‘I-League 3 is bridge between amateur and professional set-up’

New Delhi, April 22: The ascendancy of Sporting Club Bengaluru in the I-League is a testimony to the fact that I-League 3 (tier 4) has acted as a bridge between amateur and professional set-up of Indian football, AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said on Monday.
Complementing Sporting Club Bengaluru for scripting a dream run by gaining three back-to-back promotional spots in one season (from being a State League champion to earning a place in the next I-League for 2024-25), Chaubey said, “SC Bengaluru story is a testament of the balanced domestic pyramid we now have, which make it possible for club to get a jumpstart to their campaign in such fashion.” Reviewing a near complete men’s competition for 2023-24, Chaubey said that the changes brought in for the season will have a wide-ranging positive impact on the domestic football competition in years to come.
“We have already witnessed what SC Bengaluru could achieve in one year. I believe the introduction of I-League 3 was the missing piece of the puzzle, which we now have put in place in our structure.
“We believe that this (I-League 3) foundation is a ‘transformative step for Indian football’, as it complements the existing layers of competitions interlinked in perfect balance to provide a supporting and progressive pyramid,” said Chaubey. (PTI)