The Indian Super League's expansion to ten teams, announced yesterday, was welcomed in most quarters as a boost for the fledgling league. It was also seen as a smart move by Bengaluru FC, who made the crossover from the I-League, but the outstanding issues - especially lack of clarity on the method of player recruitment for the coming season - threaten to dampen the enthusiasm.
The problem stems from the fact that the two leagues will run parallel, drawing their players from the same pool. The practice of players being contracted to both ISL and I-League clubs worked fine when the leagues were held at different times but a concurrent schedule, along with reports suggesting that the original ISL teams will get first rights to their players, leaves BFC and I-League clubs in a fix.
IMG-R officials did not respond to ESPN's attempts to contact them but it is understood that the ISL could use a player draft system ahead of the coming season. Each ISL franchise could be allowed to retain up to two players, and they would then get to bid for other players. There has already been some debate about this method, as it effectively means a player being drafted in neither gets a choice of club nor a chance to negotiate their salary, but it is standard practice in several top sporting leagues, including the IPL.
"We spoke with a number of players, and 90 to 95 per cent of them are not in favour of the draft system," former India captain and Football Players' Association of India (FPAI) president Renedy Singh told ESPN. "The decision is not ours to make, but a player should be able to choose their own team."
The immediate concerns, though, surround BFC's need to register a squad ahead of their AFC Cup knockout game against North Korean club side April 25 SC in August.
"More than building the squad, the timelines are a definite challenge for us," BFC Chief Technical Officer Mandar Tamhane told ESPN. "From the look of things, retention of players will not be happening, and that is why we need to have at least six weeks to be able to build a squad in pre-season.
"Officially, we haven't been told anything yet, with talk of teams getting to retain two, or three, or four players. As of now, we just know that there's a slot in the ISL for us, but we are waiting for the rules to be communicated in due course. Accordingly, we have done our homework with a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C."
Tamhane believes there should be an open market for players. "Players have their preferences too about wanting to play at a club or a franchise. But now that we are a part of the ISL, we can put our request through, but eventually we will have to play by the rules and take this as a challenge."
This, a former I-League coach told ESPN, is a major reason why the player draft might be brought forward to July. He also felt that a proposal allowing BFC to hold on to the core of their team for longer, simply because they were effectively representing India at the AFC Cup, would be "unfair on the other [ISL] teams."
On the positive side, says Derrick Pereira, assistant coach and head of youth development with FC Goa, clubs will be forced to focus on youngsters, who in turn will benefit from the exposure and experience of playing in concurrent leagues.
"With ISL and the I-League being played simultaneously, all clubs must focus on youth development. At the moment, we don't have a big enough pool of players, but this will mean clubs must invest in younger players and give them more chances to play," Pereira told ESPN.
"If the ISL runs for a longer time, franchises will probably have to cut their budgets significantly. In the I-League, teams like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan might continue to get good players, but the last season has shown that low-budget teams can also compete on an equal footing."
One such low-budget team, Aizawl FC, went on to win the I-League, and is now India's entrant to the AFC Champions League playoff for January 2018, but there are concerns about the club's ability to retain talent, with head coach Khalid Jamil and some of his best players linked with transfers.
Aizawl owner Robert Royte told ESPN, "That [players leaving] is an issue for all the I-League clubs. We have not had any formal communication from the AIFF about the structure of Indian football, and it would be too early for us to comment on that without complete knowledge."
Pereira felt the situation involving Aizawl was similar to the one facing Vasco SC of Goa, who finished third in the National Football League (NFL) two seasons in a row in 2002 and 2003.
"When a small-budget team does well in any league, they will find it hard to retain their players, especially if they continue to struggle financially. It happened with Vasco, and now Aizawl will just have to rebuild and find a new set of players," he said.