The All India Football Federation (AIFF) bid evaluation committee have replenished the recent Goa exodus of Dempo, Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa by inculcating Chennai City FC, and Minerva Punjab. For Tamil Nadu, this will be the first ever I-league team for the state, whereas Minerva will be bringing in North Indian representation after almost a decade, since JCT’s exit. The retendering of clubs began on November 25, with five teams namely Fc Bardez Goa, Neroca FC of Manipur, Sudeva FC from Delhi, Minerva and Chennai vying for two spots.
The league now boasts of 10 teams again, after Goan outfit Churchill Brothers were successfully reinstated last week. Aizawl FC were given special permission by I-league to play, despite being relegated. This year Kolkata will be the only team with more than one club, with the I-league diversifying to 9 different cities. AIFF Secretary Kushal Das said, “The AIFF couldn’t be happier that we have two more clubs froms such diverse regions. For the longest time, the entire country was looking for a replacement for JCT, which brought in such a strong dimension to the league. Chennai is a huge market as proved by the success of the ISL, it only makes sense for us to on-board an outfit which is looking to build the sport in a state which traditionally isn’t known for football. This decision was keeping in mind how football can be grown in the country.”
Chennai also joins an elite list of cities in the country to have an ISL franchise and an I-League club in the same city. Dhar added, “Chennai is a market we wanted to enter even before the ISL, but football was almost non existent there. The ISL has helped integrate mass together in cheering for the region. In the begining, people were learning the rules, but by the third season, they have one of the strongest fan bases. The Goa exodus did hurt the sport no doubt about it, especially because of the sport’s popularity in the region. However, Indian football msut keep growing.”
Last month, AIFF had to reduce the minimum bid from Rs 100 crore to a whopping Rs 1 crore as it received zero bidders to stake their claim. I-league Sunando Dhar added, “I, on behalf of the AIFF and Indian football welcome the new teams to the I-league. We all hope this will give the new teams a chance to rub shoulders with the country’s finest and also make the league more competitive.”
