PANJIM: “It’s vital to have the crucial document – road map of Indian football – and it’s heartening to note all the stakeholders have been invited at the AFC meeting to be chaired by the AFC general secretary at the AFC Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, on June 7,” stated Churchill Brothers Football Club Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Valanka Alemao, before her departure to Malaysia.
Speaking to Herald Valanka said: “We need the critical, all-encompassing document on the roadmap, with a top-down approach now, tough it is not very appropriate, but circumstances demand it. It is the I-League vs ISL that has been creating lots of confusion and even despair and heartburn among some of the clubs as it is the bone of contention for the very existence for many clubs at national levels, as far as the official league is concerned. The I-League has been declared as the National championship and the ISL as a tournament, with both running side-by-side in 2017-18 season. One will recall that it was precisely the lack of the proper, strategic road map that forced three Goan teams – Dempo, Sporting Clube de Goa and Salgaocar to withdraw from the national league last year.”
“That the ISL would create problems in the long run especially for the legacy clubs was well anticipated by most of the clubs which even had a meeting of all the owners of the clubs in Mumbai. They had their apprehensions that it would adversely affect the long standing clubs. And, it proved to be true for three Goan clubs. It was then decided not to release the clubs’ players for the ISL teams. However, the apparent unity proved to be a flash in the pan and what we are witnessing now are the results of the division, with the Kolkata clubs giving an impression that only they have a reason to have larger representation in ISL at the cost of Goan clubs,” reasoned out Valanka.
“It is the traditional Indian clubs or legacy teams that have been hit strongly. I recall that a meeting at the Football House in Delhi with the stakeholders ended on a discordant note as there was no clear road map with a stakeholder reminding that they were not getting any returns from the money already invested in the I-League. Of course, from the pure economic point of view they looked like they had a valid reason, perhaps. The matter of the two championships has been discussed and debated hotly on several occasions with a final structure on the road map not forthcoming, despite AIFF president Praful Patel’s best efforts. The matter has now come to an ugly scenario with the Kolkata teams resorting to a tirade against Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), even threathening to disrupt the cash-rich league if their demands of franchise fee waiver and money from the central pool were not met,” voiced Valanka.
“This will be the second time that the AFC has been involved in the imbroglio of Indian football. Perhaps, it could be the first-ever meeting with all the different and varied Indian football stakeholders. Unparalleled as such, it provides an excellent platform for something positive as its outcome. So, expectations are high. A sort of SWOT analysis will have to be carried out with all the stakeholders so as to pinpoint the strengths, drawbacks and the weaknesses of the present scenario and suggest remedial measures. There is need to analyse if the objectives of the change have been met or are in the process of being achieved and, if not, when and how they are proposed to be achieved. For all that to happen you need transparency. You need a sharp vision. We need to be open and frank and most importantly learn from the past experiences. Everyone should be on the same wavelength. When we are not, it is only conjectures and rumors that surface,” pointed out Valanka.
“With the ISL teams eyeing a slot in AFC championship, which at the moment they are not eligible for with the present format, there are several views on the meeting with some pointing out that the qualification mark for the AFC Champions League is the raison détre for the Kuala Lumpur conference. The main issue could then revolve around ACL qualifiers of 2019 as the AFC’s new rules will require a club to play 22 official domestic matches to be eligible for playing in the AFC Champions League, four more than the previous requirement of 18 (countries getting direct entry into ACL group stage require 27 matches minimum). With the I-League having a total of 10 clubs, the AIFF used the Federation Cup held in the old format this season, to give Aizawl FC the chance to get their 22 game in for ACL 2018. But next season things could change,” stated Valanka.
“There were talks doing rounds that the ISL wanted a third spot in Asia for Indian clubs. But it is reported that the AFC has turned down the same. If this is true, then there will be only one AFC Cup qualifier available for both ISL and Indian Super Cup. So there could be a problem. The easy solution would be to leave the ISL as an unrecognised private tournament and just give the AFC Cup qualifier slot to Indian Super Cup. But this could create two problems – AFC and FIFA do not want an unrecognised and unmonitored private tournament to run in parallel with the top division league. And, Bengaluru FC, who submitted a bid to play in ISL have made it clear that they will only switch from the I-League if the ISL champion gets to play in Asia. So, there could be attempts to get the ISL recognised by AFC. So what’s the future of Indian Super Cup if is not an AFC recognised tournament?” reasoned out Valanka.
“Another school of thought is toying with the idea that the AIFF may come out with a solution by increasing the number of I-League teams to 12 from the present 10, since the teams would have played 22 matches in all, which is required for AFC qualification. Consequently, will that give the three Goan teams (or some of them) that left the I-League a stage for comeback, provided, of course, the road map is made clear? “These are only conjectures.
One hopes the ambiguity over the ISL and I-League status is cleared once for all. I for one, hope and pray that a clearer, stronger picture emerges for Indian football, particularly for the legacy clubs. Football, after all, runs in the blood of Goans, what with football being declared the official game and a rich history of long-standing football clubs,” summed up Valanka.
