Top I-League clubs fail AIFF’s licensing test,get lifeline

However,all the clubs have been handed a lifeline by the AIFF

In what came as a shock to 14 I-League clubs,none of them,it was announced on Friday,cleared the mandatory Club Licensing Test conducted by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

However,all the clubs have been handed a lifeline by the AIFF. They have been allowed to apply for an exemption that would allow them to participate in I-League and Federation Cup this season.

The request for an exemption to compete has to be sent to AIFFs Club Licensing manager,Roma Khanna,by August 14. This exemption is mandatory,without which the clubs will not be allowed to compete.

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Asked how serious the AIFF was about the Club Licensing Test,I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said: The Asian Football Confederation has made it clear that the clubs,which fail to clear the Licensing Test would not be allowed to participate. At the moment,the clubs have to seek for an extension.

The AIFF looks at five areas before granting a license to the clubs financial,legal,infrastructure,personnel and sporting.

Benchmark

Its about a club having a proper youth structure that includes age-group teams and youth coaches,proper infrastructure,professional people running the club,among other things. Licensing is necessary to set a particular benchmark and help the clubs achieve a certain standard and level of professionalism. Ultimately,it will help in improving the level of the game, said Shaji Prabhakaran,who was a part of the committee that examined the clubs. Prabhakaran is also FIFAs Regional Developmental Officer for South and Central Asia. The AIFF started the process in January to implement Indian Club Licensing for the first time.

We are awaiting AIFFs report about the sections that went against us. But now that all 14 clubs have been deemed unfit,the federation has to allow some leeway. We will appeal against the decision, East Bengal football secretary Santosh Bhattacharya said.

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