Solutions needed for smooth merger of ISL, I-League

The suspense is over. The cat is out of the bag. The much anticipated merger between the I-League and the Indian Super League has finally materialised. From 2017, after the completion of the sub-junior World Cup in India, there will be only one league in the country.

The name is undecided but this new league will have the ISL’s eight franchises and three supporters based I-League clubs, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC.

This merger took place due to the painstaking efforts of All India Football Federation secretary Kushal Das and vice-president Subroto Dutta (the Amit Shah of the AIFF).

Both AIFF officials also emphasised that the new League will be played as per Asian Football Confederation guidelines. That means each team will be allowed to recruit and play only four foreigners, which will include one of Asian origin.

It is also reliably learnt that the budget for each of the participating teams will not exceed Rs 18 crore per season.

At present the top I-League clubs spend Rs 10-12 crore per season, so East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru will need extra sponsors to procure a competitive budget to compete in the transfer market.

A tentative agreement has been reached but there are still several unanswered questions. There is no clarity regards relegation, prize money or sharing of TV revenue. It is learnt that in the first season there will not be any relegation.

The future of the six remaining I-League clubs is bleak. It is said that they will play in the second division. The other alternative is that they may merge with ISL franchises in their city.

But the future of clubs like Salgaocar, Sporting Clube de Goa, Aizawl FC and Shillong Lajong looks uncertain.

Even if they win the 2nd division of the I-League, they may struggle to procure a '18 crore budget per season and could get relegated again.

When this new league kicks off there will be a major scramble to procure the services of top Indian players. The question that arises is who owns the players.

In the inaugural ISL, the I-League clubs loaned out their players to the franchises. But in the 2nd edition of the ISL, the roles got reversed.

Take the case of striker Robin Singh. When the 2nd ISL ended he remained an unattached player. His franchise Delhi Dynamos tempted him that with their contacts they would try and procure him a contract abroad, probably with a professional club in Australia. Robin got interested and refused a loan to his previous club Bengaluru FC. After he was injured in the Saff Cup in December 2015, no I-League club was interested in him. Delhi Dynamos are now looking after his medical bills and rehabilitation.

So when will the transfers be held and how will it work prior to the start of the new League slated to kick-off in November 2017. Will all the top Indian players be available on auction Will Sony Norde be a Mohun Bagan player or a Mumbai City FC player The AIFF has to find amicable situations, so there is no discrimination against any of the clubs.