PANAJI:

Did Sporting Clube jump the gun by withdrawing since the All India Football Federation has not made any official announcement about the restructuring of domestic football?

The AIFF says I-League is dying and there is need for a revamp of the domestic structure. The plan is now to have a three-tier league with claims that clubs will eventually be able to sustain themselves, even if they are playing in the second tier. Your comments.

Who killed the I-League, and why?

The AIFF had a five-month Second Division (I-League) last season involving several teams…

The priority is clearly ISL. Is there a possibility of all three Goan club owners joining hands to form one franchise and possibly play in the ISL from next season?

But, so far, the ISL seems to be attracting good crowd. At least in Goa, you have seen how FC Goa became a rage and enjoys wide support…

What next for Sporting Clube?

How much will the pull-out of three top Goan teams from I-League affect Goan football?

Leaving aside what the AIFF feels, what’s your personal opinion?

Have you lost all hope?

The pull-out of three Goan clubs, including Sporting Clube de Goa , has taken the sheen out of I-League, India’s premier football competition. The absence of Goan clubs who are protesting against the proposed restructuring of domestic football will hit the competition hard but Sporting Clube president Peter Vaz explains why, with the men governing it, the league never had a future. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with TOI…We have seen in the past how AIFF tables proposals, invites suggestions and in the end the same proposal becomes a reality, even if there are protests. We had provided AIFF with three proposals for continuing in the I-League: No forced relegation of I-League to a second-tier league; no bidding and no franchise fees for existing I-League clubs, and all governance issues should rest exclusively with AIFF. We have not jumped the gun. The AIFF haven’t even responded to our letters, and probably delayed an announcement only because Fifa president Gianni Infantino was coming to Goa. Nobody has any doubt that they will push through with the proposal.That is what the AIFF thinks. You have to first ask them who killed the I-League? Why did they deliberately kill the league? This merger proposal has not come overnight. It’s been in the pipeline for the last couple of years. When we asked AIFF about the two leagues, (AIFF president) Praful Patel said I-League remains the top league while ISL is only a tournament. Now, Patel is singing a different tune.It is clear that the ISL could have only prospered by killing the league. The AIFF were supposed to register a separate entity (to run the league) as per the licensing criteria, which they didn’t. They didn’t allow the clubs to run the league as well. If the marketing and organisational responsibility was with AIFF, how can clubs be blamed? The AIFF couldn’t even listen to our demand for a strong second division (I-League) which would have helped clubs who feel lost once relegated.Did they promote the league? Look at what is happening with this season’s I-League. The league will commence on January 7 and a month prior to kick-off, AIFF is still inviting bids for new teams! Teams have been now confirmed but newcomers are running around for players. They are assembling players only to make up numbers. (Even) For Durand Cup, or our own Inter-Village tournaments (in Goa), teams are confirmed much earlier. They even retained Aizawl FC, who were relegated last season, in contravention to existing competition rules.The ISL is a wrong concept. It’s an innovative disruption that has only helped AIFF hide its own failures. In fact, AIFF were forcing us to join hands and play in the ISL but we are fundamentally opposed to the concept of ISL. Our aim is to promote real football talent and that cannot happen with ISL. All that we see in the ISL is ageing players coming here for three months and laughing their way to the bank. Are we here to promote 14 foreign players?The ISL has artificial support and in three to four years, this bubble will surely burst. You can take it from me that in the next three to four years, the ISL’s fate will be worse than I-League, particularly with an extended league.This season, if you noticed, attendances have dropped, TRP figures are not encouraging and stadiums have not filled even when gates were thrown open and discounted tickets were offered. I agree the ISL has entertainment value, but when it comes to football, it has left a lot to be desired.For us, simply figuring in the I-League is not the standard. Our commitment to the game is much more. We will maintain a strong first team and carry on with our grassroot and youth development programs. In fact, this is the right time to consolidate. We will try to allocate resources to football infrastructure and player development.According to AIFF, there won’t be any impact! You can tell that from how they have responded. As Kushal (Das) and Sunando (Dhar) said, new clubs will add spice and we didn’t really have any support. There has been no reaction as well (from players and fans). May be the AIFF is right.Goan football will sustain itself but there won’t be a platform for players to make the next grade. There is a lot of talent in Goa, but if the AIFF is not interested, what can you do?As long as Praful Patel is president, Indian football has no future.