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AIFF Executive Committee asks AFC to 'positively consider' ISL's elevation as India's top league

Published at :July 9, 2019 at 7:30 PM
Modified at :July 9, 2019 at 7:30 PM
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Neil Talnikar


The committee also requested the Asian body to constitute a high-level panel to hold deliberations with all stakeholders over the future roadmap of Indian football.

In the latest twist in the prolonged battle between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the I-League clubs, the Executive Committee of the governing body met today in the capital.

The agenda of the meeting was to discuss a series of issues that have come to the fore in the past months, including the request that the champions of the Indian Super League (ISL) should be rewarded with a spot in the AFC Champions League. 

In this regard the AIFF statement read, "In light of the MRA as well as the fact that in the last five years the entire Indian national squad are mostly being signed/playing for the Indian Super League clubs, and the TV viewership and in-stadia audience having grown far more substantially vis-a-vis the I-League, and the Indian Super League clubs complying with the entire AFC Club Licensing criteria, including strong grassroots and youth development programmes which had also been certified by the Asian Football Confederation, the AIFF Executive Committee recommends to the Asian Football Confederation to positively consider their request."

Ever since Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj leaked the alleged Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a furore broke out, as the federation faced allegations of ‘selling Indian football’ to a private firm. 

In light of the same, intense discussions were held during the meeting today, regarding the resolution of issues such as the creation of a unified league structure and the future of the I-League and its member clubs. For the same, the AIFF has requested the AFC to send a high-level delegation led by Dato Windsor John, General Secretary, of the Asian body, to discuss the issues in the presence of all the stakeholders in Indian football including the FSDL, with a view to arriving at a solution.

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On July 3, Praful Patel, the president of the AIFF, met with the I-League clubs to understand their grievances, upon which the two parties arrived at a conclusion, requesting the AFC to allow the governing body time until 2022 to resolve the issues, with the dual league structure continuing in the interim.

However, only five days later, the clubs released a letter to the media, which revealed that they stand contrary to the spirit in which Patel had met them. As a result, today’s meeting decided to seek the involvement of the AFC to resolve the impasse and provide a roadmap for the future.

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