More than a dozen footballers in India's Olympic teams of the Fifties came from Hyderabad. The city now has a team in the ISL but yesteryear superstars like Rahim Sahab, Balaram, Habib and Nayeemuddin are completely forgotten
The All India Football Federation is being virtually run by its commercial partners, Reliance. The plan to make Indian Super League the Number 1 National tournament will hurt clubs like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
Sandesh Jhingan limped off in the second half during India's friendly match against ISL outfit NorthEast United and will miss action for some six months, including the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh, thanks to an anterior cruciate ligament tear on his left knee
Launched in September last year, Baby Leagues have been a hit in the Kashmir Valley, Mizoram, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. States like Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka and Punjab are also catching up with the trend
Recent reports stated that FIFA asked I-League clubs (though a letter) to co-operate with AIFF for a solution in the ongoing chaos in Indian football. But now Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj has revealed that the letter is unofficial and is written by someone who hasn't consulted the other members of world football's apex body
FIFA's acting deputy secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom has requested I-League clubs in a letter to Minerva Punjab to co-operate with AIFF to find a solution. FIFA also added that the joint FIFA-AFC report in 2018 was a recommendation and not an order.
The international football federation (FIFA) had advised the All India Football Federation to unify the I-League and the Indian Super League. The AIFF, under pressure from its commercial partners, has so far failed to find a sustainable roadmap.
I-League clubs have requested FIFA president Gianni Infantino to probe All India Football Federation’s functioning, amidst allegations that the national federation is being run by its commercial partners.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant wrote to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stating that I-League should be India's top division championship. The AIFF has declared that Indian Super League (ISL) will be given the AFC Champions League slot, which makes it our country's top-tier competition.
During India's Intercontinental Cup match against North Korea on July 13, fans expressed their unhappiness at the All India Football Federation kowtowing to its commercial partners, Football Sports Development Limited.
The All India Football Federation, unable to resolve the conflict between ISL and I-League clubs, has now asked the Asian Football Confederation to sort the impasse.
Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Churchill Brothers, FC Goa, Gokulam Kerala FC, Minerva Punjab FC and Aizawl FC have formed a united I-league front to protest against the All India Football Federation (AIFF), FSDL and Indian Super League (ISL).
