I-League club representatives meet to decide on fixtures

Club representatives met at AIFF Headquarters (Courtesy: AIFF Media)

Members of all the I-League clubs met at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Headquarters, Football House in Dwarka to finalise the fixtures for the upcoming 2013-14 Season.

This was the first time all club representatives were called on to discuss the fixtures of the marathon league.

“The meeting was a fruitful one. The fixtures were discussed in detail with all club representatives. Everyone was given a chance to voice their concerns and only after hearing them did we finalise the fixtures for the upcoming I-league season,” Dhar told www.the-aiff.com.

The Broadcasting timings were also discussed in detail in order to grab more eyeballs watching the I-League.

The Federation Cup draw was also held after all the clubs unanimously decided to revert back to the group and knockout Format.

Important decisions taken:

Due to major financial and infrastructural problems, the AIFF had no option but to discontinue with Pailan Arrows, making the I-League a 14 team affair.

All the clubs unanimously decided to revert back to the previous format of the Federation Cup only for the 2013-14 season after discussing in detail about the pros and cons of the new format and the cramped scheduling of the I-League and Federation Cup calendar.

The premier cup competition in India will now take place in January 1-12, 2014. The venue is yet to be decided.

The draw for the Federation Cup, which will be played in a group & knockout format is as follows:

Group A: Churchill Brothers, United SC, Pune FC, Team 16

Group B: Sporting Clube de Goa, East Bengal, Bengaluru FC, Rangdajied United,

Group C: Salgaocar, Mohun Bagan, Mumbai FC, Shillong Lajong,

Group D: Dempo SC, Mohammedan Sporting, Mumbai Tigers, Team 15

1st Semifinal: Winner Group A V Winner Group C

2nd Semifinal: Winner Group B V Winner Group D

Final: Winner 1st Semifinal V 2nd Semifinal.