There was nothing to play for in I-League, claims Ranjit Bajaj
Former Punjab FC owner Ranjit Bajaj stated that Indian football needs a federation which it can trust, claiming that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has no future plans. Bajaj sold the remaining 50 percent of his stakes in the I-League club earlier this year, ending a fruitful venture.
Once he got to know that there won’t be any promotion and relegation in the Indian Super League for the next few years, he decided to give up on his shares, stating that there was no motive to play for in the league. The news that Mohun Bagan and East Bengal might flock to the ISL soon, acted as a catalyst for parting ways with the team he built on his own.
“I realised after the meeting between the stakeholders of Indian football and AFC officials that took place last year that for the next three years there’ll be no promotion in the I-League, but there’ll be relegation. Then we came to know as the year went on that Mohun Bagan and East Bengal could be joining the ISL which would mean no takers for broadcasting the I-League,” said Ranjit Bajaj in an interview with Scroll.in.
“Now there’s no AFC Cup slot either, so playing in a league where there’s nothing left to play for and keep losing money especially when we don’t have spare income didn’t make sense,” added the former Punjab FC owner.
The Minerva Academy has been instrumental in producing top-notch players over the past few years, who have gone on to represent India in many age-group levels. Ranjit Bajaj, who still runs the academy, wants to continue the same work even though he is not involved with senior football for the time being.
“Dempo showed that if you don’t play in the I-League you can save a lot of money with which you can make a world-class academy. With Minerva, the way we have been producing so many players without really having a lot of resources, more finances would make a huge difference,” stated Bajaj.
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