JOVITO?LOPES
sports@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Goan I-League clubs have already started tightening their belts as the AIFF has cut down the allowances for travel and accommodation inclusive of meals by Rs 10 lakh per team. The cut is also applicable to all other I-League teams also.
The four Goan clubs – champions Churchill Bros, Salgaocar, Dempo and Sporting Clube de Goa met here, Friday to work out the modalities for travel since each club will now get a subsidy of Rs 40 lakh instead of Rs 50 lakh given last season for travel and hotel stay (lodging and boarding).
Since the AIFF is going through a financial crunch, the clubs agreed to slash the budget on travel and accommodation by Rs 10 lakh each at the meeting held in New Delhi earlier. Consequently, the Goan teams which are financed by passionate private owners arrived at a consensus that bus or train arrangements could be resorted to for the clubs’ away matches to closer locations like Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore, while travel for far away matches will be by air. Moreover, it will be the clubs which will have to make their own arrangements for air travel, unlike in the past when it was looked after the AIFF, once indicated by the clubs.
The work out is a result of the compromise arrived with AIFF to do away with the proposed conference model for I-League which was okayed at the Emergency Committee meeting.
It was SITA which was looking after the air travel ticketing with the clubs looking only after hotel reservation. It is understood that huge payments are due to SITA since tickets were issued on credit and hence its inability to provide air travel tickets further.
Meanwhile, AIFF Technical Director, Robert Baan opined the league falls way short of the potential that a country as large as India offers, there being many problems in the current system even as the AIFF is trying to have a league with an exciting format to further increase viewership, generate money and create buzz. Baan thinks these problems are surmountable, with the help of a Super I-League. However, it must be noted that the Super I-League must have a connection with the I-League and not just be a competition having new franchisees or clubs.
That would involve clubs signing an ‘icon player’, something which the AIFF has spoken of recently, and Baan noted that this method has received a lot of success in other countries.
According to Baan, the main objectives of such a league will be to improve marketability of Indian football, invite more investments into Indian football, incentivize competition and professionalism in Indian clubs. It would be expected to de-localize competitive club football in India and raise the level of performance of the players.
The AIFF, he revealed, is currently working with its partners IMG-Reliance to have a super structure on top of the existing I-League to accommodate the Super I-League.
The Super I-League is expected to make Indian football more attractive and marketable. However, it has to be clarified that despite introduction of a Super League, the objectives of the I-League will only be met if other aspects such as infrastructure and professional organization of matches etc. are given due attention.
If executed well, the proposed League structure has the potential to address majority of the issues facing the I-League today.
