The AIFF’s roadmap for Indian football: Is it really fair?
India face Bangladesh in their third World Cup qualifier game in Group E today. Despite having failed to pick up a win in their first two games, the general outlook on India’s prospects of making it to the next round have been positive. The Blue Tigers were impressive against Oman despite faltering towards the end, and picked up a valuable point against Asian Champions Qatar in Doha. Under new coach Igor Stimac, the team’s midfield and general quality of play have improved, even if the results don’t reflect that just yet. This sense of optimism boosted the side’s confidence ahead of their home fixture against lower ranked Bangladesh, but all the headlines in the build up to the game were dominated by the All India Football Federation’s long awaited announcement about the future of Indian Football. The AIFF released its proposed roadmap up until 2024 to its stakeholders, where it was announced that the Indian Super League (ISL) would now represent the top tier of Indian football. The proposed structure has been approved by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), but the people that have contributed the most to Indian football, have been kicked to the dust.
If you are wondering why the AIFF has announced the structure of Indian football from 2019–2024 only days before the start of the ISL season, it is because of a long drawn out battle between the ISL and the I-League over their status as the first and second division of Indian football, which began in 2016 when the AIFF & ISL announced plans to overhaul the structure of Indian football and make the ISL the premier league The key context to this was the fact that the AIFF in 2010 signed a Masters Rights Agreement(MRA) with IMG Reliance that gave the latter control over footballing activities in India for the next 15 years. Thus, the ISL was born as a partnership between between the AIFF and FDSL, which is a subsidiary of Reliance. Fast forward to 2018, and several I League clubs continued to protest the move to officially make the ISL the top division of Indian football, which was the I League at the time. This was followed by Star Sports refusing to broadcast the second half of the 2018–19 I League season. Star Sports also holds a stake in the ISL, and chose to broadcast only those games. The AIFF said that these I League Clubs could always enter the ISL, but it was clear that many of these clubs wouldn’t be able to afford the exorbitant franchise fees required to the ISL. Many I League clubs are owned by individuals that were already facing financial difficulties in keeping their clubs afloat, and some threatened to shut down in protest, anticipating the impacts of relegating the I League to second division status. Fast forward to October 2019, and the AIFF confirmed what was initially proposed, with a few changes. The roadmap looks something like this :
- 2019–20 : ISL to officially become the top tier of Indian football
- 2020–21 : Two I League clubs will be offered entry to the ISL by the end of the season (No franchise fee)
- 2021–22 : League format from 2024 will be formalised by the AIFF
- 2022–23 : Winner of the I League will be promoted to the ISL
- 2024–25 : India to have one league with promotion & relegation and one knockout competition
The announcement was met with a combination of excitement, skepticism and anger. While the biggest take away is the fact that the country’s footballing structure will finally see some balance and stability, it seems almost certain that the I-League will face the most amount of collateral damage from this move.
When the I-League was founded in 2007, it was aimed at increasing the player pool for the Indian national team and acting as a catalyst for the identification of talent. It’s hard to see that system improve with the ISL, where each team likely has 5 foreign players on the pitch for every game. The past few years have seen the I-League lose several players to the ISL, where the money they can make is far more. But the biggest impact this decision will have on the I-League, is the financial impact.
Generally, the biggest source of revenue for I League clubs was through sponsorships, ticket sales and merchandise sales. Sponsorship money is set to be driven away to the ISL if it wasn’t already, and already declining ticket sales mean there isn’t a lot of cash in hand for any of these football clubs to grow or develop their talent. Indian football clubs have struggled to monetise their brand, and so many famous clubs such as Mahindra United have been forced to shut up shop. Simply put, it’s hard to see I League clubs survive in the wake of the AIFF’s announcement today. It is likely that many will be forced to shut down. While the AIFF’s plans to integrate the 2 leagues have been put in writing, it remains to be seen if some of India’s oldest football clubs like Mohun Bagan & East Bengal make it through these difficult years first. These two clubs have already faced financial troubles in the past few years, but their notoriously passionate fan bases are likely to keep those clubs afloat.
I know what you’re probably thinking. The I-League’s situation is sad, but also impractical. Some things have to go. After all, the prize money for winning the league is only 1 Cr Rupees, and it was reported in June that last season’s ISL winners Chennai City FC were yet to receive their prize money, more than 106 days after winning the tournament. Furthermore, several clubs reported not receiving any of their reimbursement fees and subsidies from the AIFF. It’s hard to see where the money comes from, and the fans aren’t helping. The average attendance at a 2018–19 I league game was 10,223 and even that number seems exaggerated. There is little doubt that the glitz and glamour of the ISL will at the very least draw in more funds that can be diverted to the benefit of Indian football, and so perhaps it makes sense for the ISL to take the reigns of Indian football. The AIFF will tell you that it was the ONLY way for them to find a sustainable way forward, given the financial implications. They will tell you that the ISL is their only way to make money.
The ISL is going to be the way forward, but it’s hard to forget how we got here. It’s hard to forget the cultural impact of 100+ year old clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal or the efforts of several club owners that participated in the I-League project, who pumped in so much of their personal money into their clubs with the dream of being a part of a flourishing domestic structure in Indian football. These are the very people that are going to find it hard to survive this, and while there is a way for some of these clubs to carve their way back towards top status, the entry barriers placed on these stakeholders are far too high. With no financial support, these clubs will find it hard to compete with any of their rivals in the Indian Super League, assuming they make it there.
At the end of the day, even if it is 4 years away, it was important that the AIFF created a solid promotion and relegation structure, which they finally have. 4 years however, is a long time. The impact this has on Indian football clubs that aren’t a part of the ISL remains to be seen, but recent events suggest that the future might not be so bright after all.
