Tuesday , March 19 2024

I-League clubs suggest unified Indian Football League!

The I-League clubs, who have remain of the position of not participating in the Super Cup 2019, have send out their suggestions for a unified Indian Football League.

Nine of the 11 I-League teams except bottom side Shillong Lajong FC and AIFF developmental side Indian Arrows have come together but only six of the nine have signed the latest letter. The signatories are Chennai City FC, Mohun Bagan AC, Churchill Brothers SC, Gokulam Kerala FC, Minerva Punjab FC and Aizawl FC; while the signatures of Quess East Bengal FC, NEROCA, and Real Kashmir FC were missing.

The clubs reiterated their position that they are ready to play in the Super Cup, even the postponed qualifiers, but they want a meeting with the AIFF president Praful Patel to get across their demands.

Now the clubs have gone a step further and proposed a unified Indian Football League, a 20 team league played from September to May with cup matches played midweek like in Europe.

The league would have promotion and relegation besides all matches being telecast live, marketing being done centrally and parachute payments made to relegated clubs.

The IFL would only allow four foreigners to be signed by each team, having a focus on home grown players from their respective states besides strong youth development programs.

The commercial model being proposed looks at the current ISL financial numbers and simply multiplies those into a marketing worth of 325 crores of the combined Indian Football League.

It is interesting that the I-League clubs come-up with a proposal which even FIFA and the AFC have turned down in their suggestions to the AIFF due to the contractual obligations of the AIFF with their marketing partners FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited).

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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