What’s the story?
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is keen on submitting its proposal for India’s domestic league structure by November 2017. If reports are to be believed, the AFC will propose that there be one league with 18 teams in the top division and also, at least one division below it.
The AFC wants to send a delegation comprising of its officials and officials from FIFA to India in August-September this year to discuss the new proposal with the stakeholders.
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A stakeholder in the know of the plans was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying, “The delegation would meet stakeholders individually for inputs. That means meetings with clubs in the ISL, I-League first and second divisions, the AIFF, its commercial partners, state football associations and representatives from the Union sports ministry.”
In case you didn’t know…
The calendar of Indian domestic football has been divided into two separate premier leagues ever since the inception of the Indian Super League (ISL). The ISL finally earned recognition under the aegis of AFC, All India Football Federation as well as FIFA. Although both the I-League and the ISL will be held parallelly this year, the AFC had stated that a long-term roadmap for Indian football needs to be agreed upon latest by October.
The heart of the matter
It was in May 2016, that the idea of a unified league with ten teams in the top tier was first floated around by the AIFF. Following lots of discussions and several meetings, AFC’s help was sought. Finally, it was decided in the Kuala Lumpur meeting that a plan would be in place after the Under-17 World Cup.
There was an indication last Friday as to how things have been set in motion for a unified league. An AFC official attending the FIFA U-17 World Cup draw met representatives of the AIFF to discuss the plan. The official had confirmed that the AFC had plans of submitting the proposal latest by November, the same time when the ISL and the I-League kick off.
The AFC had approved the two-league structure for the 2017-18 season but it is in their interest to replace it by only one league at the earliest. This is because the precedent set in India will be cited by other member nations when it comes to their league structure.
What’s next?
The AFC is keen to hold further discussions or workshops at the six venues of the U-17 World Cup, viz., Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Kolkata and Guwahati, during the Under-17 World Cup.
Author’s take
This is indeed an interesting development. Several top European leagues like the La Liga, Ligue 1 among others consist of 18 teams or more. Should India have its own 18-team league as the premier league of the country, it will attract top stars from around the world whilst also giving Indian youngsters enough opportunities.
