Out of 30,
1) foreigners/PIO quota is perfect, with a additional criteria - 1 of them should be a National Team Player or Played in AFC Champions League, atleast 10 games in any one of them. Otherwise that slot is to be occupied by Indian player. This would ensure better quality of foreign players. Can only have 2 foreign on field.
2) 15 of them should be u23 (not including foreigner) with any 7 of them should have played in 60% of league games with more than 40% should be as starter(not on bench). ie any 7 of them would play atleast 15 games per season and with 10 games of them would be as starter. This would help in best young player to get atleast minimum number of matches per season.
3) Each matchday squad should contain atleast 4 - U23 player ( including on bench ). By this the quality is maintained for important matches where the coach has the option of player senior players as starter.
Please note the number can vary according to the need.
all rules sounds good especially the first rule is excellent something like that rule is needed for the quality of game to be raised by raising the standards of foreigners even among lower placed teams as well...
Out of 30,
1) foreigners/PIO quota is perfect, with a additional criteria - 1 of them should be a National Team Player or Played in AFC Champions League, atleast 10 games in any one of them. Otherwise that slot is to be occupied by Indian player. This would ensure better quality of foreign players. Can only have 2 foreign on field.
2) 15 of them should be u23 (not including foreigner) with any 7 of them should have played in 60% of league games with more than 40% should be as starter(not on bench). ie any 7 of them would play atleast 15 games per season and with 10 games of them would be as starter. This would help in best young player to get atleast minimum number of matches per season.
3) Each matchday squad should contain atleast 4 - U23 player ( including on bench ). By this the quality is maintained for important matches where the coach has the option of player senior players as starter.
Please note the number can vary according to the need.
all rules sounds good especially the first rule is excellent something like that rule is needed for the quality of game to be raised by raising the standards of foreigners even among lower placed teams as well...
Well I am guessing what ever rule we place on Foreigners/Youth players it would only last for around 3 years before the rules become less strict because in 3 years all I-League clubs would have an Academy U19 team, a separate coach for State League matches and money to increase fan excitement.
So to put in your suggestions.
1) 2 foreigners + 1 PIO player + 1 Asian Player (Only 2 of the field) (4 foreigners)
2) Each team is only allowed 1 "Icon player" (player who has played in the World Cup and or was a national team player in a team ranked 75 or higher. (Example: Densil Theobald of Dempo would be an Icon) NOTE: If a team has an Icon player then they can only have 1 foreigner + 1 PIO and 1 Asian Player (2 on the field) (3 foreigners)
3) In the 30 man roster, 15 have to be u23. At least 10 u23 players need to be used through the season with at least 4 getting at least 10 games for the first season. (Next season it is 15 then after that 20)
4) At least 4 u23 players on the bench.
5) No players over 30 unless approved by I-League and the Football Players Association of India (Examples: Sunil Chhetri, Climax Lawrence etc)
6) Starting XI should be this: 2 foreigners, 4 u23 players, 5 over 23 Indian players.
