#TFGtake - why AIFF's all-stakeholder meet failed to produce a decision on ISL & I-League

THE ALL-IMPORTANT Indian football all-stakeholder meeting held in Kuala Lumpur has come to an end, and it has not produced any consensus or decision of note.

The meeting, which took place in the presence of senior officials of AFC and FIFA, saw IMG-Reliance, the commercial parntners of AIFF, push for ISL and I-League to run in parallel, and the ISL winners to be given a place in the AFC Cup playoffs.

Then the representatives of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, the two clubs who have been running a contentious battle with IMG-Reliance over the latter's demand of a Rs 15 crore franchise fees from ISL teams, made a presentation, asking for I-League and ISL to be merged to form a new top division league to uphold the interest of Indian football, insisting that the existing top division clubs should not have to pay franchise fees to play in that new league. They also argued that ISL and I-League should not run in parallel as it would see ISL leech resources, players and sponsors away from I-League which is the official top division league in India. Instead, they proposed a separate 4 month window to ISL and I-League each in case a merger does not happen in the near future.

Afterwards, the AFC made their own suggestions about how the matter should proceed. The continental body has always been in favour of a unified league acting as the Indian top division, and they reiterated that position. They also refused to grant ISL a recognition and an AFC Cup playoff spot (which has so far been given to the Federation Cup winners) as ISL is neither the top division league of India nor does it qualify to be the premier Cup tournament of the country.

Thus, with the AFC and IMG-Reliance having different visions on how the upcoming season would look like, the meeting could not see the stakeholders reach a consensus.

In a press statement released by the AFC, the continenta body's General Secretary Dato Windsor underlined his thoughts on this whole process, which after months of build-up has failed to produce a clear solution,

“There was a desire by people, who are extremely passionate about the game, to marry the strengths of both the traditional and the new, which helped in delivering the objectives of the meeting in which the AFC listened to the key stakeholders... There is a need to find solutions which ensure that Indian football is protected and that there are opportunities for young players, who must not be lost to our game."

AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das, meanwhile, said,

"We must go through this process to create the best future for the game in our country. In the meantime, we have to decide on the short-term future of the game as soon as possible.”

Overall, this means that we are back to square one. IMG-Reliance wanted to expand ISL to a 5 month tournament in 2017-18, but their call for bids saw only 2 submissions - Bengaluru FC and a new team from Tata. And Bengaluru FC made it clear they would not play in ISL unless its winner is granted a spot in Asian competitions. With that seemingly off the table for now, Bengaluru FC are likely to stay in I-League. And that would render IMG-Reliance's big push for an ISL takeover of the Indian football season a failure.

The "short term future" that Kushal Das talked about may be that for the 2017-18 season, cut short by the FIFA U-17 World Cup, ISL will be held from November to January with the existing 8 or 10 teams, and I-League will take place from February to May. There's little chance of a Super Cup without parallel leagues so either the AFC Cup playoff spot will go to the runners up of I-League or the winner of Federation Cup (it's unclear if they will have the time to hold this competition this season). Holding ISL and I-League in parallel may become a tougher prospect now, unless the AFC is somehow convinced to recognize the tournament in the next meeting. ISL have been making some changes in their format and tournament structure to achieve that end.

The dispute between the East Bengal-Mohun Bagan coalition and IMG-Reliance, and Aizawl FC's insistance on a top division spot next season, were crucial factors in reaching this stage. It remains to be seen if IMG-Reliance will make one more behind-the-scenes push to get these key I-League clubs on board and make a new, all-or-nothing case to AFC for ISL to be appointed as the new top division league. But this will have to happen by 12th June when the stakeholders meet again to decide on the "short term roadmap" for Indian football. 

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