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Posted By admin On 13/04/22New Delhi: India have been awarded an Asian champions league play-off slot after a gap of two years. Pune FC, who hold the AFC and Indian Club Licence, will be representing India in the play-offs for a berth in the prestigious AFC Champions League. Under Asian Football Confederation’s member association ranking system issued in November 2019, India has been allotted one slot in the expanded AFC Champions League as the country occupied eighth.
- The league winners, FC Goa who were the most consistent side of the league were awarded the ISL League Winners shield. FC Goa will become the first ever Indian football club to play in the AFC.
- Indian clubs are set to get an additional slot in AFC competitions in 2021, possibly with a direct entry into the AFC Champions League (ACL) group stages. It would be the first time an Indian team would feature in Asia's elite club competition in more than 30 years - Goa-based Salgaocar were the last team to feature in group games of the.
The window for the ISL 2020-21 has been cleared as the start date of the group stage round of AFC Champions League is set to be postponed from February 15 to April.
AFC member nations have already been notified about the same.
FC Goa will become the first Indian club to feature in the group stage of Asian Champions League this season.
Their Indian Super League campaign will not be hampered as feared before with the imminent postponement of the top continental event.
The ISL announced its fixtures until January 11 and is expected to release the schedule of the remaining league fixtures soon.
ISL season 7 is expected to end mid-March before the international break, where India is set to host Qatar in the World 2022 FIFA Cup qualifiers.
While the AFC Cup, involving ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC, is set to be hosted in a centralised venue in April, FC Goa might have to play their group stage games in the ACL in a home and away basis.
The Asian Football Confederation’s decision to hold all club competitions post April comes as a relief to ISL as the league is being played under a bio-secure bubble in Goa, and FC Goa’s involvement in the competition will not create complications regarding scheduling and the team exiting and re-entering the bubble again.
Six I-League clubs accepted the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) proposal to maintain the status quo by continuing I-League and Indian Super League for another 2-3 years. However, they rejected the idea of the ISL winners being given the AFC Champions League slot.
In a joint statement issued by Minerva Punjab, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Aizawl FC, Churchill Brothers, and Gokulam Kerala, the clubs thanked Patel for hearing their grievances and said they agreed to the broadcast and scheduling plans for the upcoming I-League season.
Current I-league champions Chennai City, Real Kashmir, NEROCA FC, and newly promoted club TRAU were not signatories to the statement.
'In the spirit of compromise, I-League clubs agree to the broadcast plan and scheduling plans for the upcoming season even though it is not ideal. I-League clubs also agree to continue with the two league system for another 3 years despite initially demanding immediate resolution with a unified league,' the statement said.
'However, the clubs are not in favour of giving away their rightfully earned and longstanding AFC Champions league spot till a proper plan for unified league is initiated. The United I-League clubs insist that the AFC Champions league spot must remain with the I-League, as it is the I-League clubs that have (over the years) earned the AFC spots for India to enjoy today. The AIFF has already granted AFC Cup slot to ISL in 2017 and the same arrangement should continue till there is one unified league,' it continued.
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As an addendum, the I-League clubs also submitted a 10-point 'Roadmap for League Football in India' to the AIFF, which, among others, pitched for the formation of a Working Group with representations from the AIFF, FSDL, I-League and ISL clubs to plan for the introduction of a unified league involving both I-League and ISL clubs with promotion and relegation.
The roadmap recommended that a tri-partite agreement be signed between AIFF, FSDL, and I-League clubs, giving details of the arrangement for the next three years to avoid recurring confrontations among the stakeholders.
It also sought the immediate formation of an I-League Committee with representatives from AIFF and I-League clubs with sole responsibility of taking decisions regarding I-League, Second Division, and Youth Leagues. The committee is to negotiate and finalise the production house -- with half the total cost of production to be borne by FSDL and the other half be paid by AIFF.
The other recommendations included
I-league to be referred as the National Football League of India
I-League champions to get AFC Champions League slot
All matches of I-League to be shown live on HD Channel with improved production quality (8 camera set up with specifications mentioned)
I-League matches to start at 5 pm and 7 pm (for non-floodlight venues, kick off timings to be 2 pm/3 pm).
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The I-League clubs also asked that the 'Roadmap' be approved and announced by the AIFF Executive Committee -- providing all details, including present status of I-League and ISL and the plan for the future.