Goan clubs lead dissent against AIFF's roadmap for Indian football
Goan clubs Sporting Clube de Goa and Salgaocar have expressed their dissatisfaction with the AIFF's new proposal to restructure Indian football, where the ISL will be country's topmost tier. In a letter to the AIFF, Sporting have said that the proposed format is 'against sporting merit'.
"Our club became a part of the I-league, the premier league of the country, purely on merit. The club earned a place in the I-League and retained its place in the top league all these years. We have also fulfilled the mandatory club licensing criteria. The proposed format is against sporting merit," Sporting CEO Victor Fernandes wrote to AIFF general secretary Kushal Das, as reported by TOI.
In a meeting between the AIFF and their marketing partners IMG-Reliance earlier this month, the governing body presented the new roadmap declaring ISL as the top league in the country, followed by League 1(the I-League), and League 2, starting from November next year. With the proposed increase in teams, AIFF President Praful Patel believes that this will reduce the friction between the I-League and the ISL clubs.
Also, a total of 28 teams are expected to participate in a reformed Federation Cup which will be re-christened as 'Super Cup' in 2018. The Super Cup is also likely to act as the qualifier for the AFC Cup.