The upcoming I-League season is likely to be limited to 15 teams with the AIFF set to disband their developmental side Pailan Arrows. The franchisee from Kerala, who were among the three bidders to start new I-League clubs, have also announced their decision to not participate in the upcoming season.
The other two bidders - JSW Group and Mumbai Tigers - had been given provisional clearance to field teams.
Sources close to Pailan Arrows revealed to Express that the chances of the team taking to the field again was extremely unlikely. “We are suffering from some severe financial problems. We had asked the AIFF to take care of the boarding and catering expenses of our players, but they have not agreed to it so far. A final decision will be announced in the coming days, but the team’s fate is more or less sealed.”
The news would come as a windfall for the AIFF’s commercial partner IMG Reliance, who had been struggling to sign players for their IPL-style competition due to clubs refusing to cooperate with them. They will now how the option of signing most of India’s junior team, including full internationals Alwyn George and Shouvik Ghosh.
Meanwhile the consortium from Kerala, who had bid to start an I-League club, confirmed their withdrawal. “The AIFF had asked us to meet certain financial commitments which we had been unable to. We are not backed by a corporate giant like the other two franchisees are. We have asked the AIFF to give us one more year, just like they did for the QPR-backed group. Anyway it is certain that we will not participate this year,” said sources close to the group.
Late Start
The upcoming I-League season will only start in mid September due to the SAFF Cup being preponed, authorities revealed to Express on Monday. Matches will take place through October, November and December, before a three-month halt to the tournament to accommodate IMG-Reliance’s competition. The I-League will resume again in March. Fifteen teams will battle it out in two conferences with the top four from each group progressing to the latter stages of the tournament.
