Two-time I-League champions Bengaluru FC are all set to bid for an Indian Super League franchise after Football Sports Development Limited, the organisers of the ISL had invited for bids from new teams to participate in the fourth edition of the tournament.
The JSW-owned club had picked up the bid documents before the ISL started in 2014 but had not gone through with their bid due to differences in opinion with the organisers at the time.
A report in TOI stated that the 2016 AFC Cup finalists had picked up the Invitation to Bid (ITB) documents on May 13, a day after FSDL had announced its intention of adding new teams to the tournament.
“We have picked up the document today so the intent is definitely there,” Mandar Tamhane, BFC’s Chief Technical Officer was quoted as having said.
The challenge in integrating BFC into the new league stands the same, with the JSW-owned club unwilling to join any league without the official backing of the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA, as such a move may jeopardise their chances of playing in the AFC Cup next season.
It is understood that the AIFF’s request to the AFC to provide them with one extra slot was denied and that the Federation is now lobbying for a AFC Cup slot to be provided to the ISL.
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