On 14th October 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a meeting was set up between the I-league and ISL clubs with the officials of the All India Football Federation, FSDL, the organizers of ISL and the AFC. In the meeting, AFC proposed a roadmap model for the domestic structural reforms of Indian football, the proposal was made to replace the Indian Super League which is yet to begin on 20th October 2019 with the I-League as the top-tier competition in the country.
The New Roadmap of Indian Football has to be decided upon four major point plan which are as follows
- As now the ISL, has been conferred the status of India’s premier League, AFC confirmed that ISL champions will also be competing in the AFC Champions League Play-offs, while the I-league winners would get to play in the AFC Cup playoff.
- By the end of 2020-21 season, two I-league clubs would be allowed to participate in the ISL on the condition that they need to pay 15 crore franchise fees to meet the club licensing criteria.
- At the beginning of 2022-23 season, the winner of I-league would get a chance to participate in ISL without any participation fee on the basis of fulfilling sporting merit and the national club licensing criteria, by this the I-League side will now not be entitled to share from the central revenue pool, which was 13-14 crore per team on an average last season.
- The two-tier system will be abolished from the 2024-25 season, ISL will introduce the promotion and relegation system, in sync with most leagues around the world.
At the meeting, the AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das while proposing the roadmap said, “We now have a roadmap which provides the best opportunity for Indian club football. I would like to thank the AFC — and it’s General Secretary — for their contribution to proposing a solution to this unique problem. India is an important country for football in Asia, he also added “We have to be financially sustainable and take into consideration all commercial and contractual aspects of this plan because commerce is key to football not only in India but across the world of football. we must be cognizant of that fact of football life, that footballing legacy and investment are equally important for the development of Indian football”.
