AIFF looks to corporates for support

Saturday , January 30 , 2010
 

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is looking to the major corporate houses for support as the I-League becomes a bigger competition from next season.

According to sources, the executive committee of the AIFF, that met in the capital on Friday, has decided to add two more teams to the league to make it a 16-team competition from the 2010-11 season. The two additional teams, the committee suggested, should be given direct entries.

“Initially, the names of ONGC and HAL came up for discussion for direct entries,” sources said.

“But AIFF president Praful Patel told the meeting that since several corporate houses had shown keen interest over the past one year to invest in football and raise quality teams, they should be involved in the process,” sources added.

“As of now, we have no concrete proposal from any corporate house though some of them have shown interest,” a senior AIFF official told The Telegraph. “The federation is likely to form a committee to explore the possibilities,” he added.

The committee has also decided to reduce the number of foreign players in each I-League team to two from the 2011-12 season and scrap the quota place for the Player of Indian Origin (PIO). The teams, however, will be allowed to recruit one foreigner more as per the Asian players’ quota. In the season 2010-’11, however, the AIFF may allow the clubs to recruit four and field three foreign players in the I-League.

It was also decided that the I-League players would no longer be allowed to feature in the Santosh Trophy.

In another major decision, the AIFF approved the Goal 2011 plan under which 25 to 30 national team players are set to miss club football for the first seven months of the next season.

Starting August, the team will remain involved in several camps and friendly matches in and outside India till the Doha Asian Cup in January 2011. The AIFF has decided to pay the salaries of these players for seven months.

Federation vice-president Subrata Dutta has been named head of the Indian team delegation for the Asian Games in China in November.

Source: The Telegraph

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Added by: Anselm Pio Noronha