AIFF Media Team
NEW DELHI: Mr. AR Khaleel, Chairman, I-League and Federation Cup Committee Chaired the I-League and Federation Cup Committee Meeting which was held at All India Football Federation (AIFF) Headquarters Football House, Dwarka on Monday (November 24).
Besides Mr. Khaleel and representatives from all I-League Clubs, Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, All India Football Federation; Mr. Subrata Dutta, Vice-President, AIFF; Mr. Ankur Datta, Deputy Chairman, I-League Committee and Mr. Sunando Dhar also attended the Meeting. Mr. Anupam Dutta, CEO, Indian Super League and Mr. Prasenjit Basu from Ten Sports were also present as were Mr. Souter Vaz and Mr. ZA Thakur (both Members).
The proposed AIFF U-15 Tournament for I-League Clubs was greeted with much applause by the Clubs. The inaugural edition of the Tournament will be held in the next calendar year and will be a 16-Team event where besides the 10 I-League Teams, four other Academies and the two AIFF Academies would be a part of it.
In the first edition, 14 Teams would be divided into two groups (of seven Teams each) and the top three from each Group would be joined by the two AIFF Academies in the final round.
“The intention of the Tournament is to augment the talent for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup,” Kushal Das stated. The schedule and venue of the Championship keeping in mind the schedule of School examinations, and post discussions with sponsors Cola Cola and AIFF Marketing partners IMG-R, will be intimated to the Clubs.
It was unanimously decided that the registration of Players would be done centrally through the State Associations and all ID cards would be issued by AIFF. No Club would be allowed to register a Player after the completion of the 11th round of I-League.
It was informed that 75 I-League matches out of the total 110 matches would be telecast live by Ten Sports, the host broadcaster.
“In addition, we would also be streaming the matches,” Prasenjit Basu, representing Ten Sports, informed.
AIFF will be discussing with its Technical Team as to whether a Goalkeeping Coach can be seated on the Bench. “We need to speak with our Technical Team about the Licence required for the Goalkeeping Coach to be seated on the bench.”
Dhar also strongly reiterated that AIFF would “be monitoring practice sessions of every Club.”
“None other than an A-Licence holder would be allowed to conduct practice sessions. As per the I-League regulations any Coach/Technical Director would not be allowed to sit on the bench or even enter the Dressing Room on the match day,” he stated.
The I-League would kick-off on January 17, 2015 in Bengaluru.
As per the release of Players for the AFC U-22 Qualifiers slated to be held from March 23 to March 31, 2015, the Clubs agreed to get back to the AIFF over the same.
Dhar also informed that the 2nd Division League would take place in two venues which are to be finalised post inspection by AIFF. The eight participating Clubs are Aizawl FC, Chanmari FC, United Sports Club, Mohammedan Sporting, PIFA Sports, Kenkre Sports, Hindustan FC and Lonestar Kashmir FC.
It was decided that the U-19 I-League will kick-off in the second week of December.
The Club Representatives who attended the Meeting are as follows:
Imran Khan (McDowell Mohun Bagan), Nikhil Sharma (Shillong Lajong FC), Prasad Kapre (Kalyani Bharat FC), Raj Gomes (Salgaocar SC), Mandar Tamhane (Bengaluru FC), Victor Fernandes (Sporting Clube de Goa), Chirag Tanna (Pune FC), Atul Badgamia (Mumbai FC), Wilfred D’Souza (Dempo SC), Nicolas Jywa (Royal Wahingdoh), Rajat Guha (Kingfisher East Bengal).
Members: Souter Vaz, ZA Thakur.
Special Invitee: Prasenjit Basu (Ten Sports).
