AIFF raises I-League prize money to 1 Crore; likely to jump-start Fed Cup

“The champions will be handed over a hefty cheque of Rs. 1 Crore (one). First and second runners up will pocket prize money of INR 60 lakhs and INR 40 lakhs respectively. Fourth placed team will take home not less than INR 25 lakhs at the end of the league.Clubs will earn INR 50,000 for winning every I-League match in the upcoming league, a substantial increase from last season,” read an I-League press release.

The move comes just days after Royal Wahingdoh became the third club to pull out of the I-League next season, after Pune FC, who shut down their first team operations, and the newly formed Bharat FC. A host of other clubs are also struggling financially and I-League's future at the moment does look bleak.

The one crore prize money is a significant hike from the Rs 70 lakh rupees Mohun Bagan earned after lifting the I-League crown last season. Along with the prize money, the travel subsidy and the match-day subsidy have also been raised to Rs 40.5 lakh and Rs one lakh respectively.

The I-League committee has also decided to shelve the marquee player rule initially incorporated with hopes of grabbing attention. But it failed to serve its purpose as the I-League clubs failed to attract big names into their squads.

According to a report published in the Sportstar live, AIFF has also agreed to bring back the Federation Cup next year, in an altered format, although it is yet to make an official announcement. The tournament was India's most prestigious footballing event before the National Football League, later re-branded as the I-League, was formed in 1997.

Earlier in April, AIFF decided to put the tournament on hold as they struggled to schedule the event after the advent of the Indian Super League. But now with the I-League likely to be a nine-team affair, AIFF has decided to bring back the Fed Cup in order to fulfill AFC's criteria for minimum number of matches that a team is required to playto qualify for the AFC Champions League.

“It has informally been decided that the AIFF is likely re-start the Federation Cup from May 2016 after the conclusion of the I-league. It has been decided that Federation Cup will be a month-long affair rather than being a 10-day thing which has been the norm. It will be held on home and away knock-out basis.

“Look, if it is a 9-team I-League, then each team will play only 16 I-League matches. That is an insufficient number. Now to play the qualifying rounds of the AFC Champions League, a club needs to play a minimum of 18 matches in a year.

“So Federation Cup will be an 8-team affair. So at least 8 teams will get a chance to play 18 matches. The 9th team of I-League in any case will be relegated. The decision to have a one-month Federation Cup was taken by AIFF Academy Director Scott O'Donell’s recommendation. It was seconded by senior vice-president Subrata Dutta,” an unnamed AIFF source was quoted as saying by Sports Star Live.