A big call is set to be taken on the future of Indian football in the upcoming days with the I-League clubs set to meet All India Football Federation president Praful Patel to discuss the future roadmap for Indian football.
For a long time now, I-League clubs have been at loggerheads with the AIFF and the Football Sports Development Limited which operates the Indian Super League and reports have been gathering pace about the latter set to be promoted as the senior-most football division for the country.
Fearing the worst, the I-League clubs have threatened to go court but Churchill Brothers CEO Valanka Alemao fears that the Indian football ecosystem may be killed if a unified league does not arise as a solution.
“We want a unified league. Because you look anywhere in the world you cannot survive with two leagues,” Alemao told Scroll.in.
“In any ecosystem of football, you need to have grassroots and promote youngsters. So tomorrow when we will all promote the upcoming players and there are just 10 clubs to do this... where are the others going to play? It is like killing the entire ecosystem. So it is not something like that I-League clubs have their own personal or selfish motive but it is for the entire AIFF to look into it. We have to find a way, we cannot afford to be submissive,” she said.
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The AIFF had signed a Master Rights of Agreement with its commercial partners FSDL, a subsidiary of IMG Reliance, in 2010 which had stated that a new proposed league (the ISL in this case) could be declared as the top division of Indian football and that the I-League could be reconstituted, replaced and/or discontinued (temporarily or permanently).
This leaves the I-League clubs reeling at the bottom division with no relegation/promotion system in the ISL.
“There has to be a drive, some type of reward for every match..that is why you play to go there. You just go and play for the heck of it, be it any sport.
“Before 2007, we had the National Football League which was followed by the I-League. So here you had the culture, fans and tradition and suddenly you create something and then you say we cannot make it a top league as per agreements. I clearly don’t understand how this works,” Alemao questioned.
“All the I-League clubs are great contributors to Indian football. These traditional clubs with legacy have been the torchbearers of Indian football and we have created national heroes,” she explained.
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While a potential merger seems less likely as per contractual obligations, Alemao says there’s more to I-League clubs than just the money.
Earlier in June, the AIFF imposed additional fines on the clubs for pulling out of the Super Cup tournament in April after they were denied a proposed meeting with Patel for the second time. The news came across as a shocker for the clubs, already dealing with a financial crunch to sustain themselves.
“We spend money out of our own pockets and we have been doing it for so many years. And it looks like there is no respect or value for our money except the ISL. You cannot say that I-League can’t afford the same quality as the ISL. Sports is not just about competition in terms of finance but in terms of standard,” she asserted.
After months and months of waiting, the I-League representatives have finally got a chance to express their grievances to the AIFF. And come what may be the result in the next few days by the federation, one thing is for sure that the I-League clubs like Churchill won’t go down without a fight.
