Stakeholders meet in KL: high on hype, low on substance

Indian football's much-hyped meeting in Kuala Lumpur turned out to be a damp squib as the stakeholders failed to arrive at a consensus on the contentious issue of merging the ISL with the I-League.
A stakeholders' meeting was facilitated by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the Malaysian capital to find a way forward for Indian club football.
Chaired by AFC general secretary Dato' Windsor John, the meeting included representatives of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the Sports Ministry, the I-League and ISL clubs as well as from the world governing body, FIFA, the players' representatives and the AFC.

Sources in the know of developments said though a lot of things were discussed, nothing concrete came out of the meeting when it came to merging the two leagues and allotment of the AFC Cup continental playoff slot.
A source said the AFC was not keen on recognising the Indian Super League as the country's premier domestic league as it is "against a privately-managed tournament undermining the top division league".
The AFC is also learnt to have denied AFC Cup playoff spot to ISL as it is still neither the top division league of India nor the premier tournament.

While the ISL proposed to run its league alongside the I-League, representatives from Mohun Bagan and East Bengal were in favour of the ISL and I-League being merged to form one unified top division league as that would "enhance the performance of the national team, develop players and coaches".

The AFC urged the AIFF to conduct a meeting with all I- League clubs to discuss this year's league structure. Mohun Bagan said they have requested the AIFF to convene a meeting on June 12, as proposed by the AFC to discuss this year's league structure.
AFC general secretary Dato' Windsor John stressed on the need to have a strong domestic set-up in India for the continental body to see football become the number one sport in Asia.
"The stated vision of the AFC is to be the number one sport in Asia, and so to achieve that aim Indian football and its development is extremely important. There is no doubt that Indian football has huge potential, and the meeting was convened so that potential could be realised," Dato' said.

"There is a need to find solutions which ensure that Indian football is protected and that there are opportunities for young players, who must not be lost to our game."
In the meeting, it was agreed that the history, commitment and contributions made for more than 100 years as well as the new skills, investments and marketing and promotional skills required respect.
In a release the AFC stated, "The AIFF will decide the format for the short-term and there was an agreement around a road map to deliver medium and long-term plans for the game in India through a detailed process.

Independent research would be commissioned and analysed before being evaluated by the AIFF and the stakeholders, with the decisions on the medium and long-term pathway being taken as soon as possible after the FIFA U-17 World Cup, held in India later this year, it further said.
Dato' added: "There was a desire by people, who are extremely passionate about the game, to marry the strengths of both the traditional and the new, which helped in delivering the objectives of the meeting in which the AFC listened to the key stakeholders.
AIFF secretary Kushal Das said, "We are grateful to the AFC for facilitating the meeting which is crucial to the development of football in India.

"We must go through this process to create the best future for the game in our country. In the meantime, we have to decide on the short-term future of the game as soon as possible.