I League,ISL merger can be a fruitful reality if tackled realistically 

Bengaluru FC have shown that getting crowds is not a problem with  right commitment

After speculations, threats and half-hearted clarifications the cauldron is left alone. This is not time for football to simmer. With just two weeks left for the Indian Super league to start, it is too late to expect the cauldron to heat. When the ISL started last year, we all said let us wait and watch. We did. And , there was plenty of contentment that football did not need a kick to start ; that the ball just rolled on and on -as the spectators who preferred the labyrinths of their homes – decided to come out and just love football.

From the reports; from the contract signed by IMG Reliance and All India Football Federation (AIFF) it is pretty clear that football in India has a new partner in IMG Reliance. They have the money. So, they call the shots. AIFF, for all practical purposes, is the big daddy of Indian football. However, daddy has grown old. It is the boy growing up with affluence who is calling the shots for daddy.

The ISL will one day merge with the I League. This will happen one day and has to happen because the ISL is IMG-Reliance’s baby. Now read this: “This agreement grants IMG Reliance all commercial rights to football across all football properties controlled by AIFF including but not limited to the national teams and all current and future professional leagues. Such rights include media rights, sponsorship and advertising rights, licensing and merchandising rights, franchise rights, new league rights and any other commercial rights attached to any of these properties.”

Let us not get into the theatrics of when, what, why or by whom. The agreement is in place and since it involves heavy players, room to scuttle it will sound naive. All we can do is sit and wait and hope the contract will not be extended. If football is growing it may well be. But the sign will be when the Indian begins to enjoy playing the game.

Every ISL franchise spends in crores each year on players and sundry other facilities. No I League team can scale such a wall. Jumping from a few crores to plenty will be a herculean task for most – if not all- I league teams at the moment. In many ways, the merger song starts on budget blues.

An ISL team requires having a minimum of nine foreign players and a maximum of eleven. Six foreign players can take the field at a time in the maximum.

Look at the picture when it comes to the I league. Four foreign players in the maximum and all four can take the field. Most teams do not have four players. If they do, the majority of players are mediocre -Bengaluru FC is the only exception.  Less spoken, the better. If the good are injured, the story turns pathetic.

The I League introduced the system of allowing only four foreigners to play to give our boys a chance to play. The equation as of now stands at 4 to 7. Just the reverse happens in the ISL. In the 6 to 5 swing, our boys end up being the back benchers on the field and at the banks. Their pie has neither cream nor sauce.

The ISL expects all franchises to spend Rs two crores a year on grass root development. Cash incentives of even over a crore have been offered to teams pursuing tapping and training talent. Most teams have hardly started moving in this direction. It will take time. Some have already asked longer time than others.

Grass root football has taken off with the I league teams. Though not really structured, efforts are being ploughed. Results have started showing in the North East. Bengaluru is beginning to bloom. Kolkata and Goa – once the nerve centres of football- have joined but look pretty late then the new comers on the block.

As long as we learn to seed the roots ingenuously, the grass will have to wait.

ISL teams are now enjoying State support as each state has a team and most of the teams carry the name of their state or city. The setup is different in the I League. What happens to the supporters of East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Atletico de Kolkata? Which way do the supporters of FC Goa turn? Where do the Sporting, Salgaocar and Dempo  supporters look to?

Like smart cities, do we have smart teams? Will the mergers of the two lead to more fragmentation or will it help unite?

AIFF president Praful Patel has time and again said that the interest of the I League teams will always be kept in mind. But, it is the ISL teams that are spending the money and bringing in the crowds. It’s money having sway over people.

The ISL has danced to different tunes from the end of last season till now. Babies are loved when they are born. Because babies cannot talk, they make us think. The I League has been on the beat for many years and has us confused. Let us not tread quickly with the ISL baby. Its second year could well shed some light why football in India is bouncing erratically.