7 ways Real Kashmir FC will benefit Indian Super League

SIX ROUNDS INTO I-League 2022-23, a six year old club is fast emerging as the standout team of the season.

Real Kashmir FC, helmed by former Indian international turned coach Mehrajuddin Wadoo, a local legend, are unbeaten with a four point lead at the top of the points table. And they have just beaten Sreenidi Deccan, the second placed team in the league, after going a goal down. In fact they seem to be making a habit out of fighting back from a deficit to win the game; something keen observers of league football would mark down as signs of a "champions' spirit."

Even without jumping onto a hype train of some sort, it's fair to say that Real Kashmir are one of the title contenders in I-League this season; and a strong candidate for achieving a historic milestone: the first club to get promoted to the Indian Super League by merit.

Ever since the ISL was established it has operated under the franchise system; even after it got the status of India's top league in 2019. But that's slowly changing thanks to the AFC-FIFA roadmap that has mandated that I-League champions will get promoted to ISL without the need to pay the prohibitive franchise fee that kept out most of the independent clubs. From 2025, a whole new system with full promotion-relegation is set to be adopted in the national league pyramid. And RKFC have found themselves on the doorstep of being the first to benefit from this system.

If indeed the Snow Leopards manage to win the I-League this season, it will be a paradigm shift for ISL. Because Real Kashmir FC is unlike any club that has played under the ISL banner in the past in many ways. And perhaps that's why they may prove to be a really valuable addition to the ISL.

By the time next season starts, RKFC will be seven years old. So let's take a look at seven different ways they can benefit ISL if they make it there.