AIFF General Secretary predicts One League by 2018, Constantine contract review in June

THE AIFF GENERAL SECRETARY Kushal Das said that the Indian football governming body was trying to unify the I-League and ISL by 2018, and acknowledged that the present domestic calendar was more and less of an unsustainable mess.

Speaking to IANS about the merging of the private tournament ISL and the national football league I-League, Das said,

"No benchmark or time frame has been targetted to complete the process. But we are trying to do it as soon as possible. We are trying to do it by 2017, or else it will be done in 2018."

Das said he did not see the process as a "merger" but rather as a "review of Indian club football structure." When asked about the current situation in the domestic game, he said,

"The existing calendar in the country is problematic. First ISL, then I-League, then Federation Cup -- that forced such a step. The new league will stretch from October to March. It will solve the prevalent problems regarding scheduling and calendar."

Das also said that the contract of national team head coach Stephen Constantine would be up for review in June, indicating that how India do in the AFC Asian Cup qualifier playoffs against Laos may influence whether or not the British coach has an extended tenure with the Blue Tigers,

"Let's see what happens. We have a contract with him till 2017. In June, we have the play-offs against Laos. Let's see how India performs there. No one has been approached or identified as his successor. We are waiting for June."