Bhaichung Bhutia: Indian football's new structure will tackle unemployment

"The new proposal of the AIFF, which includes a Three-tier league system is extremely beneficial for all players involved. The spectre of unemployment, which Indian football currently suffers from will be tackled to a very large extent," the former Indian international was quoted as saying by Goal.

"The job opportunities are going to be immense. We're looking at three tiers of football with the Super Cup to boot – the players will have ample chances, unlike seen today," he further added.

The Nehru Cup is set to be replaced by a multi-country international tournament, where the AIFF will invite nations ranked between 120 and 150 in the FIFA rankings. Also the Super Cup, currently played between winners of I-League and the Federation Cup, will be revamped and played across two months and it will include the best teams from each tier of Indian football.

The major goal, however, remains the improvement in the FIFA rankings of the men’s team, and the target has been set at 120 by December 2017. Bhutia feels that the current ranking does not reflect the true capabilities of the team.

"The national team needs longer camps. We're facing a ranking that is simply far below our capabilities," concluded Bhutia