Now, I-League clubs to approach FIFA, AFC

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 16

Six I-League clubs have decided to hit AIFF where it may hurt the national football federation the most. The clubs said that they would first seek redressal with the international (FIFA) and Asian (AFC) federations before approaching the court.

Representatives of the six clubs — East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers, Minerva Punjab, Aizawl FC and Gokulam Kerala — met in New Delhi today to strategise how to move forward in their fight to keep I-League relevant after the All-India Football Federation announced it was recommending the winner of the Indian Super League (ISL) to get a berth for the qualifiers of the AFC Champions League.

Later in the evening, the group met senior Supreme Court advocate and former solicitor general of India Mohan Parasaran to chalk out how to approach the matter. Parasaran, it is understood, wanted to look at the few issues before deciding the course of action. One of the issues was the Master Rights Agreement between AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a subsidiary of IMG-Reliance.

But before approaching the court, the clubs have decided to take their issue to the Asian and world bodies. Interestingly, AIFF president Praful Patel, whom the clubs blame for this conundrum, is a member of FIFA’s finance committee as well as a senior vice-president in AFC.

“This is the right way to go about it and we are making sure that all the remedies are exhausted, and then if nothing works, we go to the court,” Minerva Punjab FC owner Ranjit Bajaj told The Tribune today.

“We will go to the court as the last resort. Last resort doesn’t mean we will not file an appeal. It is guaranteed that it will happen, we will definitely go to the court if we don’t get a reply from AFC and FIFA,” he added.