What’s the story?
In order to play in the Indian Super League (ISL), domestic players will need to mandatorily enrol themselves for a player draft later this month. Not registering with the draft may lead to them being left out of the tournament. The domestic player draft is to be held on the 23rd of July in Mumbai and the franchises have been informed.
The context
The ISL is all set to start later this year and while the draft arrangement is yet to be officially announced by the organisers, the Article G VII of the ISL guidelines states that the draft system is compulsory for the selection and signing of all domestic players. The guidelines were distributed to the franchises late on Friday.
The heart of the matter
According to the ISL protocol, only two players can be retained by each franchise. Reports indicate that a list had been submitted by every franchise except, Tata Steel, before the stipulated deadline on Friday, constituting of five players that they wish to retain.
Tata Steel, being the newest franchise to join hands with the ISL, will be participating from the first round and will get to pick first from the draft. The guidelines further state that the eight existing ISL Clubs from 2014 and Bengaluru FC, who are a 2017 ISL club, will be joining the round that corresponds to the number of players they have retained.
Players that don’t make it to the list by the 7th of July will now be negotiating and agreeing to a price with the organisers, before entering the draft. Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh have already been retained by Bengaluru FC while Mumbai FC say that they have entered a deal with goalkeeper Amrinder Singh.
The speculation is that the country’s foremost footballers like Subrata Paul, Sandesh Jhingan, Narayan Das and Romeo Fernandes amongst other celebrated names have made it to the top of the draft list.
The Football Player’s association of India (FPAI) does not approve of the draft system, however they are only liable to make recommendations, as they are not officially recognised by the AIFF. The FPAI believes that the draft system will limit the choice of the players to serve a club of their own accord.
The AIFF seems to have accepted another recommendation by the FPAI nonetheless, which seeks a higher representation for homegrown Indian players in the tournament, following which they have limited the foreign count to a maximum of five players per squad.
What’s next?
With the ISL scheduled to kick start on the 18th of November later this year, arrangements by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) are going on in full swing.
Author’s take
The excitement is on the rise as the ISL is getting close by each passing day and the organisers seem to be working relentlessly to make this event a success. It is yet to be known what the players think about the draft system and how it will affect their stand on the league.
