Rohit Ramesh against AIFF’s proposal to give away Champions League qualification spot to ISL
I League
Chennai City FC owner Rohit Ramesh has stated that his club is strictly in favour of keeping the AFC Champions League qualification spot for the I-League as the case has always been. He further stated that the I-League and ISL getting merged is the way forward for Indian football.
Crowned champions of the I-League after defying all expectations last season, Chennai City FC will be representing India in the 2020 AFC Champions League qualifiers. They earned the sole qualifying spot that has been available to I-League winners for 10 years.
With increasing talks to merge the traditional I-League with the more lucrative and blockbuster ISL, the union of I-League clubs held a meeting with the All India Football Federation president Praful Patel to discuss the future structure of football in the country. While the proposal that the two leagues should carry on simultaneously for the next two to three years until a proper format can be agreed upon was agreed to by the union, they were completely against gifting ISL the AFC qualification spot.Â
While the I-League has been taking place for 20-plus years and has established itself gradually as the country’s primary footballing league, the ISL is merely recognized as a knockout cup competition officially. The I-League clubs do not intend to let that change anytime soon.Â
“As I-League champions, we have very categorically mentioned in the meeting that we have a right to defend the title and from the proposal put forward by the President we have that opportunity to do so. The decision of AFC slots are not the domain of clubs or State FAs to decide and remain under the jurisdiction of the National Federation and Continental Federation. We ideally would want things to remain at status quo,” Rohit Ramesh was reported saying by Goal.com.
Having finished at the eighth spot in its first two seasons in the top tier, the club took everyone by surprise as they beat the then reigning champions Minerva Punjab to claim the title for themselves in a fitting end to the season. An Indian team is yet to reach the group stages of the continent’s most coveted club tournament.
“For Chennai City, it is important that we remain focused on preparing for the season ahead not just in terms of playing I-League but the Champions league especially and what would happen and where we would be by the end of this season is not something we wish to speculate on,” Ramesh added.
While Ramesh denied that the President offered the I-League clubs a chance to participate in executive meetings, he was supportive of their decision to allow the leagues to go on the way they have been so far before taking the big decision of merging them. Such a step would require immense planning in terms of which team will play in what tier, broadcasting rights, home grounds and other such crucial matters.
“We do appreciate the 2-3 year window as it allows clubs like us to plan financially and strategically on the way forward. We do believe there should be a unified single structure with promotion-relegation and more teams participating in lower leagues and winning their way to the top,” Ramesh concluded.
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