SHILLONG: To make space for the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League, the All India Football Federation has decided that the 2014-15 season of the I-League will only begin in December.
The decision was reached by the AIFF Executive Committee meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday.
While the ISL will begin in September, the I-League will kick off only in the first week of December, with the Federation Cup to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in May 2015.
The meeting was chaired by AIFF president Praful Patel. Vice-president Larsing Ming Sawyan was not present.
The Executive Committee unanimously decided that all coaches/technical directors will have to have an AFC A-License. Any coach or technical director without one will not be allowed to sit on the reserve bench during matches or even during practice sessions.
The committee also introduced the idea of a marquee player, which every club will be required to sign among its foreign recruits. Failure to do so will mean the club will not be allowed to field any foreign recruits.
However, the AIFF did not provide any further information on the new category.
Patel also had something to say about the First Instance Body, which will decide the fate of the teams regarding their club licenses.
“There is a meeting on club licensing on May 21. It’s entirely up to the First Instance Body to decide on which clubs get the license to play the 2014-15 edition of the I-League,” Patel was quoted as saying on the AIFF website.
The meeting will decide on clubs that failed to fulfill the licensing requirements; Rangdajied United did not submit their documents on time and will hope for a reprieve.
New teams, appointed through an auction, are also likely to feature next season and the committee was informed of the ongoing process.
In order to meet AFC and FIFA requirements, the committee also approved the appointment of an Integrity Officer to deal with corruption and match-fixing.
Although no clear evidence has emerged of any fixing in the I-League, some teams were approached by fixers in the past.
Youth in focus
Meanwhile, the issue of youth football was also at the fore of the discussions during the meeting, especially regarding India’s hosting of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
A panel comprising former Indian national captain Baichung Bhutia, current skipper Sunil Chhetri and club coach Derrick Pereira was suggested by Patel to advise on the technical structure for the World Cup.
The Coca Cola Cup (which the Meghalaya boys won last year) will form the base for scouting the Indian national team for the 2017 WC. Boys born on or after January 1 2000 will be eligible for the Coca Cola Cup.
AIFF technical staff will act as scouts for selection of the national team and an U-15 league including teams from clubs and academies was also proposed to identify more talent as India appears to be taking the global competition very seriously.
