ISL 2017 set to have more teams!

Khel Now sources believe that if no I-league team comes in, teams from Ahmedabad and Jamshedpur can win the bidding race. . . 

Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), organisers of the Indian Super League (ISL) - a city based football league established in India in 2014 under the sanction of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), plans to invite bids from interested parties to enrol and participate in the ISL from its fourth edition to be staged in year 2017-2018.

FSDL will be floating the tender through ‘Invitation To Bid’ (ITB) to be available on working days starting 12th May 2017 to 24th May 2017.

Bids are invited from prospective team owners in respect of 10-cities ie, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Siliguri and Thiruvananthapuram.

Under and subject to the ITB, one (01) to three (03) new winning bidders shall be enrolled and awarded the right to participate in the ISL. Its been clarified that in case of the city of Kolkata being awarded to the winning bidder, the respective team shall hold its home games outside Kolkata for the next two consecutive ISL seasons (2017/2018 and 2018/2019).

All bidding parties will need to fulfil the eligibility criteria and other requirements specified in the ITB including but not limited to a summary of plans to operate their team in the league, including the business model and plan to develop the sport at the grassroots level. The bid documents must be submitted on Thursday, 25th May 2017.

Eight teams currently participate in the ISL- Atletico de Kolkata, Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos FC, FC Goa, FC Pune City, Kerala Blasters FC, NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City FC.