hold your horses guys,<div>The current system is so f#&*ed up , and needs a change.</div><div><br></div><div>1) Having a league that starts in October and lasts 8 months with a 5 week break in February ( for AFC Challenge Cup ) and then another 3 week break for AFC Cup is not IDEAL . Fans and sponsors lose interest in such a long drawn out League and also forces the sport to compete with IPL window , just as the I-League season is drawing to a climax.</div><div><br></div><div>2) I-League isn't pan Indian, having a US sport style could help cut I_League costs in a huge way.( I know it's not the same, so don't start your tirade about US sports , as I'm well aware of their structure) . The costs of running the current I-League with teams from the East traveling to the West coast 7 times a year is a major drain on the finances*.</div><div><br></div><div>3) New teams (owners, sponsors, investors ) are only willing to enter if they can get direct entry, not this current ridiculous 2nd Division set-up. Trying to make the 2nd Division like it is elsewhere will obviously require MORE money , that just isn't there*</div><div><br></div><div>4) The I-League clubs will still be able to get into the AFC Champions league via a shorter league, and the posts season can see them participate in more tournaments ( revival of Rovers Cup, and introducing other tournaments will help promote the game across the country) . Besides playing football in large parts of the country during April, May & June is ridiculous for both spectators & players due to the weather.</div><div><br></div><div>* the improved finances that IMG-AIFF & Clubs stand to gain from this will help in restructuring and could pave the way for an FA cup style Federation Cup that also lasts the duration of the I-League ( 6 months) in future . This longer format would feature all teams ( including Institutional ones, and thus help unearth more talent) . </div><div>National & Youth national (U-19) teams would also have more time to spend on camps and foreign exposure trips, which could ultimately help the national teams.</div><div>After all we want to see an improved National team and players at the end of the day, not just some fancy National league which becomes the new destination for players looking to make a few quick buck$</div><div><br></div><div>It's easy to dismiss the changes as they don't agree with some proposals made on this forum, BUT lets sit tight till a proper update after Thursdays meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>The biggest positive is that the meeting is finally taking place !</div><div>I'm sure there will be compromises from both sides & hopefully this leads to a better product in the end </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">@gaffertape : I am replying to your post point by point.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br></div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">1) You know we could make modifications to the current I-League. It does not have to be a few months than break. We can remove easily. Plus the AIFF already said that next season there will be no more than 5 games each month for each team. I think we can work that out.</font><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">2) There are ways to get around that. You can schedule around that to lower costs. Also all the leagues in the US have airline deals through sponsorships and thus lower those costs. Plus how does this point show positives for the IPL league because this IPL league would be pan-India and of course costs would be high. BTW may I also add that last season was also a pretty high year in terms of travel costs. I mean imagine flying to Kolkata to Goa 4 TIMES! Or Kerala to Shillong. Pretty long.</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">3) WTF HAVE I BEEN TRYING TO SAY THAT FOR A LONG TIME! I REMEMBER EVEN YOU SAYING THAT IDEA WAS SH**! NOW ITS A GREAT IDEA! WOOPY FUC*ING DOO!</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">4) I dont get the weather point. Your still playing football during the IPL sh** league then (except June). Also we would not make the Champions League at all. We would fail so many criteria if this league happens. It is almost like the Indonesia football system with the Indonesian Super League and Indonesian Premier League.</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">* That point is just fucked up. How do we get an FA Cup style league. We wont get an FA Cup style league until our football structure at state level is changed at least with 10-15 states with proper state leagues and clubs. Also what money. I understand sponsorship will be huge for a 2 month tournament and fans will come in but than what happens when those stars leave when the real I-League begins. The fans will watch for maybe 2 weeks and then realize what they are watching. Also how would we get more time with the I-League U19 when we need money to increase that. </font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">Your post makes it seem that this 2 month tournament with past it players will make money grow on trees and give AIFF an unlimited amount of cash. Do you not remember that we are fuc*ing India. Our players need 1 league and 2 cup tournaments. The league needs to be longer. 6 months for the I-League and then 2 for some IPL sh** wont help development at all. It will stunt growth and delay our plans to improve as a footballing nation. Think about it.</font></div>
I dont like the current i league set up because we dont have enough teams from other regions of india.We need to develop a franchise model with maximum two teams per state. We dont need to rename clubs or anything but 8 teams is too small a number and two months is a joke.
My suggestion is to have an 8 month league with atleast 14 teams from all over india. 2 teams from Goa, bengal, and norrh east and rest can be from major cities in India. This will draw a bigger audience and will raise the level of football here. Also 2nd division is a good idea for teams in low tier cities or foe teams that are in saturation cities like kolkata and goa.
