AIFF league committee reviews bids for I-League clubs; AGM set to be held on July 4

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) league committee met over video conferencing to decide on the bids of the five applicants for corporate entries into the Hero I-League on Friday.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: The Committee found all the bids, which were examined and evaluated by the independent financial expert, have the requisite financial capabilities to operate in the Hero I-League. | Photo Credit: AIFF

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) league committee met over video conferencing to decide on the bids of the five applicants for corporate entries into the Hero I-League on Friday.

The meeting was chaired by Mr Lalnghinglova Hmar, and was attended by Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran, and Committee Members Mr Amit Chaudhuri, Dr Kiran Chougule, Mr Arif Ali, Mr Caitanno Jose Fernandes, Mr KI Nizamuddin, Mr KP Singh, and Mr Satyanarayan M.

The AIFF had earlier received five bids for the Hero I-League 2023-24 as direct entrants: YMS Finance Pvt Ltd (Varanasi, UP), Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd (Bhaini Sahib Village, Punjab), Nimida United Sports Development Pvt Ltd (Bengaluru, Karnataka), Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd (Delhi), and Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd (Ambala, Haryana).

READ MORE | Odisha FC appoints Floyd Pinto as assistant coach

Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran said, “The current AIFF management will have its first AGM (Annual General Meeting) in Bengaluru next week (July 4). Even more than that, we are all looking ahead to India’s campaign in the SAFF Championship. We also moved up one spot in the FIFA Men’s Rankings yesterday to 100, and that shows the steady progress that we are making, going ahead one step at a time. Hopefully, we will hit double digits soon.”

Speaking about the bids received from five different entities for corporate entries into the Hero I-League, Prabhakaran said: “It is extremely encouraging to see that so many parties are interested in investing their money in Indian Football. The new clubs getting into the top league shows that there is interest and positivity and that money is going into football.”

The Committee found all the bids, which were examined and evaluated by the independent financial expert, have the requisite financial capabilities to operate in the Hero I-League. After reviewing the bid documents of all the candidates, the League Committee found it prudent to refer the final decision on the inclusion of the clubs to the Executive Committee, which meets in Bengaluru on July 3.