Opinion I-League: Cutting costs or corners?
Taking a cue from USA's Major League Soccer,the All India Football Federation
Taking a cue from USA’s Major League Soccer,the All India Football Federation decided in May that the I-League will be divided into two conferences,Eastern and Western.
However,the 14 clubs,who prefer the current home-and-away format,have unanimously opposed the idea. The conference model might not be a bad idea but there needs to be more clarity on how the new structure will benefit the game and how the clubs will gain,especially financially.
The AIFF came up with the concept to save costs. The total budget for the I-League is Rs 15 crore and going by the figures provided by the AIFF,roughly Rs 8 crore is spent only on the travel and lodging of the 14 teams. By adopting the conference model,the federation hopes the expenses will reduce significantly. And therein lies the moot question: Is the AIFF keen on adopting the new format just to simply cut costs?
A good starting point to attempt to get the clubs on board is for football’s governing body to explain how they plan to utilise the funds saved by the cost-cutting. The AIFF secretary general Kushal Das has said it will be used to develop infrastructure and to promote the Under-19 I-League but clubs want greater vision.
The clubs,on their part,need to be ready to sit across the table and talk with AIFF officials. Dempo president Shrinivas Dempo and Shillong Lajong general secretary Larsing Ming are the vice-presidents of the AIFF and also members of the committee that made the decision. May be Shrinivas and Ming can start-off by explaining why they first supported the conference format before making a U-turn.
There is no guarantee that the conference model will be a success but it is worth giving it a shot,especially when the current format has resulted in lop-sided games and in-turn failed to raise the profile of the sport over the past 18 years.
Mihir is a senior correspondent based in Mumbai.
mihir.vasavda@expressindia.com
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