Report: Indian Super League 2020-21 to be hosted in India

An online workshop will be conducted for the ISL clubs in October to brief them about the protocols for the league this season.

Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) have assured that the seventh season of the Indian Super League will be held in the country itself. This was in response to a query posed by a club regarding the possibility of hosting the league abroad in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significant measures are going to be taken to contain the spread of the virus and hold a competition of this stature simultaneously. Most importantly, the ISL is set to take place in only a single state this season. Either Goa or Kerala will be playing host to all the matches and the teams will be confined in a bio-secure bubble as a preventive step.

The suggestion to shift the upcoming campaign of the league away from India was put forth in a recent meeting between the FSDL and the ISL clubs. A reliable source in the know of the situation stated to IANS, “There was one club who floated the idea of holding ISL abroad. But, organizers said they are very confident of hosting it in India, with Goa and Kerala the frontrunners.” One of these two states will be finalized for conducting the tournament by August 15, 2020.

Moreover, it is being said that hosting the ISL in a single state will benefit the footballing infrastructure of that particular region. This is because of the fact that several rather fringe stadiums will now avail the facilities that are usually only bestowed upon the ones where ISL matches are organized. Thus, there will now be scope for broader development of these football grounds.

The source further remarked, “At the moment Fatorda in Goa and Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi have all the facilities, as they have hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017. Stadiums like Tilak Maidan in Vasco and one in Bambolim will get a makeover and after it has hosted the ISL, it will be ready to host international matches. Same for Manjeri Stadium and EMS Stadium in Kozhikode. Whichever state gets to host it, it will have a massive uplift in terms of football facilities.”

There will be an online workshop conducted in October in which the clubs will be briefed on the rules, regulations and protocols for the seventh edition of the ISL. This is to ensure that the concerned entities have utmost clarity about the situation.

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