The All India Football Federation’s decision to introduce a tenfold hike in the I-League participating fee from next season has sparked off protests from a number of clubs.
It had been decided at an AIFF meeting held in New Delhi on Monday that the participating fee for clubs taking part in the I -League would be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh from the 2013-14 season. The participating fee for the second division has also been hiked to Rs 1 lakh. Also increasing the financial burden on the clubs is the decision to make it mandatory for all I-League and second division outfits to field teams in the AIFF’s U19 tournament. The clubs will have to bear all accommodation and travel expenses until the latter stages of this tournament.
East Bengal general secretary Kalyan Majumdar said that Rs 5 lakh to participate in a tournament was too much. “Are the AIFF attempting to promote the game or kill it? I would also like to ask them if there will be any corresponding increase in prize money,” he said.
Mumbai FC media coordinator Souptikk Daas also confirmed that his team was not too pleased. “The hike is unfair. This will gravely affect the way our club is being run. We will discuss with other clubs before adopting a suitable course of action.”
However sources within the AIFF justified the hike. “The AIFF currently has a Rs 17 crore budget for the I-League, out of which `14cr is spent solely on these clubs, for transport and accommodation of their players. The clubs can keep the gate receipts and proceeds from any other commercial activity related to the matches. Our partners IMG Reliance have to spend money out of their pockets to keep the television deal for the league alive. So hiking the fee was the only way, we could keep the I-League feasible for us.”
