Distance between ISL and I-league clubs will be bridged: Praful Patel
AIFF chief Praful Patel laid the marker for the restructuring of Indian football and laid emphasis on the importance of being financially viable in the long run. Patel also said that the gap between the ISL and the I-League clubs will be bridged and the teams will be at level footing soon.
“There has to be a question of money, this is not an amateur sport. That’s why, if ultimately you say I will play as I have played all these years in the Maidan and it wouldn’t work. Unless you invest in a club, invest not just nicely but wisely, then we can find a way to improve the ecosystem. The ISL (Indian Super League) clubs, however deep-pocketed they are, cannot keep losing money. So our endeavour is that there is a balance between the ISL and I-League clubs and the pyramid comes up in a way where both sides are coming to a convergence,” spoke Patel, reported Goal.
The problems faced by the ISL and the I-League clubs have been well documented. The clubs are losing money and struggling to make profits, and Patel addressed those problems.
“The Super Cup is the qualifying cup and that is the deciding factor. If the ISL clubs say ‘I don’t have any future after my two and a half months of play’, so they now get seven months. The current I-League clubs feel that they are the big boys as they have everything, they have qualification for AFC but cannot get more money. Therefore the League One comes up in such a format that both League One and the ISL come under licensing criterion.
“The Super Cup would be a good starting point to bring across parity. Distance between I-League clubs and ISL clubs will be bridged. There will be level footing. Super Cup could be anyone’s day. There is no surety that ISL teams will be better than League One teams and so on,” he said.
Patel also promised to ensure that the AIFF doesn’t treat the different tiers in any discriminatory manner and will work towards reducing any existing friction between the leagues.
“The ISL and League One will not be very different. They are both AIFF’s leagues, the marketing partners also remain the same. Basically the marketing partners and the AIFF are trying to reduce the friction between the leagues.
“Both leagues will be run by the AIFF. The moment Super Cup comes in and we say that it is the qualifier for the AFC, it comes under AIFF. All clubs will come under licensing from the AIFF and the AFC as well. Right now, the ISL is not an AIFF tournament, but it will be taken under the AIFF,” he said, before signing off.
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