ISL may have 15-16 teams, promotion and relegation after 6-7 years: Kushal Das

THE ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION's General Secretary Kushal Das made it clear that it was important to revamp the whole footballing structure in the country.

Last week two Goan clubs, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, pulled out of the I-League as they were not in favour of the AIFF's decision of making the Indian Super League (ISL) the top division league and pushing I-League clubs to a new second division called League 1. A third club, Dempo SC, may also pull out in the coming weeks.

Das also stated that this step was taken after taking all things into consideration and it was much needed step after the commercial failure of I-League.

He further added that whatever decisions were being made were not the final word and further changes can be made.

While talking to PTI, he said,

"Nothing was happening in the I-League. It was a product simply not accepted by the market for whatever reasons it may have been. So, we have to look for a financially and commercially sustainable model. We feel that these new proposals are the way to go forward if football has to progress in the country. I am confident that the new structure, with the support of all clubs, can really be a game changer for Indian club football... clubs have folded up because of unsustainable financial models and that's why we want to ensure that they are sustainable to survive. If people take decisions emotionally, it does not make sense. It is for the good of Indian football."

Das was in all praise of IMG-Reliance for what they are doing with Indian football, said that it got football the visibility that was missing,

"I am really thankful to IMG-Reliance that they came in to support Indian football in such a big way. With their support we managed to put the broadcast of I-League back on a main stream sports channel (Ten Sports). The ISL has also given a huge booster dose to Indian football in terms of spectator attendance and TV ratings... the cascading effect of this was visible immediately in the I-league as well as the 2nd division. People must understand that Indian football is in an investment stage and the returns can only come in if we all do the right things together. I sometimes see silly statements like our marketing partner was trying to sideline AIFF and taking control."

The AIFF general secretary further added,

"Nothing can be further from the truth. I also want to state that it's not all gloom and doom. While we do not want to see clubs closing down we must also appreciate that new clubs are emerging in the ISL, I-League and 2nd division I-League at the same time."

The positive sign for all Indian football fans is that Das has assured that the top tier will accomodate 15-16 teams after six-seven years.

"There is a wrong perception that the ISL will always remain a closed League. Currently there are contractual obligations with ISL clubs and for six-seven years there will be no promotion to ISL. That is why we have created the structure called League 1 and then League 2... right now ISL clubs are also losing money. Our whole idea is in six to seven years, ISL clubs will have a sustainable model and they will break even. Simultaneously, we will create a model which will make League 1 and League 2 teams become financially sustainable by giving them a minimum guaranteed money, plus ensuring that all matches of League 1 are telecast live. That will allow the clubs to sell their sponsorship and better exploit themselves commercially. After six-seven years, the top tier will be opened up and there can be 15-16 teams and there will be promotions and relegations. That is the time for the existing I-League clubs to join the top tier and till then they have to wait."

Das also spoke specifically about the budget constraints.

"From League 1 to ISL, the budget changes dramatically. Salary budget (for ISL clubs) is 20 crore approximately. Clubs spend 16 to 20 crores, operational costs is much more, staging home matches cost much more. So, unless there is sustainable model in the League 1 clubs, they will not be able to survive in ISL and so it does not make sense. There will not be commercial success. It is better to have clubs who are not financially able to match with ISL clubs to become financially sustainable in the lower league and attempt to move up when ISL becomes sustainable."

When asked how many teams will ISL 2017  have under the proposed plan, he said,

"The proposal is to make the ISL 10 or 12 teams in 2017-18 season. There will be a bidding process open which will be based on sporting criteria (performance in I-League). There will also be a financial criteria because when you are moving up you will have to be able to match with the ISL clubs. Whether there will be 10 or 12 teams in ISL from 2017 onwards, will be decided once we open the bidding process and know the response."