AGENCIES
New Delhi
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) will seek fresh tenders for clubs aspiring to be part of I-League 2016-17 as it evaluated bids from three interested parties following the withdrawal of Sporting Clube de Goa from the league.
The decision was taken after the AIFF's bids evaluation committee met in New Delhi on Wednesday. The committee "evaluated and discussed at length" about the three bids from Minerva Academy FC, FC Bardez Goa and Chennai City FC who have expressed willingness to ply their trade in the next edition of the league. Upon evaluation, the committee decided to go for a "fresh round of tendering".
Sporting Clube on Tuesday announced their decision to withdraw from the forthcoming I-League season, and Salgaocar are already ineligible to compete in it. There are reports of former national champions Dempo, who won the second division title earlier this year, also mulling a pullout.
The bids committee comprised of AIFF's general secretary Kushal Das, senior vice-president Subrata Dutt and I-League CEO Sunando Dhar. Das said, "It's truly heartening to see these three clubs, that too from different states across the nation, showing their enthusiasm to play in the Hero I-League. This actually highlights that we're heading towards a bright future of Indian football, involving every nook and corner of the country."
Referring to the decision of Sporting Clube to officially pull out from the next I-League, Das called it "very unfortunate and sad". "Sporting Clube de Goa have contributed significantly to Indian football since their inception. It's really sad to see them withdrawing from Hero I-League now," Das said.
Sporting Clube withdrew owing to "strong objections" to the proposed road map by AIFF and its marketing partners IMG-Reliance for Indian football.
"With regret, Sporting Clube de Goa confirms their withdrawal from the I-League," the club said in a statement. "Following strong objections to the road map for Indian football as proposed by AIFF and their marketing partners on 17th May, 2016, Sporting Clube along with fellow Goan club Salgoacar FC, after several rounds of deliberations, had taken the painful decision to withdraw from the forthcoming edition of the I League."
Former champions Salgaocar had already withdrawn from the league and rendered ineligible for the I-League after failing to fulfil the licensing process for the forthcoming season.
Calling this a tactical decision, Sporting said the club will continue with all other football activities like grassroots and youth development and also maintain a strong first team to compete in Goa as well as in all India football tournaments.
"All this time we at Sporting Clube clung to the hope that following the statements coming from the Presidents of FIFA, AFC and our own AIFF, and following our representation to FIFA and AFC, a fresh road map which did not envisage the forced demotion of the I-League teams, would be announced well in time to allow us to field our team in the forthcoming I League.
"With that hope, we even participated in the club licensing process and secured our national license. But we now realise that all our hopes have been belied," Sporting Clube added in the statement.
One of the three new aspirants, Minerva were the runners-up of the second division behind Dempo, the only team they lost to. Goa Pro League side Bardez, meanwhile, have roped in Armando Colaco - the former coach of the Indian national team - in their debut season in the Goan top flight. Chennai City FC - formed as Nethaji Sports Club in 1946 - are the Chennai League's first division champions from the 2014-15 season.
