8 ISL reserve teams to play in I-League 2nd Division

In a surprising and highly welcome news, AIFF concluded the format of upcoming I-League second division league which would see 20 teams competing with each other with 12 teams from different states and reserve sides of eight Indian Super League teams.

AIFF's league committee today met at Football House Dwarka to decide the format and schedule for both I-League and I-League division two. Mr Subrata Dutta-chaired committee saw the participation of representatives from all I-League clubs, FSDL and Star Sports.

In a splendid move, the committee decided that the number of foreign players which can be signed by division two clubs reduced to three including one under Asian quota out of which two can play at any given time.

Furthermore, the committee asked the Hero I-League clubs to get back to AIFF within 72 hours giving their thoughts, the readiness of the teams and infrastructure on proposed schedule to finalise the fixture for the upcoming I-League season.

I-League clubs like Chennai City FC, East Bengal and Shillong Lajong have reportedly asked the AIFF to reschedule the I-League by a week. All the clubs were believed to be sent the season's fixture list for an initial viewing, and the aforementioned trio had a range of issues to demand a short postponement.

Three days today, the clubs and the decision-makers will reconvene and this time, hopefully, a consensus could be reached. It is also believed that the I-League will start alongside the ISL. Whether that will be the case remains to be seen on Monday. The AIFF is expected to not budge on the clubs' demands.