Fifa mediates Indian football

WORLD football’s governing body Fifa and Asian Football Confederation ( AFC) officials will visit Kolkata, in India, today and tomorrow to meet the state association and East Bengal and Mohun Bagan officials to discuss how to have one league in the country from 2018.

“Fifa officials will hold meetings with the two clubs during their visit. They will also meet the IFA (Indian Football Association, the parent body of the sport in West Bengal). They are to submit a plan for having one league by November,” a source close to the development told IANS.

A two-member team comprising Nic Coward, a consultant to Fifa, and Alex Phillips, Head of AFC-UEFA Affairs, is expected to meet the stakeholders of Indian football this month.

Besides Kolkata, they will also meet all clubs from the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League second division with the delegates expected to travel to Delhi, Chennai, Goa, Mumbai, Guwahati and back to the capital. A few months ago, a meeting in Kuala Lumpur was held discussing the way forward for Indian football, which this season will witness the ISL and the I-League running simultaneously.

The plan is to have one long league from 2018 since this year there is the Fifa U-17 World Cup starting from October 6.

The ISL and I-League will commence from November. – IANS