AFC Champions League: AIFF hints direct entry for ISL league-stage winners

The CEO of the I-League informed the decision of direct entry of teams into the continental competitions from next season.

In an exciting news for the Indian football fans, the winners of Indian Super League (ISL) could get a direct entry into AFC Champions League from next season onwards. Moreover, the winners of I-League could also get a direct entry into AFC Cup next season. Mr. Praful Patel, President, All India Football Federation chaired AIFF’s Executive Committee Meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday. Besides, AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das; Vice Presidents Mr. Subrata Dutta and Mr. Manavendra Singh, and all other members except Vice-Presidents Mr. Larsing Ming, and Mr. KMI Mather; and AIFF Treasurer Mr. ZA Thakur; Mr. Subhash Chopra, Mr. Deepak Sharma, Mr. Jesiah Villavarayar, attended the meeting. [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] Mr. Martin Bain, CEO FSDL, and Mr. Chirag Tanna representing FSDL attended the meeting as invitees; while AIFF Technical Director Mr. Isac Doru was also present on the occasion. The Committee maintained a minute’s silence for the sad demise of Mr. Amarendra Sharan, and Mr. Anjan Mitra. Meanwhile, the Committee congratulated the Indian Senior Women’s Team for winning the Gold medal in the SAG Games in Nepal, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for winning the Arjuna Award, drawing a spontaneous applause from all members. “We still have a lot of work to do and a ground to cover,” Mr. Patel mentioned in his opening address. “The preparation for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020 is in full swing, and the girls are training under new Head Coach Thomas Dennerby.” Mr. Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League apprised the Committee that as per ratification of the AFC Executive Committee, the League winners of the 2019-20 Hero Indian Super League (ISL) will get a direct slot into the AFC Champions League 2021, while the 2019-20 Hero I-League champions will get a direct slot to the AFC Cup 2021. “108 clubs across 14 states have shown interest to play in the Hero Indian Women’s League. The aim is to increase the matches,” Mr. Dhar added. “The 2nd Division League will see 20 teams participating. It will kick-off in January, and continue till May with a break in between for the Hero Santosh Trophy,” he further informed. “Furthermore, in coordination with the Ministry for Sports and Youth Affairs, the Khelo India U-17 Girls League is currently on at the moment, all as part of our effort to find talented players for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020. We also aim to touch 30000 players across 21 states in the Golden Baby Leagues, and emphasis is being laid on getting girls introduced to the sport.” The Committee unanimously decided to launch the Futsal Club Championship from the 2021. [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] The Committee also decided to launch a AIFF Football Masters Course from mid 2020, procedure for admissions for the initial batch would be advertised soon. Moreover, the Committee decided that as AFC levies for International matches/competitions are no longer payable, and with a substantial reduction in feed to be paid to FIFA (has been reduced to CHF 500 per match), the fees to a State Association hosting an International match has been reduced to Rs. 1,15,000 per International match. The AIFF Annual General Body Meeting will be held on January 13, 2020.