<b>Read this article, so much fun to read. Its from Nigerian journalist on I-League Nigerian footballers. Just see Nigerian's describe India and its football facilities, players contracts like the best thing ever happened!!! I-League seems like a heaven to them. They are actually preferring India rather than many European leagues!!!</b><div><b><br></b></div><div><a href="http://nationalmirroronline.net/insight/37506.html">http://nationalmirroronline.net/insight/37506.html</a> <b><br></b><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br></div></div>
<h1 style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 22px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-top: 8px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Frustrated at home, Nigerian footballers seek fame and fortune in India</h1><div><br></div><div><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>The Indian professional football league, I-League, in its fifth season, has turned out to be the new mecca for Nigerian footballers. While the Nigerian Premier League continues to wobble and stumble from season to season, with the massive exodus of its top talents, hundreds of these players head for the country, hitherto, renowned only for its movies and cricket. IKENWA NNABUOGOR provides an insight into this phenomenon.</strong></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="font-size: xx-large; ">T</span>he Nigerian Premier League (NPL) was once ranked among the best in Africa and even attracted players from other parts of Africa and the world. During that period, Nigerian players, who were groomed in local football clubs, became the toast of top European clubs. But, all that has changed lately, leaving the league without any glamour and little or no attraction football fans, both at home and around the globe. Expectedly, the steady decline in the standard and popularity of the local league has had adverse effect on the fortunes of Nigerian players abroad. No longer seen as the darling of European soccer, Nigerian players turned their attention to, hith-erto, neglected like places India, Sudan, Benin Republic, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Lebanon, among others.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">India, for example, was the last place a Nigerian footballer would think of ply-ing his trade in the recent past. But, today, the same country has become a mecca of sort for local players seeking fame and for-tunes in foreign football leagues. There are no fewer than 60 Nigerians playing in the Indian league, with at least 25 of them in the top flight. Similar situation obtains in some other Asian countries, such as South Korea, China and Japan, with growing foot-ball leagues.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Following the successful joint hosting of the FIFA World Cup by South Korea and Japan in 2002 and the attendant rise in the game’s popularity on the Asian continent, countries in the region began to reorganise their football leagues to make them more attractive to the rest of the world.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><img src="http://nationalmirroronline.net/files.php?file=dempo_864306835.jpg"; border="0"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">India took the lead in this regard with the creation of a professional football league, I-League, in 2007. Other countries, too, followed with the coming of China’s C-League, Japan’s J-League and lately the Korean League. The I-League is currently rated the fourth largest in Asia.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">And no sooner than the I-League debuted than Nigerian players turned their attention to India as a substitute for their failed bid in Europe. As a matter of fact, the first player to score a goal in the I-League was a Nigerian, Ranty Martins, when his Dempo Sports Club defeated another club side, Salgaocar, by three goals to nil. Another Nigerian, Chidi Edeh, netted a brace in the same match. Infact, each of the clubs in the 14-team league has at least three Nige-rians in their fold, making them the highest number of foreign players in Indian football league. Today, Martins and another Nigerian footballer, Onyeka Okolie, are the highest-paid in the Indian league, earning as much as their counterparts in Europe. Also, both players are adored and celebrated by Indians football fans.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Surprisingly, many of these players made their names in the NPL before leaving the country in pursuit of greener pas-tures. Majority of these highly talented players left the local league out of frustra-tion, because their exceptional skills were neither recognised nor rewarded by the football administrators at home. Today, they have struck gold in Asia, a continent, which for a long time, had nothing to offer to the world as far as football is concerned.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>An escape route</strong></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Martins, before he left the shores of the country, made several futile attempts to play in the local league. This experience left him with no other option than to seek an al-ternative means of actualising his dreams.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">After a few failed attempts to ply his trade abroad, including a brief stint in Ghana, he eventually stumbled on a chance to go to India. He has, ever since, been the better for it.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Recounting his experience before travel-ling to India, Martins revealed: “I was very disappointed because I felt I was talented and strong enough to make my mark in the local league. Though, I knew it was going to be difficult for me to break into the league, I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it turned out to be. It was not that I didn’t have the talent and the requirements to succeed but I was sidelined because of the poor system of football administration in the country. Eventually, I made up my mind to actualise my dreams elsewhere.”