PANJIM: In an effort to calm the situation surrounding the withdrawal of two Goan clubs from the I-League, All India Football Federation (AIFF) General Secretary Kushal Das along with I-League CEO Sunando Dhar held a meeting with the officials from Sporting Clube de Goa, Salgaocar Football Club and Dempo Sports Club at Hotel Lapaz Gardens, Vasco, on Friday.
The two clubs who resolved to quit the I-League last week, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa put out a joint statement encompassing three principal points.
No forced relegation of the I-league to a second tier league from the nation’s premier competition. All teams qualified for the I-League should be part of the top league. No bidding and no franchise fees for existing I-League clubs, merit being the only qualifying factor and all governance issues should rest with AIFF exclusively.
The AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das agreed to call a meeting of all I-League clubs in order to elicit their views on the matter.
He also will be consulting with the AIFF president and the executive committee along with their marketing partners IMG-Relience to revert back with a final binding proposal on or before July 31.
The two I-league clubs Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa hold, that their decision to withdraw stands unless they receive a final binding proposal/roadmap which includes the above mentioned three points.
The meeting was attended by Vice President AIFF Shrinivas Dempo, President Salgaocar FC Shivanand Salgaocar, President Sporting Clube de Goa Peter Vaz, Chirag Tanna (Reliance Sports), Vice President Salgaocar FC Vivek Salgaocar, CEO Sporting Clube de Goa Victor Fernandes, General Secretary Salgaocar FC Adlear D’Cruz, General Secretary Sporting Clube de Goa Eddie Noronha and General Secretary Dempo SC Wilfred D’Souza.
