Thursday , March 28 2024

I-League CEO Sunando Dhar: Tough decisions will be taken in new Indian Football roadmap!

World Football Forum - Sunando DharAt the World Football Forum on Friday, July 8 at the L’Hotel du Collectionneur in the heart of the French capital Paris, I caught-up with the I-League CEO to speak about the current state of affairs, how the I-League has developed over the years, the opposition to the new roadmap for Indian club football and what interaction at such conferences mean.

Here to the VIDEO: My exclusive Interview with I-League CEO Sunando Dhar at World Football Forum!

Here below the full transcript of my video interview!

Arunava: I have with me Sunando Dhar, the CEO of the I-League, how was your experience today here at the World Football Forum?

Its always good to interact with people who love the game, we get to learn so many new things from new territories, so it is always good.

Arunava: A lot has happened in the I-League since its inception in 2007, you have come on board as the CEO, a lot of new things are set to happen over the next 12 to 24 months. Where do you see the I-League at the moment?

There has been a lot of change since the I-League started in 2007. The first thing, when I came on board in 2010, the main focus was to professionalise the setup among which the club licensing criteria was one thing. Another thing was to expand the horizons, take it out from Goa and Kolkata, and basically get teams from new locations.

Few things worked! Bengaluru FC has been one fantastic example that which has worked. Few things haven’t worked. Over the years, the crowds have gone up and the quality of players has improved, but there are some shortcomings also. In the mean time, obviously the ISL came in with the glitz and glamour over a short duration with which the crowds went through the roof. So it was all very good but the thing we all realised was that we couldn’t go with two leagues; one with three months, one with four-and-a-half.

It wasn’t helping the players, it wasn’t helping us. Scheduling was a nightmare and the national team coach (Stephen Constantine) always complained that he wasn’t getting enough time with the players. So we knew that it had to happen; we had to have one league which goes on for about seven months, then we have the cup for about couple of months which takes it to a nine-month calendar.

The problem is that the process has started but the dynamics between the ISL and I-League clubs are different, so are the economics of it. It’s not an easy marriage. But as I said, all the stakeholders believe that one league is necessary and how we take it forward, so that’s what we are doing. There would be a shake up to the system. Obviously, we can’t please everyone. We know that there would be some fallout as unfortunate that maybe but that’s the reality of the situation.

As long as maximum good is done for the maximum stakeholders, that’s what will help and hopefully that’s what we will achieve in some time, say the end of 2017 or post the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. In say about three-to-four years time, we aim to have at least 30-to-35 professional clubs playing in these three tiers (ISL, League One, League Two) doing what they are supposed to do; that is, not only investing in their current team but investing in the youth too.

Arunava: But hasn’t that changed over the last two/three years? You just look at the Under-18 League, the Under-15 League which has created and now the upcoming Under-13 League?

Definitely it has! It started with the licensing and if you spoke to the I-League clubs then, the first time it was introduced, they all said it is an additional burden on them but I think pretty soon, in about two years time, they realised that it was helping them more than they thought it wouldn’t. They were forced to invest in youth development, they were forced to invest in academies and they saw that the players were coming out of their systems. Some clubs did better; the smaller clubs did better whereas it is difficult for some older clubs, but hopefully soon everyone would do that and that was helping them.

So that’s why the initial reservation of the clubs slowly went away and hopefully, as I said when we have about 30-to-35 professional clubs at whatever level and if they do things properly, in the right manner, I am sure, not only would they help themselves, but they would help Indian football!

Arunava: Thank you Sunando for this conversation.

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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