I think @Maddie's suggestion is perfect and seems to be somewhat happening with CFL, GPL etc occurring soon but really until ISL starts.
Perhaps you can have your state-league cups from August to September and then from September to December/January, have the state leagues. We could also do a split season where the first half is from September to December and the second half from February to April. Total, 7 months of state league football. The break from January to February would allow the I-League clubs specifically to re-evaluate their squads with the inclusion of ISL players, fix their teams, and create a squad for the I-League and the state league.
My Dream League 1. Top 8 teams from the preceding I-League & 8 ISL teams should form a 16 team format with strictly home & away matches & no SF / Final. Each team to play 30 matches. 2.Schedule it from 2017-18 season with an announcement asap after necessary official procedure. 3. League should start on 1st. Sat of October & finish on last Sun of April. Matches to be played on Saturdays & Sundays and during Nov, Dec & Jan when the weather will be favourable, midweek matches should be scheduled so that International commitments, AFC matches & rescheduled games (if any) are taken care of. 4. As in every round there will be 8 games (4 on Sat, 4 on Sun and 4 on Tue, 4 on Wed in Nov, Dec, Jan) kick off time should be 4-30 & 7-00. Effort should be made so that each team plays 15 matches at 4-30 & 15 at 7-00. 5. Telecast agreement should be such that 2 channels simultaneously show matches at 4-30 & 7-00 so that each & every match is shown live. 6. Schedule for the 30th. Round can be drawn at an appropriate time depending on the Championship & Relegation scenario. AIFF has to take initiative and convince IMG-R. This is the biggest hurdle. This is my ex-tempo thinking..... members will definitely have more inputs to make so that IFN can come forward with a viable proposal and the all powerful Gaffartape can be entrusted to take up the issue with the great AIFF officials. \m/
I agree with your scheduling of the league. Disagree on the everything else. The "merger" of the I-League and ISL will be way more complex IMO that I can't even say how it might turn out. I mean, you have to imagine the uproar from Atletico de Kolkata officials if East Bengal and Mohun Bagan join the league, or if Pune FC or Bharat FC join to take more of the already small fanbase of Pune away from FC Pune City. Mumbai FC would struggle to survive. Royal Wahingdoh and Aizawl in the ISL? Ideally I would not mind but realistically and brutally honestly, it won't ever happen.
Also I am sure there will be someone who complains about how these ISL teams payed big money just to enter the league and now we are just allowing these I-League clubs in without paying as much, and even if the I-League clubs are charged, they don't have the money in the first place to pay the fee. You would also have to factor in the massive change in budgets needed by the I-League clubs just to be competitive in such a league. The financial troubles won't change within 2-3 years, not at all. We also don't have the player-pool to support 16 teams, especially if we reduce down to AFC-rules or get even close to them.
Also, what is wrong with having the play-offs? And why do we need relegation? It would not be viable at all, specially since what you would be relegated to would be rubbish. We don't need to be Europe.
In the end, the best guess I can come up with is something that includes certain teams getting in, compensation of some sort being payed, and other things happening that I can't even imagine.
I guess the best way I can put it is this: The merger will be a long and complicated process and in the end, someone will get fucked.
Merger of the 2 leagues will bring the actual Cat out of the bag. If the league is played from Oct to Apr then the budget of the so called rich clubs will reduce considerably as their stars will demand more money and they will be reluctant to spend. ATK officials will realize how popular is their team. Same with NE United. Yes, Pune is a problem as none of the teams has any fan base. In Goa I think fanbase of Salgaocar, Dempo etc. is good and FC Goa has to counter that. If you don't have relegation then I'm not sure if the League will be approved by AFC or FIFA. Also without relegation atleast half of the teams will lose focus mid way through the league. Play off is just a way to fill the coffers. Why you need Play off in a League of 7 months and after each team plays 30 games ?? I don't expect my proposal is 100% acceptable, but just to ensure the happiness of the ISL owners can we allow I-League to die and take Indian National team along with it ?? I f every body thinks ISL is the solution, then why we play I-League ?? We should instead revamp the State Leagues so that our local lads get 30-35 matches and come up to the next level. Otherwise we will have the supply line cut off and in 4-5 years we will continue to see Sunil Chetri playing as India's no 1 striker and Subrata Paul spectacularly letting in goals.
