AIFF vs FSDL: ISL 2022-23 LIVE: Indian football has hit a brick wall yet again. After achieving some great feats of late, the governing body is in turmoil and that has put the Indian Super League season in jeopardy. The reason? AIFF’s marketing partner and promoter of ISL, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has dragged the All India Football Federation (AIFF) into court for breach of the agreement. Follow Indian Football LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
- Will the ISL go ahead as per the proposed schedule?
- What will be the future if ISL is relegated to private league status?
- Will star players stay on a private?
- What happens to AFC competition slots?
AIFF vs FSDL: Is Indian Super League season in trouble after Reliance backed FSDL takes AIFF to court? Clubs worried about the development: Follow LIVE UPDATES
AIFF vs FSDL: Is Indian Super League season in trouble after Reliance backed FSDL takes AIFF to court? Clubs worried about the development: Follow LIVE UPDATES
For starters, the Indian Super League 2022-23 season will go ahead. But will it remain the top division is the question everyone is asking. As per the final draft the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), “the senior-most league should be owned, operated, recognised and directly managed by the AIFF, that implements the principles of promotion and relegation.”
ISL currently does not have that. It is run by IMG-Reliance as per the agreement signed in 2010. So, to put it bluntly, I-League will be the Premier Division and not ISL. It was only in 2020 that ISL was elevated to the status after getting AFC Champions League berth.
“It is a disaster. The CoA never took us into consideration and only spoke with the state associations. Suppose, this constitution is approved and I-League regains the Premier Division status, what happens to the investment that we have put into? Will any investor come and invest in such a league without any AFC slots? We don’t know,” an ISL club official told InsideSport on condition of anonymity.
FIFA, the world football governing body, had warned about a possible ban if they fail to hold elections before September 15. Keeping that timeline, the constitution is supposed to be approved by July 31.
CoA submits draft constitution to Supreme Court
Read 👉 https://t.co/jRSULtMyKY#IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/N7oCamlFDg
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 16, 2022
AIFF vs FSDL: Is Indian Super League season in trouble after Reliance backed FSDL takes AIFF to court? Clubs worried about the development: Follow LIVE UPDATES
AIFF vs FSDL: Why a FIFA ban is imminent on AIFF?
- FIFA set a September 15 deadline to conduct elections and remove CoA as the world body doesn’t permit any interference from the government.
- The AIFF is currently being governed by a Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administration (CoA).
- That is why, the CoA was in hurry to get the final draft approved by the Supreme Court with approval from all 36 state associations.
- Although CoA said it took into consideration the 15-year agreement with FSDL over ISL, the constitution draft had several contentious clauses.
- One of them is making I-League the country’s top division, reducing ISL to a mere privately held tournament.
- With those clauses in place, CoA sent the final constitution draft to FIFA three days before submitting it to the SC.
- It is supposed to be heard in the Supreme Court on July 21.
- But with FSDL filing a lawsuit against AIFF for disregarding its agreement, it is likely to delay the proceedings.
- FIFA also set a July 31 deadline for AIFF constitution approval. Its failure will lead to ban, they said.
- The CoA was appointed by the Apex court in mid-May and they have spent “150 long hours” formulating the draft after speaking to the state associations among other stakeholders.
- The state associations wrote to FIFA on 22 clauses in the draft they have objections with.
- They believe they are illogical and are against National Sports Code.
AIFF vs FSDL: Is Indian Super League season in trouble after Reliance backed FSDL takes AIFF to court? Clubs worried about the development: Follow LIVE UPDATES
At this point, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding everything in Indian football. The sport’s governing football body is staring at a possible FIFA ban as well. If that is the case, what happens to the fate of the ISL?
It is for the same reason, ISL clubs in the country are genuinely worried about the fate of the league. There is no official communication about it. There is an eerie silence regarding the same. InsideSport reached out to several ISL club officials but no one wanted to come on record on their worries.
“The entire footballing scene in India has left to the whim of some of the officials. Now that they are gone, the CoA isn’t doing much to help the situation. Instead, they are fuelling it. I understand that adhering to the sports code is important but when we already have an AFC and FIFA-approved roadmap, then why to ignore it?” another ISL club official told InsideSport.
AIFF vs FSDL: Is Indian Super League season in trouble after Reliance backed FSDL takes AIFF to court? Clubs worried about the development: Follow LIVE UPDATES
The more pressing matter is the Asian Cup. India have qualified for the Asian Cup 2023 but if the FIFA ban comes into effect, India will be ineligible to play. Furthermore, ISL clubs may miss out on some decent foreign recruits.
“Indian football is the biggest loser in this. I think the ISL will go ahead without a hiccup. But what I am scared of is the FIFA ban. If it comes into effect, Indian clubs will be banned from playing in Asia. Moreover, there will be serious doubts about India’s participation in the Asian Cup. Hopefully, everything is resolved quickly. But I am doubtful that it will be given FIFA’s tight deadline,” a South India-based club official told InsideSport.IN.
Hearing on Thursday: Thursday is going to be an important day on the matter. The case is going to come up for hearing. A lot of things are expected to be clearer. However, going by India’s records in judicial proceedings, it is going to take time. And that is something AIFF doesn’t have.
AIFF vs FSDL: Is Indian Super League season in trouble after Reliance backed FSDL takes AIFF to court? Clubs worried about the development: Follow LIVE UPDATES
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