ISL hits another hurdle

IMG-R had shortlisted nine venues for the tournament and had floated tenders for the auction of franchises. The base price for each team was rumoured to be Rs 25 crore. They had also announced the signings of players such as Louis Saha and Freddie Ljungberg,and coaches like Kenny Dalglish and Peter Schmeichel. The telecast deal,revenue-sharing model,technical heads and the dates for commencement had also been finalised.

“Keeping in view various key factors including scheduling conflicts with the I-League and non-availability of stadium in Goa due to delay in Lusofonia Games,the committee has unanimously decided to launch the Indian Super League on a permanent window of September to November starting from year 2014,” a joint-statement from AIFF and IMG-R said.

The Lusofonia Games,a multi-discipline event involving the Portuguese speaking countries/territories,were scheduled to be held in December. However,due to infrastructure delays,it was pushed back by a month. Since Goa is one of the major venues for the Indian Super League,the organizers did not want the two events to clash,an AIFF official said.

Another major reason for postponing the tournament is the scheduling conflicts with the I-League clubs. One of the major grievances of the domestic teams was that the ISL was scheduled in middle of the I-League season. The clubs saw this tournament as a threat and refused to release top national players for this league.

However,they have softened their stand over the last few weeks,deciding not just to release their players but also,in some cases,expressed interest in purchasing teams. East Bengal,Bangalore FC and Pune FC are in talks with IMG-R to buy franchises while Dempo and Salgaocar are planning a joint bid. Postponing the tournament is seen as a bargaining tool adopted to get the clubs on board.

Fitness issues

Doubts continue to persist over the future of the players who had signed with IMG-R for this tournament,assuming it was to kick-off in January. Several India players like Subrata Pal,Syed Rahim Nabi and Gouramangi Singh,along with 20-odd players from the Indian Arrows squad,have aligned with the tournament and are without any clubs.

This means that unless they are picked up by some of the clubs on loan,they will be without regular match practice. India coach Wim Koevermans has raised concerns regarding the fitness levels of these players. “They will be recruited by some clubs. Not all the players,but some will be,for sure,” the AIFF official said.