One nation, one league: Dhar, Prabhakaran endorse unification

THE CALL FOR A SINGLE TOP DIVISION LEAGUE that runs throughout the majority of the football season has been growing, ever since IMG-Reliance introduced their own tournament, ISL, as a tournament that runs parallel to I-League.

Last year even as the Indian Super League was underway, AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das as well as Zico, manager of FC Goa, advocated a merging of ISL and I-League some years down the line. A few weeks ago, on Twitter, Stephen Constantine, the head coach of the Indian national team, also expressed hope that the two-league status quo would evolve in favour of creating "one solid league in the near future for the sake of Indian football."

Last week, at a press event at the WIFA headquarters in Cooperage Stadium, FIFA Regional Development Officer in South and Central Asia, Dr Shaji Prabhakaran also expressed his support for the "One League theory." Speaking to this correspondent, he sounded optimistic about such a possibility,

"In the end there will be only one league. I don't know what it will be, but it may happen in the next 2 to 3 years."

Dr Prabhakaran opined that the ISL team owners, who were still new to the game, should be given some time to understand the football culture better so that they can be brought into the fold well-prepared, with a clear business strategy. But his support for merging ISL and I-League to create one strong, full-season league was unequivocal.

And now, a new voice has been added to the rising chorus, that of I-League CEO Sunando Dhar. What makes it even more significant is that in his statement, Dhar said that AIFF President Praful Patel, too, wants Indian football to take that road. Speaking to ESPN FC, Dhar laid it plain and simple,

"There are many logistical problems having two different leagues, so stakeholders in Indian football want to move towards one league... in a recent meeting of the All India Football Federation, president Praful Patel said the country will be moving towards a single league which is played for eight or nine months of the year involving 14 or 15 teams."

Dhar sees this merger coming in the next 3 to 5 years, a period similar to what Dr Prabhakaran estimated. This almost unanimous support (with exceptions like Baichung Bhutia) for merging the leagues across the board makes one wonder if considerable deliberation about the matter has already taken place behind closed doors, and if the powers that be have already decided on a time when I-League and ISL will become one. 

But then again, the meeting that Dhar was referring to, was the one between AIFF and the I-League clubs. It was reportedly a heated session where the club representatives expressed their frustration with the way AIFF and IMG-Reliance have taken a largely passive approach towards developing and promoting the I-League. The AIFF President and I-League CEO made numerous promises to calm them down, while ignoring their main demands. In the end the clubs took things in their own hands by deciding to form a technical committee to govern the league, and pay for I-League's marketing from their own pockets, even though they get no share of the central sponsorship and TV revenue.

Was the assurance of merging the leagues just another promise to keep the clubs quiet? One has to remember that Sunando Dhar, while speaking at an event promoting ISL last year, called I-League a "failed product", while claiming no responsibility for said failure. What CEO disses his own brand to promote a rival product? Also, the main proprietors of the ISL and AIFF's marketing partner IMG-Reliance, has been remarkably silent on the question of a league unification. One of their high-ranking officials said they did not want a longer league. Resembling the IPL is more important to them than becoming a long-term, integral part of Indian football.

Is the I-League CEO just parroting an official line to keep the status quo? For the sake of Indian football, let us hope that is not the case.  

It will, of course, require a lot of effort, especially on the ISL franchises' part. While the I-League clubs already possess the infrastructure required for fulfilling AFC's club licensing criteria, ISL franchises have made little headway in those areas. Once they get their own grounds, training facilities, junior teams and academies they will be ready to become real football clubs that exist all season rather than just 2 months a year. Then the new league, forged by combining the depth & diversity of I-League and the polish & glamour of ISL, can carry forward the mantle of Indian football to the next level of competitive glory. 

Here's hoping they hurry the hell up.

Read Sunanda Dhar's full interview over here.