The All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary Kushal Das on Wednesday admitted that the parent body is seriously mulling the option of a merger between the I-league and IMG-R promoted ISl as it would mean a national league with 17 teams.
"It is true that teams have come down in I-league. But two new teams have also come up. One team which is no longer in league didn't have any vision. But the issue of Pune FC, not playing is a matter of concern. Maybe, they have not been able to develop a fan base in all these years, inspite of handling it professionally. And in case of Royal Wahingdoh, the reasons are financial," AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said at the launch of the Hero I-league 2015-16.
"But if you see the overall picture, two years back there were 12 teams playing the I league and now by combining two leagues, you have 17 teams playing, which helps us in thinking about merger much more," Das told reporters.
last year, the I-league was played among 11 teams and out of those, three clubs — Pune FC, Bharat FC and Royal Wahingdoh — have pulled out and while one (Dempo) were relegated. With new entrants DSK-Shivajians and Aizawl FC the I-league 2015-16 would be competed among just nine clubs.
The first match of the Hero I league seson will see defending champions Mohun Bagan take on Aizawl FC in Kolkata on January 9. Arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will lock horns on January 23.
‘Want teams from J&K’
It's no secret that I-league is a poor second cousin of the cash-rich Indian Super league but Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri urges AIFF to have a "Pan-Indian touch" by having clubs ranging from Jammu and Kashmir to Andaman & Nicobar islands for the tourney.
"I would eventually want to see I-league evolve into a pan India tournament. You want one league for the whole nation maybe with more than 17 teams catering to about every state," the leading Indian goal scorer told.
"I would love to see a team from Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman, Kerala, Chennai, make it a pan-India presence," the highest international goal-scorer for India said.