ISL to start on October 24, clubs seek additional time, may start on November 10
Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: AIFF and FSDL are expected to jointly submit a proposal to the Supreme Court on Thursday. Two days ago, the Football Federation of India and FSDL officials held discussions among themselves and tried to find a satisfactory solution. If everything goes well, and the Supreme Court shows signs of breaking the deadlock surrounding Indian domestic football, then the ISL can start from October 24. However, the clubs have asked for additional time to prepare, in which case the start date is likely to be postponed to November 10
Earlier, in a meeting with ISL club representatives, Federation President Kalyan Choubey had said that it was not possible to resolve the mess that has arisen over the master rights agreement with FSDL and the entire matter was due to the Supreme Court's order. As per the Supreme Court's order, the current committee is unable to take any important decision. After receiving the revised constitution from the Supreme Court, the new executive committee formed through elections will be able to move forward on this matter. Just as FSDL did not move forward on the path of MRA renewal using this as a shield, it also showed no interest in organizing ISL. ISL has been stalled indefinitely.
Keeping this in mind, Federation President Kalyan Choubey had earlier proposed organizing the Super Cup to the ISL clubs. His statement was that as long as it is possible to organize the ISL, if the Super Cup is held between September and October, the clubs will not have to sit without playing. But this did not satisfy the clubs very much. Their clear statement was, is there any guarantee that after playing the Super Cup, they will not have to sit for an indefinite period again? So let's first find a permanent solution, let's know when the ISL will start, then they will start managing the clubs and preparing accordingly.
Keeping that in mind, AIFF and FSDL officials sat for discussions. According to inside information, instead of going for a long-term MRA, they have thought of starting the ISL based on the old MII for this season only. Later, when the Supreme Court verdict comes, they will think about a new agreement. Similarly, they have thought of a possible date for the start of the ISL on October 24. To give the ISL clubs a chance to prepare. However, this starting date could be November 10, considering the clubs. The federation is looking into the possibility of organizing the Super Cup before that. Otherwise, the Super Cup will be held at the end of the ISL, like it happened last season.