AIFF Officials Hold Discussions With I-League, IWL Clubs

All India Football Federation: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey, Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran and senior officials of the governing body met with representatives from the I-League and Indian Women's League clubs at the Football House, here on Thursday and discussed various aspects of the game in the country.

Apart from AIFF president and Secretary General, treasurer Kipa Ajay, along with Executive Committee members Avijit Paul, Valanka Alemao (also the Chairperson of the Women’s Football Committee), Lalnghinglova Hmar (also the Chairman of the League Committee), Vijay Bali, and Grassroots Committee Chairperson Mulrajsinh Chudasama, and League Committee member Satyanarayan M, were also present in the meeting.

Amongst the I-League clubs, Sreenidi Deccan FC, Gokulam Kerala FC, Churchill Brothers FC Goa, Mohammedan Sporting Club, and Aizawl FC were present at the Football House, while NEROCA FC, TRAU FC, Real Kashmir FC, Rajasthan United FC, Delhi FC, Shillong Lajong FC attended the meeting virtually.

Out of the IWL clubs, Gokulam Kerala FC, Kickstart FC, HOPS FC, Sethu FC, Odisha FC were present at the Football House, while East Bengal FC, and Sports Odisha attended the meeting virtually.

"This is a new dawn, and the AIFF management is looking to take the leagues in the country to the next level. At times when we sit across the table, we tend to think only of what can benefit us, but we need to put all such differences aside and think of solutions that will benefit all parties involved here," the president Chaubey was quoted as saying in an AIFF media release.

"I am sure all of you are looking for good players, quality administrators, quality media engagement, and so on. I am glad to tell all of you that this time we aim to do better for the I-League and the IWL," he added.

Secretary General Dr Prabhakaran said," We are working on creating the right impact and value for the Hero I-League and Hero IWL. It is our responsibility to ensure that the league is sustainable for the clubs, and to make it more competitive."

The discussions were held on a range of topics regarding the formats of the two leagues, the subsidies disbursed to the clubs, the qualities of the pitches and broadcast, the regulation on foreign players, and much more.

"The AIFF discussed the possibility of having the I-League in different formats. A lengthy discussion was held on the pros and cons of the formats, which the AIFF management took note of. A decision on the same will be taken at a later date, taking into consideration the opinions of all stakeholders," the media release further said.

The I-League clubs were also advised to improve their pitch conditions and have compulsory floodlights for their matches.

A range of awards were also announced for the I-League -- Best Pitch, Best Match Organisation, and Best Media Activities. The winning prize for each category is Rs 2.5 lakh, while that of the runners-up is Rs 1.5 lakh.

The I-League is tentatively likely to start in the first week of October.

Meanwhile, the IWL meeting began with the news of Gokulam Kerala FC being allowed to participate in the AFC Women’s Club Championship (Pilot) 2023 after the AIFF requested the AFC to allow them to participate in the 2023 edition as the winners of the 2022-23 Indian Women's League.

The introduction of club licensing before the season starts as per AFC Norms was also proposed by the AIFF in the meeting in order to meet the AFC requirements, which will come into effect from the 2024-25 season for the AFC Women’s Club Championship.

The 2023-24 women's football league season will consist of two tiers -- the IWL with eight teams playing on a home-and-away basis and a second division, which will comprise the remaining eight teams from the 2022-23 IWL season and the state league winners. The top two teams of the second division will be promoted to the 2024-25 IWL.

The clubs proposed their home stadiums for the 2023-24 IWL season -- Gokulam Kerala FC (EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode), Kickstart FC (Bangalore Football Stadium, Bengaluru), Sethu FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai), Sports Odisha (Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar), Odisha FC (Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar), HOPS FC (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi) and East Bengal FC (East Bengal Ground, Kolkata).

The tentative dates suggested by the AIFF for the IWL 2023-24 season are from November 18, 2023, to March 16, 2024.