Praful Patel: New roadmap will do Indian football a lot of good
As per the blueprint, ISL will replace I-League as the top-tier Indian league and the ISL champion will be entitled to a AFC Champions League play-off place.
Published : Nov 02, 2019 21:25 IST
As the Indian Super League (ISL) looks set to replace the I-League as top-tier tournament in the country -- as per a proposal presented by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on domestic structural reforms in India -- All India Football Federation (AIFF) chief, Praful Patel, is happy that a ‘sustainable and broadly acceptable roadmap’ has been established.
The roadmap was formulated in a meeting of the I-League and ISL clubs with the officials of the AIFF and the AFC in Kuala Lumpur, a few weeks ago.
FSDL officials, the commercial partners of the ISL, were also present during the meeting.
As per the blueprint, the ISL champion would also be entitled to a play-off place in the AFC Champions League and the I-League champion would take a place in the AFC Cup in “a package that takes into consideration the recommendations of FIFA/AFC report of 2017”.
“There have been issues between ISL and I-League clubs. This needed to be resolved at some stage,” Patel said on Saturday.
“I feel genuinely happy that a broad consensus has been built. It was a ticklish issue that has been nagging the football fraternity in our country. [There were talks] what will happen to ISL, what will happen to I-League and what will happen to future of the clubs? These important questions were keeping us engaged. I am happy that a sustainable, comprehensive and broadly acceptable roadmap has been established which will do Indian football a lot of good,” Patel said.