The big news: AIFF president plays down talk of merger

The proposed merger between the Indian Super League and the I-League is highly unlikely to take place next year, according to Praful Patel, president of the the All India Football Federation, reported Hindustan Times. “We would have liked it to happen in 2017, we still do, but it looks unlikely,” said Patel

According to a proposal by the AIFF and IMG-Reliance, the league would be called the ISL and run for six to eight months, starting after the Under-17 World Cup next year. However, Patel told Hindustan Times that the main area of debate is the lack of clarity on which teams from Kolkata and Goa would take part in what is supposed to be India’s official football league.

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While FC Goa represent the state in the ISL, it also has teams such as Salgaocar, Dempo and Sporting Clube de Goa in the I-League. Kolkata has Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in the I-League and Atletico de Kolkata in the ISL, which makes participation difficult. Though the number of teams for next year’s edition of the ISL is not official yet, sources in the AIFF said it is unlikely to be more than 10. That means with all eight ISL franchises being given automatic entry, owing to the terms of their contract, a formula was needed to pick two teams from the I-League, reported Hindustan Times. They I-League is unlikely to be played for the last time this season, it seems.

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