The
All India Football Federation (AIFF) and their marketing partner, IMG-Reliance,
have made a proposal to make the Indian Super League (ISL) as the supreme
league of India. As per the proposal, the I-League will become the second
division league and there will be a Super Cup. This proposal has created lots
of debates and discussions on the future of Indian football. Experts have given
their views. Many of them do not support the proposal simply because there will
be an adverse effect on some of the well known football clubs of India. It seems
to be a debate like whether market economy should be encouraged or more
subsidies should be given to a loss making nationalize organization!
My
view is simple and rational. The I-League has not benefited Indian football
much. It is just another tournament which is conducted in every year. Who is
responsible for this? All the stakeholders of the league are responsible,
including the national federation, state associations and clubs. The national
federation could have done better work with the I-League. There is hardly any
marketing initiative. Even the die-hard fans of Indian football do not have
adequate information of the league and its member clubs. The clubs are not keen
to build infrastructure and nurture talents, which are essential for the
development of football. Most of them even do not know how to generate revenue
in this competitive world of sports. They lack knowledge. State associations are equally ineffective.
What
is the way out? The ISL is one of the most popular leagues of the country,
which is driven by the industrialists and the entertainers. In my
understanding, one of their objectives is to make the league financially viable
and the other is to promote the league. It is important to give them more
space. At the same time, it is important for these franchises to make adequate
investment for infrastructural development and grassroots development. This
will become the responsibility of IMG-R and AIFF to make these investments
happen. This will take time. But, as I have already mentioned, more space
should be given to this popular league. It is better to encourage market
economy if the nationalize organizations cannot produce significant result. Let
the AIFF to earn money and invest it for the betterment of Indian football.
However,
to establish ISL as the supreme league of the country, AIFF and their partner
will need the approval of the FIFA. Will they get the approval? Why there will be
no promotion and relegation system between the two divisions? Why some of the
member-based highly successful clubs will not be allowed to participate in the
ISL? These are some of the questions that the AIFF have to solve. This is a
good initiative, but these areas should be taken into consideration to make
this proposal viable and doable!
