Elaborating on the continental berth allocation, Das said, 'The League winners of the ISL will get the AFC Champions League slot, while the I-League winner, for a period of three years as a special dispensation, get the AFC Cup slot. The third slot, also in the AFC Cup, would go to the ISL overall winners.' FC Goa has already sealed the AFC. The All India Football Federation (AIFF), on Tuesday approached the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to allot an AFC Champions League qualification berth for the winner of the Indian Super League (ISL). Earlier, India had just two AFC quotas with the ISL champions earning a place in the preliminary round of the AFC Champions League and the I-League winners going through to the group stages of the AFC Cup. But, with the expansion of the AFC Champions League from 32 to 40 teams from 2021, it was announced that India will be allotted a direct slot. As per the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Club Competition guidelines, the AFC Champions League slot is awarded to the winner of the country's top division, while the AFC Cup slot goes to the.
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The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday said that it will recommend to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to consider that the champions of the Indian Super League (ISL) be allotted a spot in the qualifiers for the AFC Champions League. Currently, I-League winners represent India in the football's continental showpiece, via qualifiers.
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The decision was taken in the AIFF's Executive Committee meeting held here on Tuesday. The federation said that the recommendation has been made in the light of the Master Rights Agreement signed between the AIFF and IMG-Reliance in 2010 among other factors like more substantial growth in TV viewership and in stadia audience vis a vis the I-League and 'the ISL clubs complying with the entire AFC Club licensing criteria, including strong grassroots and Youth Development Programmes which have also been certified by the AFC.'
Furthermore, the AIFF said that it has asked the AFC to find a solution to the current standoff between the federation and I-League clubs.
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The federation said that the executive committee was to discuss the joint statement issued by the clubs and the AIFF after the July 3 meeting between federation president Praful Patel and the heads of the clubs. 'However, on July 8, the clubs via a letter released to the media have taken a contrary stand which is not in the spirit with which the AIFF president had met the clubs. As a result, we have therefore asked the AFC to find a possible solution,' the federation said.
Earlier, AIFF president Praful Patel assured the I-League clubs that their future is secure and that he will approach the Asian Football Confederation to allow the I-League to co-exist with the ISL as India's top flight for the next two to three years.
The clubs accepted Patel's proposal while putting forth their own version of a roadmap for Indian football in which a unified league structure consisting of I-League and ISL clubs was proposed with promotion and relegation.
Patel's comments had come on July 3 after he met the heads of six I-League clubs -- Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Minerva Punjab, Gokulam Kerala and Churchill Brothers. Among other matters, the clubs sought a clarification on the clause in the Master Right Agreement signed between AIFF and IMG-Reliance which stated that the ISL will be awarded top-flight status in the Indian football league structure with no promotion or relegation.
However, they rejected the idea of the ISL champions qualifying for the Champions League qualifiers as opposed to the current setting where the I-League clubs are given the slot.
On Monday, the I-League clubs in a letter sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the matter. The clubs requested for an enquiry commission to be set up to 'probe the All India Football Federation's functioning.'
'Recent media reports and press statements from the AIFF itself have indicated that the AIFF is seeking to make the ISL, which came into existence in 2013, the senior most league in the country, whereas I-League, that dates back to 2007 when it was launched as India's first ever professional football league is sought to be made into a second tier and inferior league,' the clubs wrote in the letter.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday recommended that the coveted AFC Champions League slot be granted to the winners of the Indian Super League (ISL), effectively elevating the ISL to the top division from the 2019-20 season at the expense of the I-League.
The recommendation might mean that India's AFC Cup slot now goes to the I-League winners. The AIFF has also asked AFC to send a high-level delegation to help create a suitable roadmap for Indian football, in discussion with AIFF, ISL clubs, I-League clubs and FSDL, in a time-bound manner.
A press release from the AIFF stated that the recommendation to nominate the ISL for the AFC Champions League slot had come in light of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) signed with AIFF's commercial partners Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) in 2010. It states that 'in the last five years, the entire Indian national squad are mostly being signed/playing for the ISL clubs', and that 'TV viewership and in-stadia audience have grown far more substantially vis-à-vis the I-League', while also pointing at the ISL clubs' willingness to comply with the AFC Club licensing criteria, including grassroots and youth development programmes.
AIFF Executive Committee statement on ISL/ILeague situation #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/zqcrfth9qm
- jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) July 9, 2019
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The decision, taken at the AIFF's executive committee meeting in New Delhi, is likely to be challenged by the I-League clubs.
ESPN understands that in the original arrangement, AFC had only agreed to grant an AFC Cup slot to the ISL, recognizing that as the national knockout tournament, at the expense of the erstwhile Federation Cup, while the AFC Champions League slot had stayed with the I-League champions. Chennai City FC are set to play the AFC Champions League playoffs for 2020 as the reigning I-League champions.
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On Monday, six I-League clubs -- Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Churchill Brothers, FC Goa, Gokulam Kerala FC, Minerva Punjab FC and Aizawl FC -- wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to set up an enquiry commission and 'probe' the AIFF's functioning.
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Last week, AIFF president Praful Patel assured the I-League clubs that their future was secure and he would approach the AFC to ensure the league continued to co-exist with the ISL for a few more years.
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Two weeks ago, a top AIFF source told ESPN that the federation was 'contract-bound' as per it 2010 Master Rights Agreement with Football Sports Development Limited, to make the ISL the 'most senior and prestigious' league of India.