MUMBAI: This could well be the last season of the Hero I-League in its current form, if one is to take the words of Sunando Dhar, the chief executive of what has been only notionally India's top tier league ever since the Indian Super League came on the scene, at face value.
“This could be the last edition of the I-league. It is looking that way and unless something happens in the intervening months, we are looking at the last edition of the I-league,” Dhar has told Navhind Times in Goa at the weekend.
“Ideally, a league has to be based on the principle of promotion and relegation. I do not think the new league will be based on this principle because of the contractual obligations in the Indian Super League (ISL),” said Dhar, when asked by the daily whether the new revamped league will be based on promotion and relegation.
“Relegation and promotion may not be possible initially. But, the system should fall in place after some years. The idea is to get a new system in place first and to tweak it later,” Dhar further said.
As per the roadmap drawn during meetings between AFC and AIFF, India is expected to have a new league format from the 2020 season. Teams from the I-League are expected to join the ISL but the number is still not clear although there are indications that Mohun Bagan (reportedly after merging with ATK) and Quess East Bengal are expected to be the teams from Kolkata because of the huge fan following enjoyed by these two clubs.
And what will be the fate of the clubs competing in the I-League this season? They will remain the top of the heap of the "rest of the Indian club football field" with a new name and entry into continental tournament's barred looks to be the most plausible scenario.
Ergo for I-League defending champions, whose title win qualified them for the AFC Champions League 2019, would be well served to savour their maiden (and presumably last) presence on the continental stage. They take on Iranian side Saipa FC in a preliminary round match of the Champions League in Tehran later Tuesday.
For the record, the I-league started as the successor to the National Football League (NFL) in 2007 and seven clubs have won the title since its inception. Goa’s Dempo Sports Club is the only club in India to have won the I-league three times. Goa’s Churchill Brothers FC has won the I-league twice along with Bengaluru FC and is in contention for the third title in the final year of the league. Salgaocar FC from Goa, Mohun Bagan, Aizawl FC and Minerva Punjab are the other teams to have won the championship.
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