The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is expected to seek the Supreme Court’s directions to find a way to start the country’s No. 1 league.
The apex court-supervised bidding process drew a blank after it was opened on November 7, and Justice (Retd.) L. Nageswara Rao, who heads the three-member Bid Evaluation Committee, is expected to submit his report to the Supreme Court in a day or two. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey is a member.
“We have to ask the court how to go about with the No. 1 league,” someone in the know of things told The Telegraph on Monday. More than 3,000 families will be directly or indirectly affected if there is no league this season.
The person, however, categorically said it would not be right to say that AIFF was sending the ball back to the apex court. “The ball was never with the federation. It had no role in the bidding process. The AIFF played the role of a secretariat.”
It’s partly correct. Accounting firm KPMG drafted the Request for Proposal (RFP) under the supervision of Justice Rao. The RFP was made as per the constitution okayed by the apex court. The interested bidders, during the pre-bid meeting, had red-flagged certain clauses; they had a combined 234 questions for the AIFF.
Two clauses in particular had dissuaded the bidders. According to the amended constitution, the seniormost top division league will be owned, operated, and recognised by the AIFF and will have to implement the principles of promotion and relegation.
There was no relegation until last season, when the Reliance-owned Football Sports Development Limited ran the league under the title ISL. The contention is to freeze it for five more seasons at least, till the teams in the second-rung league, the I-League, get their licensing act right.
“It (the promotion/ relegation) needs to be addressed. Look at Mohammedan Sporting (promoted to ISL in 2024-25). They are in a complete mess. If there had been no promotion, this could have been avoided,” a source said.
The example that has been lobbed at the AIFF in favour of doing away with promotion/ relegation is Major League Soccer in the US, which is a ‘closed’ league.
The bidders also had a valid reason to question the say they will have in the governing council of the No. 1 league. The constitution says that the AIFF shall have the right, discretion, and authority over all decision-making of any League or competition. Accordingly, the governing council will have one representative from the commercial partner.
“That leaves the commercial partner with no say at all. How can they be expected to give ₹37.5 crore a year to the AIFF when their influence will be negligible?” asked a person privy to the bidding process.
“The Premier League, for example, is a separate entity. The English Football Association ensures the EPL operates within the broader rules of football,” he said.
All eyes will now be on what the apex court has to say once Justice Rao submits his report. Till then, search for light in darkness.
Players concerned
FC Goa defender Sandesh Jhingan and Kerala Blasters’ Uruguayan captain Adrian Luna have voiced their concerns over the stalemate.
“Where we are right now, it isn’t a delay anymore, it’s a standstill,” Jhingan said in a video posted on Instagram.
“Football, in the country, is now faced with an existential crisis. For the sake of all of us… We need immediate action and solutions… The clock is ticking,” wrote Luna in a social media post on Monday.
Luna’s comment came in the backdrop of the Blasters’ decision to suspend operations till further notice.