Kamal Ghorui
Panaji: Indian football is experiencing a strange season.Five days before the top-tier Indian Super League (ISL) is scheduled to kick off, one team has not yet started pre-season training, four are yet to confirm their home venues, and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has called for an executive committee meeting on Monday to decide on the “proposal of Churchill Brothers FC” who are fighting for their inclusion in the top league.The ISL is being organised for the first time without a commercial partner after the end of Reliance-subsidiary FSDL’s 15-year contract. Last week, AIFF announced the fixtures with two home venues for the first round yet to be confirmed.Now, nobody is really convinced that all first-round games will be played as scheduled.Mumbai City FC and Odisha FC are yet to confirm their home venues for the first round games. While Mumbai are locked in discussions with local authorities for use of the Mumbai Football Arena, Odisha have made no headway with the state govt and have now sought a postponement of their first-round home clash against Punjab FC on Feb 16.“Odisha planned to call the players on Monday morning to Bhubaneswar and start pre-season training later in the day, but that has now been put on hold since the club does not have confirmation on the training ground,” a senior official told TOI. “Tickets have not yet been booked; players don’t have accommodation either.”There is uncertainty over Chennaiyin FC and Inter Kashi home venues too, while East Bengal have to choose between Salt Lake stadium and Kishore Bharati Krirangan, also the home venue for Mohammedan Sporting.According to sources, Inter Kashi are exploring options in Odisha, Goa and Uttarakhand, which hosted the National Games last year. Chennaiyin’s first home game – initially scheduled for March 13 – has now been postponed and the former ISL champions are drawn to play at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai only on March 22.Punjab FC and SC Delhi will also play their home games from mid-March due to unavailability of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi.“There are many loose ends that need to be tied but it’s good that the league will finally kick off on Saturday,” said another official, adding that they are still waiting for League rules and commercial guidelines.Meanwhile, AIFF has called for an executive committee meeting on Monday to discuss a proposal of Churchill Bros, approve the ISL Governance Charter and approve the name change of the second-division league from I-League to Indian Football League.In a notice to its executive committee on Sunday, AIFF said “a meeting with regard to a matter of Churchill Brothers FC has been convened on the request by three executive committee members.”ISL kicks off with a high-profile clash between champions Mohun Bagan SG and Kerala Blasters FC on Saturday.
