering the outpouring of sentiment that has followed the little club from Mizoram’s heroics in what will be the top flight of Indian football for the last and final time.
Aizawl FC players and club management celebrate fairytale ending to I-league campaign.
Will a team that would have been plying its trade in the second division this season if the big Goa clubs had not taken the collective decision to boycott the I-League because they foresaw exactly this scenario unfolding – the relegation of the tournament to the second tier of Indian club football – be able to make an impact in the Indian Super League?
“India’s very own Leicester City FC” is constantly referenced when commenting on the heroics shown by Aizawl this season. If we are to draw the comparison, then we should also point to the fact that the Foxes are currently 11th in Premier League, having clawed their way back to safety from relegation after the mid-season sacking of the gaffer who won the Thai owned club the Premiership – Claudio Ranieri. So history will definitely not strike twice for the Premiership and order will be restored when Chelsea FC – owned by Russian billionaire businessman, investor, and politician Roman Abramovich – are crowned champions.
Make no mistake. Aizawl is NOT Leicester by any stretch of the imagination when looked at from the financial prism. It has a Thai billionaire owner in Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha – founder and chairman of King Power Duty Free. After the title win, his son Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who runs Leicester City, gifted 19 £100,000 BMW i8s to the players shortly before the 2016-2017 Premier League season kicked off.
Meaning no disrespect to Aizawl FC owner Robert Romawia Royte, the politician from Mizoram who is also chairman of TT ROYTE Group and proprietor & chief managing director of Northeast Consultancy Services in Aizawl, one cannot make a case for entry into the ISL when his team’s budget for the entire season was Rs15 million, which includes players’ fees, food, travel, stay and medical expenses. To put it into perspective Bengaluru FC on average spends Rs150 million per season on club operations and clearly has the wherewithal to up it to the Rs400-500 million required to compete in the ISL.
Looked at another way, the Aizawl FC budget is Rs10 million less than what I-League runners up Mohun Bagan reportedly pays its costliest player – Haiti’s Sony Norde.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are looking to make a case for waiver of the licensing fee of Rs150 million (is that for one year, two years, more…?) if admitted into the ISL. What do they offer as “sweat equity” in return? In one word – Legacy!
Aizawl unfortunately offers neither financial muscle nor legacy so it looks for all intents and purposes that being crowned I-League champions and providing one of the most remarkable achievements in Indian football history will be a final curtain call for the hitherto little-known club from Mizoram.
All India Football Federation Federation general secretary Kushal Das has said as much while admitting that Aizawl FC’s history-making exploits are a lesson that it need not be all about money for football clubs to be successful. “They can still play in the second division, and continue to grow their club there. We will show even the second division matches live on television, and not just the top league. So, Aizawl FC need not lose heart even if they are not part of the league (read ISL),” Das stated.
“We will need to sit down with all our partners and see what best suits Indian football as well as everyone else,” Das said, adding that a decision on the merged league will need to be taken “really quickly” now.
So ta ta Aizawl from the top flight of Indian football? SportzPower sees a possible way out for ISL owner Football Sports Development Ltd – the three-way joint venture between IMG-Reliance and Star India.
And it’s not just about managing the optics. Which is no doubt critical for any promoter of a burgeoning enterprise in the public spotlight.
If all goes according to script, by November the ISL will comprise the existing eight franchises and the three I-League powerhouses Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Bengaluru FC (second, third and fourth respectively this season). Which makes for 11 teams.
There have also been reports that the Tata Group is exploring the possibility of acquiring a franchise at an auction that is likely to be held in the next couple of months. Should the Tata Group join the fray, it is likely to choose Jamshedpur as the home base Times of India reports. The group has been running the successful Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur since 1987. The academy has produced players who have represented top clubs in the country and donned national colours.
Assuming the report is right on the money, an option for the powers that be at FSDL in what will be the transition season of the expanded ISL could be to propose that Tata to do a “McDowell Mohun Bagan” with Aizawl. Tata takes control of Aizawl with Royte retaining a minority stake. The existing team plays in the ISL where it will likely struggle to hold its own. But Tata will get hands on experience with what is required to manage an ISL club.
And from next season, the Tata team kicks off its Jamshedpur innings while Aizawl FC plays in League One (erstwhile I-League) and also acts as the Northeast feeder unit for the main team.
This is of course easier said than done but SportzPower believes that if all parties can be brought to the table on this one, it would work well both as a short term solution and from a long term development perspective.
