Unify football leagues or face ban, Fifa tells India

KOLKATA: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) may have to accelerate its efforts to merge the two football leagues in the country, the Indian Super league and the I-league, from 2019-20, with a report by a committee appointed by Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recommending this.

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das recently said that AIFF is in no rush to merge the leagues, but the report is likely to change that.

The 17-page report, authored by Alex Philips of AFC (he was seconded from UEFA) and Nic Coward, a Fifa consultant, also recommends an expanded football league with 16 teams no later than 2022-23, with the bottom two teams being relegated.

The report also calls for a review of some of the arrange- ments currently in place, such as ISL teams having a 10-year immunity from relegation. It also suggests reviewing parts of the 15-year agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Img-reliance signed in 2010.

On part of IMG-R, the agreement is now executed by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) where Star Sports has a stake. HT has seen a copy of the report.

The recommendations come with a caveat. Should India not be able to implement a unified league structure from 2019-20, the report proposes an Asian ban on Indian clubs.

From 2019-20, the plan recommends that the top tier of the league has 12 teams, including 10 ISL teams, with at least one of the added teams being the I-league champions of 2018-19.