NEW DELHI, MAY 30
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) appears desperate to keep the relegated Lajong in the I-League next season, and the reason trotted out to retain them is to promote the sport in the north-east. To resurrect the Shillong club it looks as if AIFF allegedly has plans to make the 14-team league a 16-strong one.
The move to keep Lajong in the premier league appears to be allegedly a ploy by a functionary of AIFF to oblige the club owners despite their last place finish in the 2009-10 season.
It is intriguing that the AIFF is reportedly mulling over increasing the League strength to 16 next season despite its president Praful Patel making it clear after the executive committee meeting earlier this month that the I-League will continue to have only 14 teams.
The League rules stipulate that the bottom two teams from the top division – Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa – will have to be relegated and the top two teams from Second Division — Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) get promoted. But the AIFF looks to retain all the 14 teams from last year and add the two promoted clubs to make it 16.
Of the 14, Mahindra United has been disbanded and the AIFF has decided to field its under-19/21 team in place of the Mumbai club.
Justifying the AIFF move, its treasurer Hardev Jadeja told IANS that Lajong’s presence has revived football in the north-east and the federation wants that the sport is spread in the north-east as the region is throwing up a lot of promising players.
“Thanks to Lajong, soccer has touched new heights in the northeast. From every I-League match at home, the club has earned Rs.1.5 million as gate money. This is a record, which even Kolkata clubs couldn’t achieve in the last five years. We want Lajong in the first division for the development of football in the northeast,” Jadeja said.
Isn’t it a violation of league rule of promotion and relegation? “In the past we have bent rules for the development of Indian football. So why not this time? I have been to several I-League matches in Shillong and was surprised with Lajong’s fan following,” Jadeja added.
However, some I-league committee members were unhappy with the move. They had doubts as to who was taking such a decision, whether it was the AIFF secretary, who is also the I-League chairman, or someone else without consulting them.
Mohun Bagan’s Debashish Dutta, a member of the I-League committee, blasted AIFF for the alleged thought of change in the rules of the League at this moment.
“The rule says that two teams have to be relegated so why change it after the end of the tournament. These things should be sorted out before the end of the League, not after. What is the sanctity of the League committee when members are not consulted or their views are not solicited and all decisions are taken by the league chairman,” Dutta asked.
Meanwhile, Vasco, who finished third in the Second Division, have appealed to the AIFF that they should be promoted as third team from Second Division to replace Mahindra United.
Vasco’s director, Vinod Parkhot said: “In 2007, AIFF had replaced disbanded Fransa Pax with HAL, which had finished third in the Second Division. So, here too the same rule should be applied and allow us to play in the I-League in place of Mahindra.”
The move, if it goes through, will see Sporting Clube de Goa in the top League as they finished just above Lajong, adds our Sports Reporter from Panjim.
What has surprised many is the timing of such a move, after the League is over, which if goes through, will only show how one can manipulate things.
Those in the know, fear that Lajong has a very influential and powerful official, who in the first year in AIFF Executive Committee has been nominated in all the important panels including the AFC one. This, they attribute to his closeness to the one who calls all the shots in AIFF.
Those in the know about the working in AIFF, opined that for such a move to take place, it would have to be ratified by the Executive Committee.
In any case and, if at all, the move to bring back Lajong goes through, then Salgaocar, Dempo and Churchill who stood demoted at one time ought not to have been since Goa has always been the powerhouse of football in India.
