Ranjit Bajaj is a rebel. Having founded Minerva Punjab Football Club in 2013, Bajaj is taking on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to keep I-League clubs relevant in Indian football. The AIFF, with IMG-Reliance as its commercial partners, plans to have a single unified league from next season onwards. Indian Super League (ISL) clubs are slated to get automatic spots in the first division, while I-League clubs will be relegated to the second division. Bajaj had been fighting a lone battle with the AIFF over this issue, but has now found support from eight of the 11 I-League clubs. The group wrote to the AIFF expressing their displeasure as well as "interference" of AIFF's marketing partners Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) in various decisions related to the sport in the country.

The latest episode in this fight has seen Minerva Punjab's boycott of their Super Cup opening qualifying match against Pune City FC on Friday, with Aizawl FC and Gokulam Kerala following suit on Saturday.

In this detailed chat with DNA, Bajaj — a former footballer who has also represented India at the U-19 level — explains how things came to such a standpoint, plans to take AIFF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and why he feels the national federation has sold itself.

Where do you hope to go with this fight that you are leading against AIFF?

We were hoping that the fight doesn't even go this way, because we thought that they (AIFF) will meet us. We've not even asked for anything yet, we've not even demanded anything. We're just saying, please meet us. That is all we are asking at the moment. We want to meet just to discuss things, and we've never said that only if you do all that will we play the Super Cup. We're just saying, give us a time for the meeting, and even if it is for later, we will play the Super Cup. That's why the three teams who were part of the qualifiers — Aizawl, Gokulam Kerala and us — all of us went there (Bhubaneswar), and were there for four days. If we didn't want to play, we wouldn't have gone there in the first place.

We wanted an outcome, and we still want an outcome. If they turn around tomorrow and say, 'OK, we're willing to talk', we will hit the ground immediately. But if they stick to their stand and say we can't even talk to you, that shows that they don't even care enough to talk to us. They don't care enough to do anything for us. I mean, this is the least we can expect, they owe us an answer. Because at the end of the day, it's our future, and they're taking decisions on our future without even consulting us.

Who have you spoken to in the AIFF for a meeting?

We are asking (AIFF president) Praful Patel for a meeting. We have spoken to (AIFF general secretary) Kushal Das already, and the only answer we have got from him is that we're trying to get in touch with the president but he is very busy due to the upcoming (general) elections. But the thing is, we have been asking for this meeting for eight months. Our first letter — from five clubs together as a group — went out somewhere in September-October and the second one in January from seven groups. And then, in February, we sent the letter with eight clubs.

What is it that you are fighting for, and what exactly do you want from the AIFF?

This is not something we are asking just for ourselves. This is also about the betterment of Indian football. Even if you're going to have one league in the future, you need to tell us where we stand, because even we are answerable to our sponsors. The way they're doing it right now, they're killing us. The broadcast being killed off in the middle of the season (Star Sports, the broadcasters of the I-League, decided in December last year to telecast only a select few matches for the rest of the I-League season), the low quality of it, no guarantee about the future. Obviously, sponsors wouldn't want to go with us then.

However, even with the 2pm matches, we have proven to them that we draw more crowds than ISL. And that's the main thing. They saw the fan base of ISL clubs declining, and here with the I-League clubs, even with all the adversities, our teams' fan base is only increasing. And all of that is organic, with zero marketing. There (in ISL), with even crore pumped into marketing, they could get nothing.

So, they had to kill us or die themselves. And obviously, they are not going to kill the ISL because of the money invested. And the only way they could kill us was by making sure we become irrelevant by not showing us on TV.

You have boycotted a football game because of this. What will be your last resort?

If this doesn't work, my next stop is going to be CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). It is against Article 19.2 related to third party interference. The top league of the country should not be owned by a private company, simple. It's like saying Ranji Trophy is owned by the Ambanis. In the same way, IPL cannot be made into the Ranji Trophy. And that's how Praful Patel introduced ISL to us, that it's going to be a 40-day tournament and it's going to be a feeder for the I-League. But now, it has become a proper league. If they actually do this, our case is going to be straightforward in the CAS, that merit doesn't come into play here.

It is only about money. If you have Rs 15 crore, you play. If you don't have that money, and even if you're better than the other teams, you don't get to play.

For example, Chennaiyin FC, who have come 10th in the ISL, will play in the premier division of the country, as things stand. And Chennai City FC, who have won the I-League, will play the second division next year.

When you say you hope that you can talk it out and arrive at a solution, what is the best case scenario you're looking at: a unified league with as many teams as possible or two different leagues?