</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Even then, India was the last place on Martins mind. But all that changed when his childhood friend, Bolaji Majekudumi, who was already a household name in Indian football, rang him up and told him of the possibility of playing professional football in the Asian country. That was how Martins found an escape route from his dilemma. Seven years down the line, the three-time top scorer in the I-League has grown so big that he now considers India his second home.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Just like Martins, several other Nigerian players are doing exploits in India. Notable among them are Edeh and Salgaocar’s Junior Elijah Obagbemiro.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Edeh was roaming the streets of Onitsha, when his friend and another established star in the I-League, Felix Chimaokwu, helped him to move over to Bangladesh to begin his footballing career. The Onit-sha-born lad quickly settled in and became a star in his first season with a Bangladeshi club side, scoring 30 goals. </p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">He was, subsequently, snapped up by Churchil Brothers football club, owned by one of the wealthiest Indian families, the following year. Today, Edeh is among the highest paid players in the I- League.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">For Olagbemiro, he never considered playing in Nigeria from the outset. He had always set his sights on playing professional football abroad. He eventually got a chance to try his luck in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, at age 16. After, subsequently, playing in Malaysia and Nepal, Olagbemiro made his way to India in 2007. He currently plays for Sporting Goa, one of the top club sides in the country.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>The role of money</strong></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Many Nigerians will find it hard to believe the fantastic amounts Nigerian players are being paid in India by their respec-tive club sides. One thing is certain, Indian clubs guarantee a high degree of financial security for their Nigerian imports.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">At the moment, all the three richest clubs in India have Nigerians in their fold; with Martins and another Nigerian, Onyeka Okolie, the highest paid Nigerians in the I-League. The least paid players in the league earn about $5,000 monthly.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Martins also told National Mirror that players’ contracts are respected in India and salaries are increased every year.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">He said this was possible because club owners are among richest men in the coun-try, with interests in the automobile, pharma-ceutical and aviation industries. Former Super Eagles’ captain, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha and former Eagles’ coach, Samson Siasia, have both been offered huge amounts to play in India on short term contracts.Martins continued: “What I’m looking for as a player I get here in India and the most important thing is that I’m happy and comfortable financially. Apart from that, my club pays my tax, which is good for me. I was in Norway, Ireland, Egypt and UAE for negotia-tions but I didn’t get anything better. I had to go back to Dempo.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“No club in Europe is ready to pay my tax, so why should I worry about playing in Europe? I live in a free apartment, with swimming pool and playground; fitted with all kinds of toys for my three kids. The club maintains the pool and the playground. I also have a gym in my apartment, which is also maintained by my club. So, why would I not put in my best for the club? I am also entitled to six flight tickets to and from Nigeria for my family, including the maid, who takes care of my children. So, I am relaxed here and play football with no pressure. I thank God things are working out well for me since I arrived here in 2004.”</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The situation is, indeed, a sharp contrast to what obtains in the NPL, where players are poorly-paid, owed salaries, denied bo-nuses and their sign-on fees are never paid in full.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Most players also don’t have valid contracts with club sides and often end up penniless, whenever they are sacked by their clubs.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>Excellent management and facilities</strong></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The I-League also boasts superb admin-istration. For instance, it recently signed a 10-year contract with its media partners, Zee Sports and Ten Sports, worth $70m, renewable for another 10 years.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Also, matches are beamed live on TV and attract about 500 million viewers from all over Asia and beyond.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">All clubs travel by air for league games, while training pitches are equipped with modern facilities.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Also, the Football Association (FA) takes care of players’ allowances, feeding and transportation and also foots hotel bills of the clubs whenever they travel for a match.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">These are some of the reasons why the league attracts foreigners, with players from England, Brazil, Argentina and Serbia, as well as some of the best coaches from all over the world, are plying their trade in the league.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>From Europe to India</strong></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">For now, India has become the most popular destination for Nigerian players, including some of those, hitherto, based in Europe.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Youthful Nigerian striker, Nathaniel Amos, practically jumped at the offer from Sporting Goa after a lacklustre career with Finnish club, FC Haka.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Amos told National Mirror how glad he was to secure a one year loan contract with the Indian club, with an option of making it permanent. And fortunately for the 19 year old, he became an instant hit with the club.