Report: AIFF Prez Kalyan Chaubey claims ISL not ready for relegation

Kalyan Chaubey has highlighted why he believes ISL isn’t ready to embrace relegation.

On 14 October 2019, the Executive Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) approved the new roadmap for Indian football,  which was presented by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The committee gave the seal of approval to the blueprint which sees Indian Super League (ISL) recognised as India’s top league. Moreover, ISL league stage winners get a spot in the AFC Champions League play-offs and the I-League winners get a AFC Cup qualifying spot.

The roadmap also stated, that starting from the 2024-25 season, the ISL clubs will also be subjected to relegation and promotion, and the top tier of Indian football will no longer be a closed league.

Whilst promotion into the ISL has been pretty successfully implemented by the stakeholders, the introduction of a relegation system seems to be a matter of concern.

Quotes for Chaubey

According to All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey, ISL isn’t ready for relegation as yet since the gap between the top-tier (ISL) and second-tier (I-League) is big at this moment.

“I am not in a position to comment on the relegation part as of now, but I am happy that at least we have promotion,” Chaubey told Times of India on Friday. “I understand, because of the format, if a franchise gets relegated, then there won’t be much motivation for the team to continue in the I-League.”

“ISL franchises invest heavily, and they know they are there with long term (plans). ISL is not ready for relegation, unless I-League raises its bar. It will take some more time. There should be a minimum gap between the two leagues,” said Chaubey.

So far, two clubs have been promoted into the ISL, with Punjab FC being the first-ever club to be promoted, and Mohammedan SC becoming the latest team to be promoted, as they will compete in the 2024-25 ISL season. 

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