I disagree on the 2nd Division. The 2nd Division costs a lot of money to hold and if we do hold it like that (pan-India but with smaller markets) the clubs will struggle to survive. I would say we need to get rid of a 2nd Division. It does not work in India. I dont give a fuc* about Europe or the rest of the world. This is India, no one supports a 2nd Division team (Yes I know USFC got 30,000 people for 1 game). We dont have the teams for one and a team cant come up randomly. It all takes money and that money is what IMG has. <div><br></div><div>Here we go. A new 10-team league. Have each team bid for a spot in the 10-team league. Rules, no company/university/police teams, no more than 3 teams per state, no more than 2 teams per city. AFC Criteria and a bunch of other criteria I cant of from the top of my head.</div><div><br></div><div>Hoping to see a final 10-team league of this... East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Pune, Mumbai, Dempo, Sporting Goa, Prayag United, United Sikkim, Shillong Lajong, [Random team]. </div><div><br></div><div>From then we should aim to allow expansion. Delhi, Nagpur, Nagaland, Assam, Punjab, Kerala, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore deserves teams but most investors wont be willing to start in the 2nd Division. </div>
<P>Why not have a different sponsor for the 2nd dividion like in England? We have plenty of teams and even more that are rising now. I believe Mumbai FC is a good esample of a team that is recently formed.</P>
<P>And what you proposed Arsenalkid is basically the format of the current I-League...</P>
<P>Two teams per state or city should be the Max and if the other team wants they can relocate to newer grounds in a different state. That way we don't have to create clubs from scratch.</P>
<P>Prayag can go to lucknow or something along those lines. The whole purpose of this revamp is to get more fan following from all over India.</P>
<p>Why not have a different sponsor for the 2nd dividion like in England? We have plenty of teams and even more that are rising now. I believe Mumbai FC is a good esample of a team that is recently formed.</p>
<p>And what you proposed Arsenalkid is basically the format of the current I-League...</p>
<p>Two teams per state or city should be the Max and if the other team wants they can relocate to newer grounds in a different state. That way we don't have to create clubs from scratch.</p>
<p>Prayag can go to lucknow or something along those lines. The whole purpose of this revamp is to get more fan following from all over India.</p>
<br><div><br></div><div>The reason I said 3 per state but 2 per city is because of Prayag United, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal. West Bengal has a population of 90,000,000. The city of Kolkata has 4,000,000 people. Siliguri has 500,000. The distance between the two cities at driving distance is 10 hours (614 km). People in Siliguri are not going to travel from Siliguri to Kolkata to see East Bengal or Mohun Bagan, at least not constantly. If Siliguri has the infrastructure, support and good company team than I believe Siliguri could be a hit. </div><div><br></div><div>Also Siliguri has a football stadium already, a good one which, with a revamp, can look great. Lucknow does not have a proper football stadium.</div><div><br></div><div>Also my idea is not the current I-League. I did not go over what the criteria would be, the rules of the league and how the league is ran financially. I just laid down teams... for now.</div>
Prayag is located in Siliguri? <div>PS: 500,000 is a small population in Indian terms. There are probably at least 25 cities that have a population of over 1 million not counting the district population. </div>
Prayag is located in Siliguri? </font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">PS: 500,000 is a small population in Indian terms. There are probably at least 25 cities that have a population of over 1 million not counting the district population. </div><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; ">Most likely that is where they will move to. I think you thought I was talking about Bengal, Bagan and Prayag all in Kolkata. Than hell no but Prayag have already made it there intention to move to Siliguri soon. Also look at the West Bengal map. Again there may only be 500,000 people in Siliguri but what about outside the city. Siliguri is Northern West Bengal and Kolkata is Southern West Bengal. There is a huge gap is distance. I think all 3 teams can make it work as long as no more clubs from Bengal want or make it to the top level.</div><div><br><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">As for other markets. We are stuck at limited markets due to the rise in population of Cricket and Field Hockey. I think the only other markets that could work in the future are Delhi, Nagpur, Punjab, Jaipur, Nagaland, Assam, Mizoram, Bangalore, Kozhikozide, Chennai, Hyderabad and Jharkhand. That is 12 other cities that could host I-League teams. Now if those teams join along with the 10 I said than that would be 22 teams. Obviously I think we only need 20.</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">So to go further into my original 10 team post. Start with 10 teams and then expand 2 more teams (markets) every 2-5 years and then once we hit 16 teams we could start a 2nd Division. Relegate 2 teams from the I-League without promoting any other teams, thus bringing us back to 14 teams and add 6 new teams to the 2 relegated and have a 14 team I-League and 8 team I-League 2nd Division. Almost like what Japan did.</font></div>
<span class="arttle" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 36px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 30px; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px; display: block; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><h1 style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: rgb(57, 57, 57); display: inline; ">AIFF holds meeting with IMG-Reliance on IPL-style league</h1></span><span class="arttle" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 36px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 30px; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px; display: block; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><h1 style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 28px; color: rgb(57, 57, 57); display: inline; "><br></h1></span><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; "><div>NEW DELHI: IMG-Reliance, the commercial partners of the All India Football Federation, on Thursday had another round of discussion with the AIFF top brass on the IPL-style league which both the stakeholders want to start next year.</div></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br></div><div><b style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; ">Full Article: </b><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><b>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/AIFF-holds-meeting-with-IMG-Reliance-on-IPL-style-league/articleshow/15046543.cms</b></font></div><div><hr>Bullshit. Why even have this. So we are going to have a league and then split it and start a brand new league with brand new players. How the fuck does this do anything.</div><span class="byline" style="font-size: 10px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: Arial; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></span>
<span class="arttle" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 36px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 30px; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px; display: block; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">AIFF holds meeting with IMG-Reliance on IPL-style league</span><span class="arttle" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 36px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 30px; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px; display: block; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div>NEW
DELHI: IMG-Reliance, the commercial partners of the All India Football
Federation, on Thursday had another round of discussion with the AIFF
top brass on the IPL-style league which both the stakeholders want to
start next year.</div></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div><b style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">Full Article: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/AIFF-holds-meeting-with-IMG-Reliance-on-IPL-style-league/articleshow/15046543.cms"; target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/AIFF-holds-meeting-with-IMG-Reliance-on-IPL-style-league/articleshow/15046543.cms</a></b></span></div><div><hr>Bullshit.
