The All India Football Federation and its commercial partner IMG Reliance postponed the announcement of their plans to overhaul India’s top football division, the I-League, for up to eight weeks, to address concerns about the changes among the clubs.
The clubs called for changes to the plans at a meeting last week. They insisted that they, rather than the AIFF executive committee, should be in charge of running the league, and also questioned their share of revenues from the restructured competition.
The federation, which is the governing body of football in India, and IMG Reliance, a sports and media joint venture between the IMG agency and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, had originally planned to announce their proposals on February 27.
IMG Reliance acquired the federation’s broadcast, intellectual property and sponsorship rights as part of a 15-year deal, from 2010 to 2025, aimed at restructuring the I-League and improving the standard of football in India.
“IMG Reliance and AIFF are preparing plans for Indian football for benefit of all stakeholders and take football to next level in India,” Kushal Das, the federation’s general secretary, said. “We expect our plans to be ready in the next eight weeks after discussions with clubs and other stakeholders. The AIFF and IMG Reliance will meet clubs again with plans around April 20.”