India’s home soccer structure revolved around just one most important league, named the National Football League, in 1996. The NFL succeeded through the I-League in 2007 and turned into the undisputed king of Indian soccer until the launch of the Indian Super League in 2014.
Amid uncertainty concerning the destiny roadmap for Indian soccer, media reviews have emerged about the Indian Super League being made India’s superior football department. The ISL turned into, first of all, released as an event. However, a revamp of the home structure became glaring while it was prolonged and ran concurrently with the I-League in 2017. In response, I-League golf equipment has threatened to take legal movement against the All India Football Federation to be demoted to the second department.
But the writing was already on the wall months ago while the AIFF showed indifference closer to the I-League golf equipment ever due to the fact they sought readability about their destiny. The whole skirmish commenced when the national federation decided to reduce the insurance of I-League suits sometime in December. Read – The Indian Football tussle: What is the struggle between I-League, AIFF, and IMG-Reliance?
Since then, the talk has taken a turn for the worse, and there is still no reality about the league, even when AIFF President Praful Patel promised: “There might be a way to the trouble” at one point. Here’s a timeline of how the activities spread out because the ISL commenced in 2014.
Reliance, IMG, and Star announce the release of ISL (October 20, 2013)
Reliance Industries Ltd, IMG Worldwide, and Star India came together to release the ISL, a progressive football match to develop the sport in the United States of America, to help India qualify for the Fifa 2022 World Cup.
Praful Patel confirms that the I-League is the top league in India (September 4, 2015)
The AIFF President says a merger of the IMG-based ISL and I-League could occur in some years while admitting the latter will retain to stay because of the pinnacle league within the USA. “I-League is India’s main league. The Indian Super League can be known as a league. However, in truth, it is an event, just like the Rovers Cup,” Patel stated after the I-League golf equipment had raised many issues that year.
AIFF mulls ISL-I-League merger (January 6, 2016)
Kushal Das says AIFF is thinking about a merger between eight teams from the ISL and seven teams from the I-League after Bharat FC, Royal Wahingdoh, and Pune FC pulled out of a modifications plan proposing a 3-tier league gadget (May 18, 2016). In May 2016, AIFF proposed a 3-tier league gadget, with the ISL and few I-League golf equipment within the top department, which might be a closed league without relegation and advertising. The other I-league clubs would be a part of the second tier of Indian soccer, League One.
That league can have relegation; however, no merchandising. The third tier will be made from the Second Division League groups, and the company could have each promoting and relegation Three Goan golf equipment, Dempo, Salgaocar, and Sporting Clube de Goa, pull out of the I-League. In protest to the AIFF’s roadmap for Indian football that had no region for them within the pinnacle league, the Goan clubs Dempo, Salgaocar, and Sporting Clube de Goa pulled out of the I-League.
Asian Football Confederation approves Indian Super League (July 25, 2017)
The ISL has a good reputation after receiving approval from the AFC and could run along the I-League. This occurred after the AIFF endorsed the AFC that the ISL would replace the Federation Cup, whose winners had been previously allotted an AFC Cup preliminary stage region.