ISL to announce new teams tomorrow as EB, MB continue to scramble to reach a decision
IMG-RELIANCE IS SENDING a strong signal to the Kolkata clubs by going ahead with announcement of new teams that will join the Indian Super League tomorrow.
Today, they made the matter public with the following press release:
"Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), organisers of the Indian Super League is set to announce the winning bids for new team(s) in Indian Super League on Monday, 12th June 2017.
The winning bidders will be enrolled and awarded the right to participate in the Indian Super League starting from the upcoming season of 2017-18.
An Independent panel conducted the tender process, which commenced from 12th May 2017 through ‘Invitation To Bid’ (ITB) and evaluated the bids to maintain an open and transparent process. E & Y, the consulting firm is expected to complete, by Sunday the evaluation for all the bids received during the ITB procedure and present its results on Monday, 12th June 2017.
The bids were invited from prospective team owners in respect of 10-cities ie, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Siliguri and Thiruvananthapuram.
As per the timelines declared in ITB and to maintain the transparency in the process, the organisers closed the window for bid submission on last day of 25th May 2017."
The only two known submitted bids are that of Tata and Bengaluru FC. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan picked up bids but refused to submit them because they did not want to pay the Rs 15 crore franchise fee and they did not want to temporarily leave their home city of Kolkata, as demanded by the ITB regulations.
The fact that ISL are going ahead and announcing new teams means that Bengaluru FC are fully on board, which in turn means that the ISL winner is set to get its own AFC Cup playoff spot. The hitherto private tournament has seemingly managed to gain recognition from AFC and FIFA by making some structural changes in how it is managed and operated, and will be seen as a domestic league in India; although I-League will likely remain the top division league for now, with its winner getting to play in the AFC Champions League Playoffs. AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor wants ISL and I-League to merge and for India to adopt a unified league system by next season.
This also means that the idea of the 'Super Cup' that Praful Patel mooted in his meeting yesterday with I-League club representatives - a season ending tournament where top teams from both ISL and I-League get to participate with the top two teams representing India in Asia - is not likely to become a reality.
Tomorrow, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan officials are sitting down in Kolkata to meet with each other and decide whether they, too, wish to make a move to the ISL like fellow I-League club Bengaluru FC. By releasing the names of new teams on the same day, IMG-Reliance wants to send a strong message to these clubs: eithe fall in line with the ITB terms or play in I-League.
The I-League and the ISL are set to begin simultaneously in November after the FIFA U-17 World Cup concludes. Praful Patel has allegedly promised a Rs 10 crore promotional budget for I-League 2017-18 and assured the clubs that the top division league will be given high quality HD and SD telecast on the Star Sports Network just like ISL. It's not certain whether these promises hold the same merit as the 'Super Cup' idea.
Even if East Bengal and Mohun Bagan agree to join the ISL now, it remains to be seen whether or not they are allowed to submit bids at all, as the deadline for bid submission closed back on 25th May. IMG-Reliance will have to open a new window for bid submission afterwards for them to enter ISL.
Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.
