No promotion and relegation for 10 years in top league proposal
Kolkata: No promotion or relegation in Indian Super League (ISL) for at least 10 years, a moratorium on expansion for a minimum of five years, ISL's rights and that of national team matches will be in perpetuity with a joint-venture company comprising ISL clubs, All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partners Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL). There shall be no promotion and relegation in ISL for at least 10 years, it has been proposed. (HT)
These are among the proposals in a 22-page draft document sent by FSDL to AIFF last March after meetings to negotiate a new agreement because the current commercial deal ends this year. Which means FSDL's mandate runs only till around the middle of the 2025-26 season. Talks are on hold because the matter of the new AIFF constitution, which includes ownership of India's top men's league, is in Supreme Court.
The proposal for a closed league, one where there is no promotion or relegation, is not in line with roadmap approved by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2019. This draft proposes a new roadmap 'pre-approved between existing parties.'
'At a meeting in April, AIFF informed the executive committee about these proposals,' said Bhaichung Bhutia on Friday. 'It is FSDL's right to give whatever proposal but did AIFF go to them after evaluating its assets including the national team? When I pointed this out, a committee was formed which would do the due diligence and talk to our commercial partners.' A former India captain, Bhutia is an AIFF executive committee member.
'In May, at a meeting in Bhubaneswar, AIFF told members that it had given a counter-proposal which pitched for continuing the current arrangement,' said another executive committee member. The member requested anonymity because the matter is in court.
As per the proposal from FSDL, in the new company, 'that governs, operates, commercialises & funds ISL', AIFF will have 14% stake, ISL clubs 60% and FSDL 26%. FSDL will retain the right to veto 'with respect to certain key matters', the document says without elaboration. To be granted autonomous status by AIFF, the company will be the rights holders of ISL and national team matches in perpetuity, as per the draft document.
There shall be no promotion and relegation in ISL for at least 10 years, it has been proposed. Apart from meeting sporting, licensing and financial criteria, clubs must also have the same ownership for five years to be eligible for promotion, as per the draft document. The proposal says, 'ISL shall be limited to the current number of teams (13) for at least 5 years.' HT has seen document titled 'ISL Way Forward, Draft Document for Discussion'.
As per the roadmap approved by AFC, relegation from ISL was supposed to start from 2024-25. It has not. Accepted as India's top league by Asia's apex body in 2019, ISL allowed promotion for the winners of I-League from 2023-24. Punjab FC were the first team to qualify through that route followed by Mohammedan Sporting.
Greenlighting this proposal would mean the 2024-25 I-League champions, to be decided in the Court of Arbitration for Sport because of a dispute over player eligibility, will be locked out of 2025-26 ISL.
The proposal also calls for discontinuing the existing Master Rights Agreement through which AIFF now gets ₹ 50 crore annually. Barring ISL, football in India is run mainly through this amount. Instead, as per the document, the new company's losses will be funded or profits shared as per ownership stakes held by AIFF, ISL clubs and FSDL.
Barring ISL and competitions involving national teams, AIFF will have full control of all other tournaments, according to the proposal.
AIFF, the document says, should agree to this because it aligns with the 'best governance structures in the world of football.' Examples of Europe's top five leagues and those in Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE being run by a separate body are listed in the document. It also says this way AIFF will comply with 'new draft constitution' which mandates that the federation 'must play a direct role in the governance of Top National League.' Clubs can gain from having a say in policy matters and have a 'strong collaborative role' in running ISL, the document says.
No representative from FSDL was available for comment. But officials at clubs they have reached out to said FSDL is waiting to hear from AIFF on the proposals. Because the agreement ends in 2025, FSDL feels its role is naturally limited until clarity is reached on the league's governance and structural future, the club officials said. The officials did not want to be named as the matter is sub-judice.
The club officials said FSDL were not sure that the promotion of I-League champions is helping improve the standard of ISL competitively and financially, and that the commercial partners think it is best to wait for AIFF to get the lower rungs of the pyramid more competitive before promotion and relegation works out to the benefit of the entire football ecosystem.
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