Look, we want a unified league. We can even work out a way. They have this clause in their contracts that they (ISL clubs) can't be relegated. We're ready to say, fine, have a unified league and only I-League clubs be relegated (for the opening season). We're even open to that. Then they said the revenue cannot be shared by them because they have to pay franchise fees. We said OK, we don't want your revenue also. Then what is the problem? And they can't answer that.

The problem is that they don't own us, and they can't control us. Whereas they can control everybody else. The sad part is, the AIFF just doesn't seem to care, and that's because I think they don't have any power. And because they are powerless, they can't do anything in this matter. They have sold themselves.

So, you want your own say while also being part of the unified league?

Yes. We're OK as long as there is proper promotion and relegation. They can tell us, 'we'll put you in the second division this year, but if you are good enough, you will get in the first division'. But if they keep saying that the clubs in the ISL will stay in the ISL, no matter even if they're s***, and even if we are the best in the second division, you cannot get promoted. On top of it, we can get relegated and go to the third division, but we can't get promoted and go to the first. I mean, that's a total mockery of sports, because sports is all about merit.

Are you willing to accept all their terms and conditions just to stay afloat and be part of the Indian football ecosystem?

One thing we're not going to do is pay them to be part of it. You can buy any player around the world with money, but if you want your country to do well, you need to produce your own players. We need at least 100 Minervas in India if the country has to progress in the international football stage. We don't need 100 franchises, we need 100 Minervas. And they are killing off these Minervas, the ones that produce their own players.

You founded the club in 2013, and since then, the club has been part of a league that has produced many beautiful stories over the last few years, including Minerva Punjab winning the I-League title in the second year itself. Where do you see yourself as well as the club going from here?

If things go on like this, we see ourselves shutting down very soon. Like so many other great clubs — Salgaocar FC, Dempo, Sporting Clube de Goa — have shut down, we will also become part of the list. They (AIFF) will be successful in closing down another club, for no rhyme or reason other than their apathy. We have a title sponsor for five years, so they can't even say that we couldn't market ourselves well. And they can't even say we didn't have the results. We have won six titles in four years across all age groups. We've given over 60 players to India over the last three-and-a-half years in different age groups. And then, when they (AIFF) kill us, they can't say that they shut down because they didn't care.

Have you mentally prepared yourself for the death knell?

If we're going to die, we're going to go out fighting. So, our last resort will be CAS. And if we lose the CAS battle as well, then there is nowhere to go. Then obviously, we will have to shut down. But they better be prepared, and know that they're going to get a tough fight. We're not going to let it go just because they are rich.

How sad do you feel that things have had to come down to this extent in this conflict?

You know, sometimes, my wife and I sit down and talk about it, and I just end up crying. All the hard work that we put in, all the dreams, all the aspirations … of not just me, but of more than the 100 staff and over 250 boys in different age groups. To think that some of these boys will never find another academy is just so scary. And knowing that this can all be stopped because all they (AIFF) have to do is get off their high-handedness and call the clubs and give them some importance. That's all we want. It's just so sad, and it can still all be avoided.

How have the boys reacted to all the uncertainty?

My boys were raring to go (in the Super Cup). All of them wanted to play against the ISL clubs because they have this motivation to do well against them. They want to show them that we're as good as you. But they also understand that this is a fight for them. Because next year, if there is no I-League, there is no Super Cup. There's only ISL, and 10 teams cannot absorb all the players in a country like India.

You are a passionate and emotional person, especially when it comes to the sport. Do you look back and regret having invested yourself so much into Indian football?

No, I would do it all over again. Because it has given me back much more than I could've ever imagined. No one can take away the fact that a Minerva boy scored the first ever World Cup goal for India (Jeakson Singh, in 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup). No one can take away the fact that India U-20 beat Argentina U-20 and my boy (Anwar Ali) scored the winning goal. No one can take away the fact that we have been champions of all the leagues in India across the age groups at the same time.

It has given me so much, and we have been able to give Indian football some good players. And our boys will play for the next 15-20 years. So, I am glad that I was able to give back to Indian football, and I'm still ready to devote my life to it.

Look, somebody who earns Rs 100 crore a year and puts in Rs 1 crore a year towards Indian football, fine, you can call that passion. But if somebody who earns Rs 2 crore a year and puts in Rs 2.5 crore a year in Indian football, that's the guy you need. I'm running this club on loan, man. You cannot buy that kind of passion. And you would do well to promote such people, not kill them.

Do you feel proud about leading this fight?

I'm very proud, prouder now that all clubs are with me. I'm proud that I was the one leading it and starting to tell everybody that it is now or never. All clubs are now with us, and it's great that they all understand that tomorrow, if this league dies, they are dead as well because there will be no other league to go to.