The All India Football Federation is likely to host the entire upcoming I-League season in Kolkata while the 2020-’21 edition of Indian Super League would most probably be held in Kerala or Goa in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the country.
The AIFF League Committee, headed by senior vice president Subrata Dutta, met via video conferencing on Tuesday to discuss the way forward as all football activities have come to a halt since March 2020.
“FSDL is in conversation with authorities in Kerala and Goa to explore possibilities of hosting ISL season in one state,” said an AIFF statement after the meeting.
“The Committee tentatively decided to host the 2020-’21 Hero I-League at Kolkata provided the State Association obtains the necessary approval in writing from the State Government,” it added.
The Committee also proposed to hold the second division league, that has been suspended due to the pandemic, from third week of September and would end on October 20 to “provide adequate time for the champion club clubs to strengthen their team for the next edition of the Hero I-League.”
The final decision on the possibility of holding the second division league has to be taken before August 14, 2020.
“The Committee also deliberated at length the dates for the kick-off of various youth league competitions, and unanimously felt that a final decision on venue, and dates of all Leagues would be taken soon keeping adherence to government guidelines pertaining to operational and medical guidelines in wake of the Covid19 pandemic situation,” the statement added.
In respect to the club licensing criteria, the AIFF are in talks with the Asian Football Confederation for certain exemptions to the Hero ISL and Hero I-League clubs in view of the prevalent pandemic situation.
The Committee also decided to indefinitely postpone the planned Futsal League, which was to take place in first-week of September, as they didn’t want to the inaugural edition to be held behind closed doors.
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