NEW DELHI: Eight I-League clubs, namely Minerva Punjab, Gokulam Kerala, Aizawl FC, Chennai City FC, Neroca FC, Churchill Bagan and Kolkata arch-rivals, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have joined hands in seeking clarity over and saving the tournament’s future by writing a detailed letter to All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel.
Bagan and East Bengal have surprisingly made a U-turn to join these six clubs in protest, since they were earlier slated to join the Indian Super League (ISL) from the next season.
The letter’s main points of contention include recent reports that the ongoing season will be the last ever of the I-League according to its CEO, Sunando Dhar.
The clubs have urged a meeting on Wednesday with Patel over discussing recent controversies such as the broadcasting lesser number of matches on television especially for clubs such as Minerva and the powers AIFF’s marketing partners, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) possess in its involvement in the I-League.
FSDL is also the co-owner of the ISL alongside Star India, making it a ‘conflict of interest’ according to the clubs, which also fear that some of them could be relegated to second-division leagues of the country if there is a merger between the I-League and the ISL.
The merger has been mentioned in a report prepared by a committee of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA officials, which has made clubs unhappy as they believe that the AIFF doesn’t consult them over key decisions taken. They have requested the governing body to share the report.
They have also alleged a lack of proper functioning of the I-League organising committee as well as the FSDL taking technical decisions on behalf of the AIFF over selections of players and coaches in national team setups.
