New Delhi: Admitting that the Santosh Trophy National Championships has lost its relevance, the All India Football Federation said that it is looking into whether to continue the tournament or not.
“Santosh Trophy is not serving any purpose. From the footballing perspective, I don’t think that Santosh Trophy has much relevance. We have to look into that (whether to continue or not),” AIFF Secretary General Kushal Das said on Tuesday.
Das also expressed unhappiness at the way the clubs in the country were spending an overwhelming percentage of their annual budget in buying players and warned that they will not be allowed to play in the next I-League if they don’t fulfil the licensing criteria by next year.
“Some of the licensing criteria is difficult to implement like having a stadium for each club. But certain things like youth development, proper administration are non-negotiable. If clubs fail on that, from next year, the license will not be granted,” he said.
“90 per cent of the club’s budget are spent on players’ salary; that is unacceptable. Because of so much money spent on buying players there is no money left for infrastructure development,” said Das while delivering keynote address on the topic ‘AIFF’s Vision for Indian Football’ at the India Football Forum 2013 .
He also took a dig at the critics for blaming the AIFF for all the ills of Indian football.
“Are all the ills of India football due to AIFF? AIFF is the most professional sports body in terms of administration in the country and this includes BCCI also,” he said. (PTI)