Praful Patel chairs executive meeting in New Delhi

The committee was apprised about the approval of the participation of 40 odd Teams in the U-18 League (post inspections). This is a significant increase from 2015-16, when 28 teams participated in the league.

The draft for the proposed restructuring of domestic football was put forward to the executive committee for the members along with the comments received from I-League and second division clubs.

The president of the All India Football Federation, Praful Patel chaired AIFF’s executive committee meeting at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi on Thursday.

AIFF Technical Director Scott O’Donnell; Bhaichung Bhutia, Chairman, Technical Committee, AIFF; Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2017; and Joy Bhattacharya, Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2017 were also present on the occasion.

The committee was apprised about the approval of the participation of 40 odd Teams in the U-18 League (post inspections). This is a significant increase from 2015-16, when 28 teams participated in the league.

Besides, the U-16 Youth League has also witnessed a massive increase in teams. While in 2015-16, 39 teams had participated the forthcoming edition will see over 50 sides battling for top honours.

Echoing the sentiment, Patel said: “This is a huge positive step. It highlights the interest about the game among the younger generation. AIFF has been working extensively on the grassroots and youth development, the results of which are beginning to show”, he added.

The first edition of the U-13 League is scheduled to kick-off in the 2017-18 season.

The draft for the proposed restructuring of domestic football was put forward to the executive committee for the members along with the comments received from I-League and second division clubs. The members of the committee have been asked to come back with their suggestions.

Furthermore, Patel suggested the formation of a working committee to initiate an extensive dialogue involving all stakeholders for the best possible path including discussion with AFC and FIFA.

The committee also ratified the proposal of providing a time span of one year to second division clubs to complete their I-League Club licensing criteria instead of the prevailing three-month span.

The fee of the Central Registration system (CRS) was reduced from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 5,000 for foreign players and to Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 2,000 for Indian players. In addition, women players playing in the proposed Women’s League will have to pay a CRS fee of Rs. 1,000 while all other women players need to play an amount of Rs. 100.

The AIFF regulations on working with the intermediaries were approved by the Committee.