Without soccer giants like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, none can imagine a football system in India. But AIFF has chalked out a roadmap to simply hurt that rich tradition to hail their brainchild 'football development' which is to effected from the 2017-18 season. Time will tell how this furse of new tier-system works. Now, here are some reports and presumptions on the same.
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Long live ISL, I-League is dead - The Times of India
Marcus Mergulhao
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New Delhi:
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New Combined League Could Sound Death Knell For Several Clubs
The fledgling Indian Super League (ISL), now only in its third year, will enjoy the status of being India's premier football competition at the cost of the I-League, a competition the All India Football Federation first started in 1996.The AIFF and its marketing partner, IMG-Reliance, which owns the ISL, made a power-point presentation to all stakeholders during a meeting in the Capital on Tuesday , drawing furious reactions from clubs like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, all of whom, despite their rich legacy , could miss out on a place in the top league when the new tendering process is announced.
The new combined league -which will be called ISL will accommodate only two new teams, depending on which team meets the new criteria -largely financial. But even if all eight teams in the ILeague are willing to spend big and meet the stringent criteria, there will be no place for all of them at the top.
“You cannot have 16 teams at the top simply because we do not have enough players,“ said Sundar Raman, the chief operating officer (Sports) of Reliance, the biggest stakeholders in the ISL.
Worse still for I-League te ams, those who are left out and forced to play in the newly-created League 1, will have no incentive of promotion to the top league. ISL teams finishing at the bottom will not be relegated to the lower league, while the top teams in League 1 will not be promoted to the ISL. “There are contractual obligations that have to be respected,“ said AIFF president Praful Patel, without elaborating, possibly referring to the franchise agreement that ISL teams have with the league owners which make it clear that neither of them will be relegated for the length of their 10-year contract.
“Football is a game of serious investment. It is no more an amateur sport,“ said Patel.
The proposal, or rather the `roadmap' for Indian football, leaves several I-League clubs in the lurch and it could possibly force them to shut shop.“If we fulfil the criteria, there is no place for us in the ISL. If we play in League 1, there is no avenue for us to get promoted to the top league. Why should we play at all,“ asked a furious club official who attended the meeting.
The AIFF and its marketing partners, though, think differently . “The League 1 in fact will be a much better product than the existing I-League,“ said Chirag Tanna, formerly with the now-disbanded Pune FC and now employ ed with Reliance Sports.
According to the proposal, the top league will have 10 teams, League 1 another 10 teams and League 2 will be divided into East and West zones, accommodating 10 more. All leagues will run simultaneously for seven months, while lower league teams have been assured of matches only on weekends and live television coverage.
The AIFF will introduce a new competition called the Super Cup which will include eight teams from the ISL, four from League 1 and four qualifiers from League 2. The competition will run for two months and the winner will be rewarded with a spot in the AFC Cup, Asian football's second tier club competition.
The AIFF said they want to take football beyond the 15 states that have representation at the moment in all domestic tiers. “The aim is to involve a total of 50 teams across the three leagues by 2020,“ said I-League CEO Sunando Dhar.
THE PROPOSALS
The new combined league which will be called ISL will accommodate only two new teams, depending on which team meets the new criteria -largely financial
Worse still for I-League teams, those who are left out and forced to play in the newly-created League 1, will have no incentive of promotion to the top league
According to the proposal, the top league will have 10 teams, League 1 another 10 teams and League 2 will be divided into East and West zones, accommodating 10 more
The AIFF will introduce a new competition called the Super Cup which will include eight teams from the ISL, four from League 1 and four qualifiers from League 2
The competition will run for two months and the winner will be rewarded with a spot in the AFC Cup, Asian football's second tier club competition
The new combined league -which will be called ISL will accommodate only two new teams, depending on which team meets the new criteria -largely financial. But even if all eight teams in the ILeague are willing to spend big and meet the stringent criteria, there will be no place for all of them at the top.
“You cannot have 16 teams at the top simply because we do not have enough players,“ said Sundar Raman, the chief operating officer (Sports) of Reliance, the biggest stakeholders in the ISL.
Worse still for I-League te ams, those who are left out and forced to play in the newly-created League 1, will have no incentive of promotion to the top league. ISL teams finishing at the bottom will not be relegated to the lower league, while the top teams in League 1 will not be promoted to the ISL. “There are contractual obligations that have to be respected,“ said AIFF president Praful Patel, without elaborating, possibly referring to the franchise agreement that ISL teams have with the league owners which make it clear that neither of them will be relegated for the length of their 10-year contract.
“Football is a game of serious investment. It is no more an amateur sport,“ said Patel.
The proposal, or rather the `roadmap' for Indian football, leaves several I-League clubs in the lurch and it could possibly force them to shut shop.“If we fulfil the criteria, there is no place for us in the ISL. If we play in League 1, there is no avenue for us to get promoted to the top league. Why should we play at all,“ asked a furious club official who attended the meeting.
