IFA sends letter to AIFF, asks for another meeting

The Indian Football Association (IFA), the state's parent football body, has written to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) urging another round of meetings with two city clubs ahead of the June 7 meeting at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur involving all stakeholders.

A top source in the know confirmed that IFA secretary Utpal Ganguli had written to AIFF president Praful Patel for another round of discussions regarding East Bengal and Mohun Bagan's participation in the Indian Super League (ISL) before the roadmap of Indian football is put on the table by AFC in two weeks' time.

"The letter has been sent in line with the meeting we had with both the clubs recently. I am still awaiting a reply from Patel," Ganguli told IANS here on Tuesday.

"I cannot give our the content of the letter but I have written in detail whatever was discussed in the meeting here a few days back and expressed our concerns," he added.

Patel, it was reported, would not be attending the meeting in Kuala Lumpur and AIFF general secretary Kushal Das and I-League CEO Sunando Dhar would instead represent the AIFF.

In the last meeting held last Saturday, 18 office bearers each from the two rival clubs joined hands to up the ante against Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), the organisers of the ISL and the AIFF threatening to disrupt the cash-rich event if their three-point demand was not met.

The two clubs did not submit the bid document despite picking it up in protest against a franchise fee of Rs 15 crore being asked from them. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan also want money from the central pool and would like to play the tournament in Kolkata.

The city outfits are also likely to skip the June 7 meeting of all stakeholders.

--IANS

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