There are ways to combat the salary demands. One way would be to have a one-month break at the end of the first of the ISL... like a Apertura/Clausura thing in Latin American countries but instead with a first stage and second stage like Japan is doing right now. You can have the first half of the season from October to December, break in January to make some moves etc, and then have the second half of the season from February to April/May.
And I don't think MLS or A-League (special shout out to the ASB Premiership) are exactly feeling the wrath of FIFA or AFC for lack of pro/rel. They also do fine without teams losing focus midway through the league... thus why you have play-offs.
The point is not to copy but to do what would help the best which in this case IMO is no relegation. Even the I-League teams apparently called for it to be frozen recently. There is no viable second division and would be really hard to create one and convince ISL teams to go with it, just think about it.
And if you want to go with majority/minority then look how the two most rising leagues in the world don't have it. The ones that do are either the traditionally powerful from when back it was viable or just copying the rest and not improving. You do have Japan however but its to late to do something along the lines of what they did, which involved no pro/rel for their foundation years BTW.
Comments
1. Top 8 teams from the preceding I-League & 8 ISL teams should form a 16 team format with strictly home & away matches & no SF / Final. Each team to play 30 matches.
2.Schedule it from 2017-18 season with an announcement asap after necessary official procedure.
3. League should start on 1st. Sat of October & finish on last Sun of April. Matches to be played on Saturdays & Sundays and during Nov, Dec & Jan when the weather will be favourable, midweek matches should be scheduled so that International commitments, AFC matches & rescheduled games (if any) are taken care of.
4. As in every round there will be 8 games (4 on Sat, 4 on Sun and 4 on Tue, 4 on Wed in Nov, Dec, Jan) kick off time should be 4-30 & 7-00. Effort should be made so that each team plays 15 matches at 4-30 & 15 at 7-00.
5. Telecast agreement should be such that 2 channels simultaneously show matches at 4-30 & 7-00 so that each & every match is shown live.
6. Schedule for the 30th. Round can be drawn at an appropriate time depending on the Championship & Relegation scenario.
AIFF has to take initiative and convince IMG-R. This is the biggest hurdle.
This is my ex-tempo thinking..... members will definitely have more inputs to make so that IFN can come forward with a viable proposal and the all powerful Gaffartape can be entrusted to take up the issue with the great AIFF officials.
\m/
Also, what is wrong with having the play-offs? And why do we need relegation? It would not be viable at all, specially since what you would be relegated to would be rubbish. We don't need to be Europe.
If the league is played from Oct to Apr then the budget of the so called rich clubs will reduce considerably as their stars will demand more money and they will be reluctant to spend.
ATK officials will realize how popular is their team. Same with NE United. Yes, Pune is a problem as none of the teams has any fan base. In Goa I think fanbase of Salgaocar, Dempo etc. is good and FC Goa has to counter that.
If you don't have relegation then I'm not sure if the League will be approved by AFC or FIFA. Also without relegation atleast half of the teams will lose focus mid way through the league.
Play off is just a way to fill the coffers. Why you need Play off in a League of 7 months and after each team plays 30 games ??
I don't expect my proposal is 100% acceptable, but just to ensure the happiness of the ISL owners can we allow I-League to die and take Indian National team along with it ?? I
f every body thinks ISL is the solution, then why we play I-League ?? We should instead revamp the State Leagues so that our local lads get 30-35 matches and come up to the next level. Otherwise we will have the supply line cut off and in 4-5 years we will continue to see Sunil Chetri playing as India's no 1 striker and Subrata Paul spectacularly letting in goals.