Fall of the I-League: A Tale of Aiff’s Nesticip and Island’s Monopoly

The i-League, which operated 12 years as the Indian top division between 2007 and 2019, has delivered exciting stories and nail biting title races. But year after year the struggles have only been exacerbated. In the meantime, the Indian Super League (ISL), initially launched as a franchise tournament in 2014, was the top flight of Indian Football in 2019.

Stripped of its top status, in combination with poor planning, lack of marketing and insufficient broadcasts, the i-League has led various clubs in disorder. Eight clubs from the competition have been closed since 2014, including former Salgaocar FC and Chennai City FC champions. The i-League has worn the victim of the Apathy of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for its own competition.

MRA responsible for I-League Misery

VC Praveen, the owner of Gokulam Kerala, points to the Master Rights Agreement (MRA), which was signed in 2010 between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) as the cause of the perilous situation of the Second Division.

«From planning everything about Indian football is now very bad. As soon as the MRA was signed, Indian football was killed,» says Praveen. «They only protected their interest. The AIFF was very comfortable with the marketing money they received, so they became very lazy.»

In 2016, three Goan-Clubs DEMPO SC, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube crashed the Goa-back from the i-League, against the move to make the ISL the Premier Division. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in its route map with the AIFF, has referred to the ISL in 2019 as the only first division.

Promotion from the i-League to the ISL was introduced in 2023, with Punjab FC and Mohammedan SC ILL spots earned in the next two seasons. The uncertainty about promotion between 2019 and 2023 had a financial influence on I-League clubs

«That was the core of the financial need we had,» says Rohit Ramesh, owner of Chennai City, who won the competition in 2019. «If you won the I-League, there was still no guarantee that you would play in the ISL. That was the start of the end.»

The new MRA concept from FSDL also closes the door on I-League promotion for the next five years, «unless explicitly voted for all stakeholders».

«What’s wrong with promotion and relegation?» Asks Praveen. «Indian football is divided into rich and poor, and they do not want the poor in the Rich Man’s League. Only because a club does not meet the question, should they not say that promotion and relegation are difficult or uncomfortable.»

«Investors put money in clubs, especially because they see an opportunity to get into the ISL. That helped the I-League to survive,» adds Anuj Gupta, co-founder of the former I-League-side Sudeva Delhi football club, which is currently not playing in I-League 2. «

Financial struggles in abundance

The budget of the AIFF for the i-League has continued to decline over the years of £ 15.1 crore in 2021 to £ 10.18 last year, which marks a decrease of 33 percent. In addition, in 2022 the costs of broadcasting the clubs were deducted without informing them in advance.

«The production costs in the very first year (under President Kalyan Chaubey) were £ 2 crore. And that money-accompanying £ 17 lakh per club-werd removed from their subsidies without even asking it» Sports star.

Clubs receive around £ 50-55 LAKH of subsidies, and this deduction has considerably achieved their finances, with at least 30 percent.

Last season, with less than two weeks to go for the kick -off, clubs managed to take with you Sony Sports On board as the television broadcaster, which pays £ 2 crore from their own pockets.

“The i-League had previously been broadcast Star. Then they said nobody was looking at it – so how did we come Sony? So the I-League club owners showed the initiative and managed to get all the competitions broadcast Sony TV«Says Praveen.

Last month all I-League clubs wrote to the AIFF to reduce the fines of the club permit to reduce so that they can survive in the long term.

«These fines, as we have increased with you in several individual and joint discussions, are excessive and in many cases unjust, given the financial and operational limitations, including I-League clubs,» read the letter.

Sports star Understands that I-League clubs received a fine of £ 2 crore for licensing.

«I feel that the biggest losers have been the club owners. At the end of the day they bring out of their own pockets, but they don’t even achieve the same returns they did four years ago,» Anuj adds.

Problems in the order

Further down, the structural pyramid, in I-League 2, remain similar challenges. The budget assignment of the AIFF for the competition has fallen by more than 55 percent in just three years.

«Limited visibility, inconsistent referee standards, Lacunes for infrastructure and limited sales options are all important obstacles,» says Gaurav Manchanda, owner of I-League 2 Side FC Bengaluru United (FCBU), founded in 2018.

Anuj added that the lack of sponsors and prize money makes the competition a tough fight.

«Last year we played i-League 2 in a house-and-road format. So the logistics costs were at least £ 40 to £ 50 Lakh,» he says. «But we have hardly received any money from it. If you end up in the top four of the i-League, you get some prize money. We finished third in I-League 2 last season, but have nothing.»

Yet there are positives in the competition. In the past two seasons, 57 clubs in 23 states participated in the I-League, I-League 2 and I-League 3, making it a real Pan-India competition.

«The good thing about I-League 2 is that no foreigners are allowed,» says Anuj, while Manchanda adds: «The shift of the traditional group phase format to the current Qualifier League format has brought the much needed stability and consistency to I-League 2.»

Clubs now get a guaranteed 14 games of more than two to four months, which improves team planning, financial security and makes the competition more meaningful.

The Indian football pyramid is in disorder, starting with the top flight. But if the layers below keep eroding, the topsoil will continue to be really? The AIFF will have to think a lot about that before it’s too late.