Kamal Ghorui
Kolkata: As All India Football Federation (AIFF) is preparing to put heads together over a potential club-led model for the future operation and commercialization of the Indian Super League (ISL) next week, East Bengal club has come up with a series of proposals aimed at restructuring the Indian football season with a “globally-aligned, competitive and merit-based” ecosystem.Interestingly, while all other ISL clubs are on board in their latest push for a club-led model, East Bengal FC have decided to stay away from it. The red-and-gold club instead has shot off several suggestions of their own to the federation, ahead of its scheduled special general meeting here on May 23. The AIFF top brass is also likely to meet representatives of ISL clubs in this respect a day earlier. According to East Bengal’s proposed structure, all top-tier clubs should “mandatorily” take part in four major tournaments in a season — the top league, Federation Cup, Durand Cup and IFA Shield. While seeking the national league to be rebranded as the Indian Football League, the club has also stressed on having at least 16 teams in fray and a minimum 30 matches per team, doing away with playoff format to allow only the final league standings to determine the champion and introducing promotion and relegation. A categorization of players with different salary structure as well as a team budget cap of Rs 25 crore in a season have also featured in their proposals. “Indian football is standing at a crossroads and East Bengal’s proposals submitted to the AIFF point to the kind of clarity every football fan is seeking,” former India goalkeeper and captain Bhaskar Ganguly said. “It’s quite saddening to notice what is going on in Indian football and even a decade after the introduction of a franchise-based league, the game seems to be stuck in a limbo. The quicker this air of uncertainty gets cleared the better,” he added. Ganguly had been a member of the Supreme Court-appointed committee of adminstrators tasked with formulating the draft constitution of the AIFF. EB PROPOSALS: KEY POINTS National league structure: 16 teams with 30 matches each, no playoff & league standings to decide winner and introduction of promotion and relegation. Mandatory participation for top teams: ISL (or proposed IFL), Federation Cup, Durand Cup and IFA Shield. Federation Cup format: 16 teams in 4 groups; home-and-away group stage. Team budget: Rs 25 cr per seasonForeign player policy: 4 per squad and 3 on field.
