The third edition of the third largest attended football league could see the end of marquee players doubling up as managers…

The Indian Super League (ISL) are mulling over the possibility of doing away with the draft and auction system after a meeting held between Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the private body which organizes the ISL, and members of the eight franchisees on Monday.

As per the preliminary discussion held, there would be an open market for players which shall see the franchisees have an option of luring a player from another team.

Also the clubs could be asked to sign a minimum of eight Indian players on a yearly contract while a total of five would be allowed to be signed on loan.

The third edition of the competition would also see the end of players doubling up as managers.

Interestingly the ISL could follow in the steps of Major League Soccer (MLS) as they could adopt the ‘Designated Player Rule’ popularly known as the ‘Beckham Rule’.

This would allow clubs to sign a marquee player outside of the existing salary cap.

“This will be a major boost for the ISL clubs as it will allow us to compete for some of the best names,” informed a club official who chose to remain anonymous.