Harpal Singh Bedi

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday urged the Hero I-League clubs not to pre-judge any action of the AIFF and make premature comment in advance.

The AIFF said that its Executive Committee is meeting on July 3 to take stock of the situation so prejudging the action is not good, .

The AIFF statement came in response to the seven I-League clubs’ who said that they may move the court to seek redressal and relief,

Putting up a united front, seven I-League clubs said they are ready to approach “appropriate courts for relief” if the All India Football Federation makes the ISL the country’s top league.

Clearly unhappy at AIFF general secretary Kushal Das’s public assertion that the Indian Super League was the country’s main league, representatives of Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Churchill Brothers, Minerva Punjab FC, Aizawl FC, NEROCA and Gokulam Kerala FC held a meeting in New Delhi, where they decided to move courts.

in a joint statement the clubs said “With media reports indicating that the ISL being announced as the top division league post an Executive committee meeting scheduled for July 3rd, the I-League clubs are standing united stronger than ever,”

“The refusal of the President of AIFF to meet the I-League clubs in spite of several requests and the subsequent vindictive actions specifically towards the I-League clubs, combined with the coercive and blackmailing attitude of Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) towards AIFF by refusing to make payments pushes the game to an uncertain future.”

The clubs further stated: “I League has been the national league since 1996 and carries the tradition of Indian Football with it. This tradition has helped create what football in India stands today and has been the torch bearer of Indian Football. I League has been the sole driving force in creating footballers and fans of the game in the country.

“To be now told that the I-League will no longer be the top league is completely unacceptable and illegal and we pledge to fight this together as one football family which carries the tradition of Indian football.”

The AIFF reacting to the joint statement of Hero I-League clubs said that ‘ as a custodian of Indian Football it has always endeavoured to balance to the interest of all stakeholders, and the Hero I-League, and its clubs. To say that the future of Hero I-League, and the clubs will not be taken into consideration for any future decisions of the AIFF would be unfair.

As a matter of fact, a decision regarding the Hero Indian Super League becoming a league were also discussed with AFC, and FIFA before it was given recognition, and even for any future decisions AFC and FIFA will be duly consulted. In fact, during the last AFC AGM in Paris, the AIFF asked the AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor John to visit India specifically for Hero I-League issues. The statement said

Furthermore, while the decision of the AIFF Executive Committee cannot be per-judged, it must also be borne in mind that AIFF has already spoken to its commercial partners FSDL about the concerns of the Hero I-League clubs.

It is surprising that the clubs have accused the AIFF President about not giving them any audience for their grievances. In fact, the only time they sought an audience was before the commencement of Hero Super Cup, where they were duly informed that the AIFF President will meet them any day between April 10-14, as the President had prior commitments for the FIFA Council Election on April 6 in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Lok Sabha general elections.

Despite the assurance, the clubs did not meet the President, and rather pre-maturely pulled out of the Hero Super Cup, causing huge financial losses and negativity for a tournament for they had confirmed their participation. It must be mentioned that post pulling out of the Hero Super Cup no appointment has been sought by the Clubs till date.

As a custodian of Indian Football, the AIFF and the President are always happy to engage with all stakeholders including I-league Clubs for the betterment of Indian Football.

Needless to say some club owners have taken to a vicious and malicious social media campaign against the AIFF and its President. We would like to caution the clubs to refrain from unnecessary accusations, and advice them to engage meaningfully for the betterment of Indian Football., the statement added