The AIFF and its marketing partners, though, think differently . “The League 1 in fact will be a much better product than the existing I-League,“ said Chirag Tanna, formerly with the now-disbanded Pune FC and now employ ed with Reliance Sports.
According to the proposal, the top league will have 10 teams, League 1 another 10 teams and League 2 will be divided into East and West zones, accommodating 10 more. All leagues will run simultaneously for seven months, while lower league teams have been assured of matches only on weekends and live television coverage.
The AIFF will introduce a new competition called the Super Cup which will include eight teams from the ISL, four from League 1 and four qualifiers from League 2. The competition will run for two months and the winner will be rewarded with a spot in the AFC Cup, Asian football's second tier club competition.
The AIFF said they want to take football beyond the 15 states that have representation at the moment in all domestic tiers. “The aim is to involve a total of 50 teams across the three leagues by 2020,“ said I-League CEO Sunando Dhar.
THE PROPOSALS
The new combined league which will be called ISL will accommodate only two new teams, depending on which team meets the new criteria -largely financial
Worse still for I-League teams, those who are left out and forced to play in the newly-created League 1, will have no incentive of promotion to the top league
According to the proposal, the top league will have 10 teams, League 1 another 10 teams and League 2 will be divided into East and West zones, accommodating 10 more
The AIFF will introduce a new competition called the Super Cup which will include eight teams from the ISL, four from League 1 and four qualifiers from League 2
The competition will run for two months and the winner will be rewarded with a spot in the AFC Cup, Asian football's second tier club competition
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AIFF restructures Indian Football into three-tier system: ISL top tier, I-League becomes League 1 - SportsKeeda
The 2018/19 season will see a football filled calendar with ISL, League 1 and League 2 running in parallel
Sunaadh Sagar
AIFF has majorly revamped the Indian footballing calendar into a three-tier system from the 2017/18 season. The Indian Super League will be India’s top tier league, with the I-League now re-christened to ‘League 1’, while the 2nd Division I-League will be called ‘League 2’. ISL will not have any relegation while League 1 and League 2 will have relegation and promotion.
AIFF officials met in AIFF headquarters in Delhi to discuss the changes to Indian footballing calendar, with rumours of a league merger being discussed. However, the decisions reached have restructured Indian football drastically, while retaining the ISL’s autonomy. The Federation Cup will also be revamped to a 'Super Cup', with teams from all tiers participating.
Tier 1: Indian Super League
The Indian Super League will add to the existing eight teams, with tenders for the additional teams to be invited – the final number has not been decided yet, nor has there been any assertion that existing I-League clubs such as Bengaluru FC, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will be absorbed into the revamped ISL.
Since the FIFA U-17 World Cup will take place in October 2017, the ISL, which currently runs from October to December, will be for a duration of five months, running from November to March. From the 2018/19 season onwards, ISL will run from September to March – a duration of seven months.
The biggest decision and a potential bone of contention is that there will be no relegation or promotion from the ISL.
Tier 2: League 1
The I-League will be re-christened to ‘League 1’, with the league to be expanded to 10 teams, from it’s existing 9. League 1 will run parallel to the ISL, having the same duration of 5 months in the 2017/18 season and 7 months thereafter. Club licensing criteria will be decided at a later date, although rules are expected to be stringent.
The AIFF has also decided to promote League 1 with a financial stimulus package, while also ensuring that STAR will broadcast League 1 on its bouquet channels from 2017, with all games being streamed digitally. There will be relegation from League 1.
Tier 3: League 2
The 2nd Division I-League will be re-christened to League 2, with it also to be expanded to 10 teams. AIFF will pay special attention to this league, offering a great degree of monetary support, hoping toensure that teams from states of India that have never participated in the domestic leagues, such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, are represented.
Promotion is guaranteed for those finishing at the top of League 2, thus offering an incentive. League 2’s schedule and duration will run parallel to the other two leagues.
Cup Competition : Federation Cup becomes Super Cup from 2018
India’s most prestigious cup competition will be re-christened to the ‘Super Cup’ from the 2018/19 season onwards. It will be contested by teams from all three leagues, with a total of 16 teams. 8 ISL teams and the top 4 League 1 teams will be guaranteed a place, while the remaining four spots will be contested by a playoff between the remaining teams in the league hierarchy in a playoff format.
In addition, the Nehru Cup, an invitational international tournament, will be called the Champions Cup from 2018, with India set to participate against teams ranked 120-140. A women’s league will also be run parallel to the three leagues.
Here is how the final footballing calendar will look like from the 2018/19 season:
August : Champions Cup
September – March : ISL, League 1 and League 2 [November – February : Women’s League]
April – May : Super Cup
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