Our goal to make I-League pan India has almost been achieved: AIFF VP Subrata Dutta

The I-League officially kickstarts today -- on 26 October 2018 -- with the first match to be played between Chennai City and Indian Arrows at the Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore. In a first, the Odisha state government will be sponsoring the Indian Arrows. Meanwhile, the Goan government is also helping the Churchill Brothers financially.

The top-most domestic football league will commence amidst confusion regarding the restructuring of Indian football. It remains unclear whether there is going to be a unified league from the 2019-20 season onwards or if the Indian Super League will have the top-tier status with I-League being given a secondary one.

AIFF senior vice-president Subrata Dutta said at the launch event:

"There are dreams, new hopes in Indian football. A few years ago, there were 14 teams from 5 states. This year, we have 11 teams from 10 states. Hence, our goal to make I-League pan India has almost been achieved. I must congratulate all the Hero I-League teams for their contributions to make it so successful. I must also appreciate their contribution for the development and promotion of football in our country. They have really done a commendable job over the years.

I feel that all the venues for I-League are ready to make this edition even more successful than last year. Last year, 58 % of spectator attendance got enhanced compared to the year before that. The coming season we expect the same. These clubs will be able to give the desired mileage to their investors/sponsors as Star Sports will show most of the matches live. The visibility of the game has become a necessity. Youth development is the area where AIFF has given maximum attention and importance."

The infrastructural development of the clubs is something which can be noted here. Shillong Lajong FC has acquired 33 acres of land and they will build a modern football facility over there. Even NEROCA has renovated their stadium and also bought land for their practice sessions. Aizawl has a new stand for themselves.

East Bengal and Mohun Bagan now have floodlights in their enclosed grounds. Real Kashmir FC has renovated the TRC ground within record time. It is now ready for I-League matches. Minerva, who put up an incredible performance last season, renovated the Mohali stadium. Gokulam, as well as Chennai City FC, have also renovated their stadiums.

The reason for the media conference was to increase the visibility of the game. Apart from I-League and the 2nd division league, there are U-13, U-15, and U-18 Youth leagues to encourage the young players to get into the mainstream. This will also provide the young talents with exposure and enhance the ability of the technical teams to scout talents. Earlier the Indian football circuit was confined to just the I-League and 2nd division league but now there are a plethora of opportunities available for everyone.

As a result of this expansion in the domestic scenario, the Indian National team has really started performing well -- the draw against a higher ranked China being a testament to this. Even the junior national teams are performing well because they have a number of players to pick and choose from.

"Not for nothing has AFC chosen I-League as one of the three developing leagues in Asia. I am not certain if we will receive the award for the most developing league but I am quite sure that there are many nations in Asia which have adopted the Hero I-League model as the model for their own league.

They are following our model for success. I was there for the finance committee meeting of the AFC -- even before the meeting started they were all appreciating our club licensing system and how successfully we have implemented that. I want this kind of coordination and cooperation among the stakeholders to continue so that we can take Indian football to new heights," Dutta signed off.

There is quite some buzz about the I-League and fans will be hoping that the league goes down to the wire till the very last matchday like it did in the previous season. The clubs will be locking horns with each other to vie for Rs. 1 crore prize money. Meanwhile, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishers will take home Rs. 60 lakh, Rs. 40 lakh, Rs 25 lakh, respectively.

The issue of whether or not to have a unified league must be addressed as soon as possible otherwise Indian clubs may face an Asian ban next season onwards.

Another problem in unifying the league is that the ISL clubs have been given a relegation immunity of 10 years from 2014 onwards. They cannot be relegated till 2024 contractually. A holistic approach is what is required now and these are the things which can be evaluated again.

A complete revamping of the Indian domestic football league structure is of prime importance at present. It will be interesting to see how the AIFF goes about it and how everything eventually pans out.