Licensing test failure highlights the clubs’ shortcomings to protect the I-League brand

The AIFF president has hit back at the I-League clubsPhoto Credit: AIFF Media

For some time the AIFF bosses didn’t respond to the verbal attacks of the club owners but following Thursday’s AIFF executive committee meeting, federation president Praful Patel blasted the I-League clubs for not meeting the licensing criteria and also pointed the need of having the new IPL tournament to boost the interest in Indian football.

“If we strictly go by the book most clubs will cut a sorry figure,” Patel was quoted saying in a recent interview by the Times of India (TOI).

According to a report by the Hindustan Times (HT), even I-League champions Churchill Brothers were among the bottom-ranked teams in the test results. The biggest culprits though have to be the big three clubs (East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting) of Kolkata.

All three clubs have rich history and enormous fanbases but have done nothing to attract fans regularly for domestic matches. The odd derby does have huge attendances due to the pride and prestige surrounding it but overall the trio have taken their huge fan following for granted.

The big Kolkata clubs can’t have any excuses for failing the test

Although Mohammedan Sporting can be excused as they haven’t been in the I-League for four years, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan cannot be defended. A key aspect of the licensing test is maintaining three age group teams between u-10 and u-21 levels and anyone who follows Kolkata football would know very well that the youth teams of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan don’t function throughout the year and often are assembled close to a tournament with huge question marks about the age testing of players.

And it’s not that the two arch-rivals don’t have the resources because they have been notorious over the years for spending heavily on player salaries especially the foreigners but have been unable to come up with a concrete youth development plan.