Why even have this. So we are going to have a league and then split it
and start a brand new league with brand new players. How the fuck does
this do anything.<br><br><br>Yes, this is bullshit. No idea what these guys are planning. The IPL style league might be more biable commercially but what will happen to the Clubs who have been spending crores on the league without any return? With the new league, the I league which is already struggling to attract any fans will find it more difficult. <br></div>
Comments
My suggestion is to have an 8 month league with atleast 14 teams from all over india. 2 teams from Goa, bengal, and norrh east and rest can be from major cities in India. This will draw a bigger audience and will raise the level of football here. Also 2nd division is a good idea for teams in low tier cities or foe teams that are in saturation cities like kolkata and goa.
<P>And what you proposed Arsenalkid is basically the format of the current I-League...</P>
<P>Two teams per state or city should be the Max and if the other team wants they can relocate to newer grounds in a different state. That way we don't have to create clubs from scratch.</P>
<P>Prayag can go to lucknow or something along those lines. The whole purpose of this revamp is to get more fan following from all over India.</P>
<br><div><br></div><div>The reason I said 3 per state but 2 per city is because of Prayag United, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal. West Bengal has a population of 90,000,000. The city of Kolkata has 4,000,000 people. Siliguri has 500,000. The distance between the two cities at driving distance is 10 hours (614 km). People in Siliguri are not going to travel from Siliguri to Kolkata to see East Bengal or Mohun Bagan, at least not constantly. If Siliguri has the infrastructure, support and good company team than I believe Siliguri could be a hit. </div><div><br></div><div>Also Siliguri has a football stadium already, a good one which, with a revamp, can look great. Lucknow does not have a proper football stadium.</div><div><br></div><div>Also my idea is not the current I-League. I did not go over what the criteria would be, the rules of the league and how the league is ran financially. I just laid down teams... for now.</div>
</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; ">Most likely that is where they will move to. I think you thought I was talking about Bengal, Bagan and Prayag all in Kolkata. Than hell no but Prayag have already made it there intention to move to Siliguri soon. Also look at the West Bengal map. Again there may only be 500,000 people in Siliguri but what about outside the city. Siliguri is Northern West Bengal and Kolkata is Southern West Bengal. There is a huge gap is distance. I think all 3 teams can make it work as long as no more clubs from Bengal want or make it to the top level.</div><div><br><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">As for other markets. We are stuck at limited markets due to the rise in population of Cricket and Field Hockey. I think the only other markets that could work in the future are Delhi, Nagpur, Punjab, Jaipur, Nagaland, Assam, Mizoram, Bangalore, Kozhikozide, Chennai, Hyderabad and Jharkhand. That is 12 other cities that could host I-League teams. Now if those teams join along with the 10 I said than that would be 22 teams. Obviously I think we only need 20.</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">So to go further into my original 10 team post. Start with 10 teams and then expand 2 more teams (markets) every 2-5 years and then once we hit 16 teams we could start a 2nd Division. Relegate 2 teams from the I-League without promoting any other teams, thus bringing us back to 14 teams and add 6 new teams to the 2 relegated and have a 14 team I-League and 8 team I-League 2nd Division. Almost like what Japan did.</font></div>
DELHI: IMG-Reliance, the commercial partners of the All India Football
Federation, on Thursday had another round of discussion with the AIFF
top brass on the IPL-style league which both the stakeholders want to
start next year.</div></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div><b style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">Full Article: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/AIFF-holds-meeting-with-IMG-Reliance-on-IPL-style-league/articleshow/15046543.cms"; target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/AIFF-holds-meeting-with-IMG-Reliance-on-IPL-style-league/articleshow/15046543.cms</a></b></span></div><div><hr>Bullshit.
Why even have this. So we are going to have a league and then split it
and start a brand new league with brand new players. How the fuck does
this do anything.<br><br><br>Yes, this is bullshit. No idea what these guys are planning. The IPL style league might be more biable commercially but what will happen to the Clubs who have been spending crores on the league without any return? With the new league, the I league which is already struggling to attract any fans will find it more difficult. <br></div>