NEW DELHI: The timing was ironic, to the say least. Just as Chennai City FC were celebrating becoming the 12th I-League champions, bad news was being dispersed on the sidelines.
All India Football Federation’s secretary Kushal Das stopped short of saying in as many words, but it was pretty obvious what was going to happen to the I-League next season. “I won’t say ‘it won’t be the top tier’. But it may not be the top tier,” he said.
A merger seems unlikely with Das revealing that Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) — promoters of the Indian Super League — will expand the league and release bid documents that I-League clubs can pick up. The clubs who cannot pay the reported franchise fee of `15 crore and meet the financial commitments of playing in the ISL will stay back in the I-League, which looks all but certain to become the second tier of Indian football.
“We had said four years back, that as per contractual obligations to the marketing partner, Indian Super League has to be the top league,” said Das. “We had held it back for some years so that we could find a middle path. You have to understand that if we just merge everything and create a 20-club league, there will be huge financial implications,” he added.
“As it is, it is difficult to find a sustainable model for football. If we just merge, without any planning, it will create huge issues with the clubs, our marketing partners, the broadcasters and the sponsors.”
The likes of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan were insistent that their entry into the ISL were subject to FSDL waiving the franchise fee. But Das virtually ruled this out. “I think that will be very difficult,” he said. “There are clubs who are paying that franchise fee. If you try to bring in clubs who are not paying that franchise fee, then it will lead to problems with the existing clubs. When the contractual obligations with the existing clubs get over, then we can consider this.”
Das, though, did leave some hope for the I-League for the future, stressing that a three-tier league structure with promotion and relegation was what the AIFF envisages in the long term. “We have always said that ultimately, there has to be a league structure with promotion and relegation,” he said.
“There is no doubt about it. The timing of this has to be done properly because we have to find a sustainable model. In other leagues, when a team gets relegated, they get parachute payments. Those things are not here. Let’s say Kerala Blasters get relegated. If there are no parachute payments to support them, they will have problems. Till we find that sustainable solution, we have to continue like this. The idea is to have promotion and relegation.”