The I-League clubs are ‘hopeful’ of earning a fair shot at proving their top-tier status through a competitive route when they finally meet All India Football Federation president Praful Patel in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The clubs have been at loggerheads with the federation over the past few months, citing step-motherly treatment towards the I-League amid a growing belief that the Indian Super League is set to replace it as India’s premier football competition.
Having pulled out of the 2019 Super Cup in April, after Patel failed to meet them despite “several requests”, the I-League clubs’ plea was finally answered last week when the federation set up a meeting with the president for the clubs. The trigger for the federation to act, the clubs believe, was the joint statement they released recently that threatened legal action against the AIFF and its commercial partner Football Sports Development Limited if ISL, as media reports suggested, would replace the I-League as India’s top-tier competition.
Read: What is the whole conflict between I-League, AIFF and IMG-Reliance about?
However, with the AIFF willing to lend an ear to their concerns, I-League clubs are positive about having a future in Indian football and are set to put forward their “common grievances” to the president.
Push for a joint league
The common demand the I-League clubs share is to have a unified league with both I-League and ISL clubs involved. They believe one big league will be beneficial to all stakeholders of Indian football.
“We want one league with all the teams together. We respect the initiative by FSDL and also respect the ISL clubs. The ideal solution for Indian football is to have a competition with all these teams together. That’s how it is abroad. We will share these thoughts with the president when we meet him,” Robert Royte, owner of 2017 I-League champions Aizawl FC told Scroll.in, adding that all the clubs have been in touch with each other on an “hourly” basis, to make their concerns ahead of the meet concrete.
Churchill Brothers CEO Valenka Alemao seconded Royte and felt it was necessary for Indian players to play more competitive league matches in a calendar year to improve as a football nation.
“There is a difference in the number of matches a Cristiano Ronaldo plays and the matches a Sunil Chhetri plays. We need to have more games for our players in a single year and for that we need a league with more clubs. So you want clubs to grow and not die. We’re hopeful we will get this point across in the meeting,” she said.
Sporting merit as criteria to play in the top-tier
The clubs said they would go into the meeting with Patel with an “open mind” and would welcome any solution that would not “kill them” and allow them to compete fairly for a spot in the top tier of Indian football.
“Don’t kill us. Give us a fair deal. We want a unified league, but if that’s not possible for you now, let the I-League and ISL function separately till the time you find a way to achieve it. But don’t relegate us,” Ranjit Bajaj, owner of Minerva Punjab told Scroll.in.
“Even if you still decide to put us in the second tier, give us a way of getting into the top division. Participation in the top tier can’t be based on how much money you have in your pockets,” he added.
Royte agreed with his counterpart and felt it is unfair to relegate any team to the second tier without proper competition. “You can’t put one set of clubs above the others without competition. Put us in a league and let the competition decide who stays in the top league. Relegation or promotion has to be decided on sporting merit,” Royte, a former sports minister of Mizoram, stated.
The case is slightly different for Mohun Bagan, who should be in the top tier irrespective of which league is given that status, according to their director Debashish Dutta. “We have been around for 130 years. We are Indian football. Why should we ask or demand to be in the top tier?” he said.
“The agenda of the meeting is to save Indian football and our football ecosystem and we have full faith in the president that he will give us a way forward,” Dutta added.
Super Cup fine
Another major point the I-league clubs are willing to raise when they meet Patel is regarding the fine imposed by the federation for pulling out of the Super Cup. The clubs excluding Mohun Bagan were fined Rs 10 lakh initially, before a disciplinary committee ordered to increase it to Rs 27 lakh. East Bengal, meanwhile were fined just Rs 5 lakh.
Aizawl owner Royte called the increase in the fine “illegitimate” and said the issue would need resolving at the meeting or the only way forward for the clubs would be through a legal route.
“We pulled out of the Super Cup as the president did not meet us. He is our elected leader and it’s our right to ask for a meeting with him. To impose such a fine for protesting is not legitimate,” Royte said.
Bajaj, meanwhile, revealed that the clubs will ask the president to revise the fine. “We did travel to Bhubaneswar. We spent money staying there. We wanted to play the competition, but since our request was not met, we had no choice but to pull out. We understand that the federation suffered losses and we are ready to pay for that, but the current fine is not fair,” he said.
‘Don’t want to go to court’
Bajaj also suggested that no I-League club wanted to go to court and was looking for an amicable solution through dialogue. “With this meeting, we have hope. We don’t want to go to court, Hopefully, there is a breakthrough,” he said.
In sync with the Minerva Punjab owners’ thoughts, Gokulam Kerala CEO Ashok Kumar had told Scroll.in they want to try their best to get a resolution to the conflict through the “normal path” before exploring the legal route if the need arises.
With I-League clubs ready to discuss potential solutions to the current deadlock, the ball is now in AIFF president Praful Patel’s court. The Indian football faithful will hold its breath once again as a potentially defining moment is imminent.