And sadly, nobody cares.

The All India Football Federation last night passed a few resolutions on important decisions regarding the future of Indian Football in an emergency meeting yesterday. That, is an extremely alarming statement if you know the kind of work the AIFF has done for Indian football thus far after convening regular meetings to discuss well thought out proposals (virtually nothing). And on top of that, yesterday, they decide to pass these resolutions in an “Emergency Meeting”. Why did they have to pass these hurriedly in an emergency meeting? Could they not talk and discuss these proposals out before passing them? Have they put in enough thought and debate into the proposals to consider their ramifications for Indian football, and fans who want to watch Indian football regularly and locally? Have they accepted every proposal that their “partner” IMG Reliance suggested blindly? Or have they considered where IMG’s loyalties lie?

1) New Format similar to the NBA, but no decision on the number of teams in each conference

First up, if you don’t know, the I-League is going to be reorganized and played in the manner of the NBA. There will be an Eastern and Western Conference and the top 4 teams from each will compete in the finals. Crucially, information regarding the number of teams in each conference is missing. It has not been declared. I for one don’t mind a change in the format, to be really honest. I-League clubs get as much financial support from the AIFF as banks hand out to unemployed people. So, if the changing format allows them to save on travel costs, because a large base of their opponents will be in the same zone, then so be it. However, what is crucial is the number of teams in each conference which will decide the number of matches each team will play. I can’t fathom as to why the National Body did NOT agree to name the figure. What do they have to hide/lose?

2) New clubs that won’t get relegated and have never competed in the lower levels of Indian football – Mumbai and Bangalore will soon have I-League teams from next season. Bids from JSW (Bangalore) and the “Mumbai Tigers” have been accepted. How dare the AIFF take two slots of the I-League away from deserving teams who have been playing at the lower levels of Indian football for ages just to let two clubs come in flash their wallets and get into the I-League? What hope does this leave for a poor club in I-League 2? Moreover, neither of these clubs will be relegated as per the proposals agreed by the AIFF. Is the AIFF planning on giving this guarantee to every club that manages to enter the I-League for the first time? Or is it only for the wealthy?

3) Atleast one under 23 player is guaranteed a place in the line up (regardless of how well they play) under new rules

Under the new rules, every club registers 30 players out of which a minimum 5 have to be Under 23, which is fine. The stupidity comes in when the AIFF says that a team HAS to name an Under 23 player in the starting line-up.

All right, now let’s assume that the coach of each team is confident enough to let an Under 23 player in to the starting line up (which is rare, especially in India). What if all 5 of these under 23 players are injured (not an unlikely scenario)? Will the club get fined for not abiding by the rules? Imposing these kind of rules on clubs will not help develop talent. Younger players may get complacent about the fact that they have to get picked, even if they are not performing well enough. If a youngster has enough talent, he will be given a chance. It isn’t the AIFF’s job to impose these rules.

5) The AIFF is diverting money to a new league, filled with foreign football stars who are past it (and this is supposed to help develop Indian talent)

A club that participates in the I-League gets Rs 5,00,000, which is a massive jump from the 50,000 they used to make till now. This is simply not good enough. On top of this, the AIFF is planning to launch a new league specifically as a cash cow and invites franchisees for that. Instead, why isn’t the AIFF trying to market the I-League to more sponsors and help existing clubs generate revenues?

I’ll tell you why. Because it is easier for IMG Reliance to sell a short format league action packed with stars who are beyond it (the usual names are coming up Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Figo, Fowler) and make money out of that then sell the I-League.

If a league like this actually kicks off (there have been many threats before, but nothing materialized), it will certainly be the death knell for the I-League. The interest there will dwindle, more domestic players will want to play in the shorter league, because it will most likely be more lucrative financially for them. The league will be a showboating ground for the “Stars” who are likely to turn up, not a serious game of football. Net result, the Indian players & young players who play there will end up playing at a level that is less than what is required to be internationally competitive.

6) Only two clubs will be allowed from one city in the I-League. And anyone who wants to start the third club in a city cannot do so and will be told by the AIFF which city to start one in (regardless of whether that city has an interest in football or not)

As per the new AIFF laws, a city cannot have more than 5 clubs totally in both the I-League and I-League 2 with only two of them from one particular city being allowed in the I-League except for Kolkata and Goa who are allowed 3 because of their “historical contribution to Indian football”.

Why on earth is the AIFF trying to limit the number of clubs from one city? Why shouldn’t a person want to start a club in his hometown? After all, he feels more connected to his own city than some random place suggested by the AIFF? This is all being done in the name of “redistributing the number of I-League clubs evenly”. But what is the point? If you for example, shift a club from Kolkata to another city, is there a guarantee that the team will get the same kind of reception they would in Kolkata? Very unlikely. Moreover, this is a restriction of competition and while I’m not a lawyer, I’m quite sure somewhere contradicts with provisions of the Competitions Act.

And “historic contribution of Kolkata and Goa”? Yes, that’s true, but mainly because most of the decision making ability has been retained by these two centers (particularly in Kolkata with the IFA possibly being more powerful than the AIFF), so naturally the trophy distribution will be skewed in their favour.

What are the solutions?

To be fair, you really need to dig deep into the problems faced by I-League clubs and actually come up with responses. But these are a set of solutions that the AIFF and IMG Reliance should possibly peruse.

1) The biggest problem for clubs is revenue. Clubs do spend a lot to survive in the I-League and the AIFF should be looking at ways in which they can get these clubs as much money as they can through TV rights & sponsorship deals. But instead our AIFF is looking at diverting money from the I-League to start another flash bang league (which will probably be fixed anyway).

2) Scheduling – Why on earth are matches played on weekday afternoons? Who can go and watch them (thereby depriving a club of a potential revenue goldmine – ticket sales). These are the kind of people who are free on a weekday afternoon – unemployed (broke), alcoholics & drug addicts (broke), college students (also broke).

3) Improving the competitive levels of the Under-20 leagues and giving younger players the chance to hone their talent in regular competitions such as the reserves and the Under 21 leagues in Europe. These leagues have to be held throughout the duration of the I-League, not as a one off knockout cup competition. If these kids play regularly, they will improve and push for places in the starting XI.

4) Do NOT start a small format franchise based league packed with foreign stars who are past it. This is clearly a commercial move by IMG to milk as much money as they can. The impact it will have on Indian football is detrimental. It will only help some large corporates make some more money, but the AIFF does not seem to care.

The Positive

There are some – The AIFF has finally decided to implement the club licensing criteria. They have also ensured that teams will have to have their own stadia (which could be good or bad). But there isn’t much to smile about. Today could very likely be the day that the AIFF destroyed Indian football for good.