Stringent financial conditions imposed by the emergency committee of the All India Football Federation as part of terms and conditions for the forthcoming second-tier club season, that runs from November this year till March 2014, have left many outfits gasping for breath.
In a letter to state associations and second division league participants dated May 29, I-League chief executive Sunando Dhar said as per the AIFF panel’s decision, eligible clubs would have to bear all expenses including travel and accommodation for the 2nd Division qualifying round.
By itself, this is unexceptionable. However, when the participating fee of `1 lakh and the cost of mandatory participation in a two-phase U-19 tournament are added to the budget of a team battling it out in the qualifying tournament are added up, it comes to a tidy sum.
In his letter, Dhar said, “For the 2nd Division League qualifying round, all eligible clubs will now have to bear all expenses including travel and stay. AIFF will only be responsible for the expenses incurred in the Final Phase.”
Further in the note, he says, “It is mandatory for all 2nd Division league clubs to field a team in the U-19 I-League tournament. This will be held in two phases; phase 1 will be zonal competition and top teams to compete in the final round.
“All teams playing in the U-19 tournament would have to bear the cost of travel and stay for the Regional Rounds. However, final phase expenses will be borne by AIFF.”
Tot up all these bills and it is bound to be a hefty amount.
With even top-tier teams struggling to meet working expenses, there is a fear that lower division clubs will miss out on the chance of seeking qualification to the lucrative I-League, which itself now appears mired in controversy over the proposed AIFF-IMG Reliance IPL-style tournament.
Said an official of a Delhi club, “Given how hard it is to find a sponsor, plus to carry on with all our activities at the local level, the imposition of the `1 lakh participation fee for the I-League 2nd Division qualifiers will cripple many of us.
“We are keen to participate, and happy to send our junior team for the U-19 qualifiers. We will even somehow manage to pay for travel and accommodation costs for our senior team, but that extra amount the AIFF has imposed makes it very difficult.
“As it stands, each of us in the lower division will have to shell out al least around `6 lakh from our budget for these two tournaments. Not even counting the cost of our local activities etc, it is almost impossible to find a sponsor to foot such heavy bills, try as hard as we can.”