Reports | ISL to have promotion-relegation from 2023-24 season
After innumerable debates and protests, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has finally stated that the Indian Super League would be open to promotion and relegation from the 2023-24 season. The period in between has been made to let I-League and other clubs make necessary upgrades.
The AFC has now confirmed the roadmap ahead for Indian football after their recently concluded meeting in Kuala Lumpur with the big update that ISL would be open to new clubs after four years. The 2023-24 season, Goal has reported, would however see no relegation even though I-League winners would be allowed to participate in the top tier by not paying any franchise fee.Â
It would be from the following season that the relegation would start thereby rolling the ball for AIFF's plan to set up a full-fledged three-tier domestic system. The AIFF had promised that the league structure would ensure that India football’s stakeholders would get a fair chance to play at the highest level and this would be seeing that getting executed.
The relegation would take place across all divisions, which could see even a third-tier team can take part in ISL if they have all the necessary upgrades in infrastructure and would be fulfilling all the ISL organizers’ updated guidelines by then. The make-shift arrangement of two leagues, which would go on for the next few years would be effectively buying the I-League sides time to modify their system to compete at the highest level.Â
Apart from that, the I-League has been recognised as an AFC product and an AFC Cup play-off slot has been finally granted to them. This would be coming as a huge relief after the AIFF had previously admitted that granting them an AFC-cup slot was getting difficult but they were trying to redesign to achieve that.
The expansion plan has now been sealed and rubber-stamped by AFC with the roadmap finally seeing more participation of more clubs into the open league system.
