AIFF Open House on Saturday

New Delhi - The All India Football Federation’s second Open House meeting to secure a minimum of two football clubs for the next edition of the I-League will be held at the Ritz Carlton, DIFC, Dubai Saturday. The meeting will be chaired by AIFF president Praful Patel.

The earlier Open House meeting was held at AIFF headquarters, Football House, here March 5.

The meeting, being hosted by AIFF will bring to fore the governing body’s expectations from new clubs, interact with potential participants, share ideas and invite suggestions from interested parties.

Praful Patel sounded confident the initiative will “take Indian football to a larger global audience”.

“In keeping with AIFF’s mission of promoting Indian football to a larger global audience, this is a vital step being taken to adopt additional teams and invest in our youth,” Patel said.

“By inviting participation from regional investors and offering them a sound investment opportunity, we are certain we will be able to raise the brand value of the I-League, evolving it to become a truly futuristic and versatile tournament,” he added.

The AIFF would formally invite open tenders and expressions of interest by qualified investors to set up and operate the clubs. Winning bidders of the tender will be able to set up and operate new football clubs which compete in the I-League season 2013-14 and beyond.