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“One of my ex-teammates at FC Haka asked me if I would love to play in India, because Sporting Goa needed a striker badly. Two days after joining them, I was named in the team against one of the biggest clubs in India, Mohun Bagan. I couldn’t have asked for a better debut,” Amos further recalled.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">It couldn’t have been a wiser move for the Abuja-born star as his sojourn in India has also been financially rewarding.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“I couldn’t afford to help my family all the years I spent in Finland. But since I arrived in India, things have changed for me financially. I can now afford to live even more comfortably than most of my highly paid colleagues in Europe,” Amos added.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Elijah is another Nigerian that joined the I-League from a club in Europe. He is spending his fourth season in the Indian league, after a six month stint with FC Haka.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“My club in Finland was paying me a paltry 2000 euros, but I earn thrice that salary in India,” he said.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">“Last season, I was nominated for the Most Valuable Player award. The other nominees were (fellow Nigerian, Chidi) Edeh and Brazilian striker, Barreto. But, it was Edeh that eventually won the award,” he added.</p></div>
<font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">it was good read and nigerian league seems to be in bad shape than us,maybe financially ,but technical they maybe ahead of us</font>
it was good read and nigerian league seems to be in bad shape than us,maybe financially ,but technical they maybe ahead of us</font><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">
</font><br><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Exactly. I dont mind Nigerians and I dont mind them calling this league a second home to them BUT we have to consider that this is the I-League. India's top football league. We can use Nigerians but the proven ones, the ones who have played in the Nigerian Premier League and were good. Most of our Nigerians are random players who used fake agents to get in. We should be after proven Nigerians. The Nigerian Premier League is bad financially so getting a player would not be hard at all.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">For example: Jude Aneke is a 22 year old Nigerian striker who was top scorer in the Nigerian league in the 2010-11 season and yet we are not bringing him to India. He is good and proven that he is class. He is also a Nigerian international. Take the chance now!</font></div>
A good read. But the article paints such a rosy picture of I-league that if I knew nothing about it, I would have put it alongside J-league.<div><br></div><div><br></div>
For the first time ,i felt like i-league is among the elite leagues of asia...<div>By reading this article with the issues present in NPL, we could easily get the best talents from the league i suppose..</div><div><br></div><div>Common Clubs rope some top players from NPL</div>
For the first time ,i felt like i-league is among the elite leagues of asia...<div>By reading this article with the issues present in NPL, we could easily get the best talents from the league i suppose..</div><div><br></div><div>Common Clubs rope some top players from NPL</div>
<br><div><br></div><div>+1</div><div><br></div><div>Again I wonder why it is only you and me saying this. All our Nigerians have never played in the NPL or if they had they had never done well. There are top players there who would love to come here but we waste that chance.</div>
Comments
all rules sounds good especially the first rule is excellent something like that rule is needed for the quality of game to be raised by raising the standards of foreigners even among lower placed teams as well...
all rules sounds good especially the first rule is excellent something like that rule is needed for the quality of game to be raised by raising the standards of foreigners even among lower placed teams as well...
So to put in your suggestions.
1) 2 foreigners + 1 PIO player + 1 Asian Player (Only 2 of the field) (4 foreigners)
2) Each team is only allowed 1 "Icon player" (player who has played in the World Cup and or was a national team player in a team ranked 75 or higher. (Example: Densil Theobald of Dempo would be an Icon) NOTE: If a team has an Icon player then they can only have 1 foreigner + 1 PIO and 1 Asian Player (2 on the field) (3 foreigners)
3) In the 30 man roster, 15 have to be u23. At least 10 u23 players need to be used through the season with at least 4 getting at least 10 games for the first season. (Next season it is 15 then after that 20)
4) At least 4 u23 players on the bench.
5) No players over 30 unless approved by I-League and the Football Players Association of India (Examples: Sunil Chhetri, Climax Lawrence etc)
6) Starting XI should be this: 2 foreigners, 4 u23 players, 5 over 23 Indian players.
</font><br><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Exactly. I dont mind Nigerians and I dont mind them calling this league a second home to them BUT we have to consider that this is the I-League. India's top football league. We can use Nigerians but the proven ones, the ones who have played in the Nigerian Premier League and were good. Most of our Nigerians are random players who used fake agents to get in. We should be after proven Nigerians. The Nigerian Premier League is bad financially so getting a player would not be hard at all.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">For example: Jude Aneke is a 22 year old Nigerian striker who was top scorer in the Nigerian league in the 2010-11 season and yet we are not bringing him to India. He is good and proven that he is class. He is also a Nigerian international. Take the chance now!</font></div>
<br><div><br></div><div>+1</div><div><br></div><div>Again I wonder why it is only you and me saying this. All our Nigerians have never played in the NPL or if they had they had never done well. There are top players there who would love to come here but we waste that chance.</div>