Two of Indian football’s traditional outfits, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, on Friday decided to “withdraw” from the forthcoming season of I-League over the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) decision to restructure the domestic league system.
The AIFF, which on May 17 met various stakeholders, including its marketing partners IMG-Reliance, virtually recognised ISL as the country’s premier league as per its draft plan, while deciding to form a three-tier football system in India from 2017-18.
As per the draft, the Indian Super League (ISL) will form the top tier of competition without the provision for relegation; the I-League and its lower division will become the second and third divisions, with relegation and promotion only taking place between these two tiers of competition.
The decision to withdraw was made public in a joint statement issued by the two Goa-based clubs. It said:
It is clear that the proposal is highly discriminatory, goes against sporting merit, is unworkable for I-League clubs and hampers Goa, which is the best represented state in the I-League.
The exit of Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa will come as a blow to AIFF who has also faced opposition to its proposed plans from legacy clubs such as Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Detailing the sequence of events from the May 17 meeting, the two Goan heavyweights called AIFF’s proposals ‘shocking’ and ‘disheartening’.
Not only does it relegate the I-League to a second tier league, but also does away with promotion, thereby replacing merit with a franchisee fee as the primary criteria for participating in the top league.
It also said:
The ISL, hitherto termed as only a tournament by the AIFF, would leapfrog the I-League to become the nation’s top league, with no relegation.
The statement further said:
The lack of response from the AIFF is telling, and makes it clear that the fate of the world’s most popular sport in the world’s second most populous nation would be decided unilaterally. We therefore have no option but to believe that the AIFF will enforce the 17 May proposal, which would promote the ISL to the nation’s premier tournament with a ‘pay to play’ franchisee model with no promotion or relegation.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)