The ISL is almost upon us. We know that because a fortnight ago, the union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that the Indian Super League would start on February 14. But with the country's premier footballing tournament returning to action so soon, what else do we know about this season?
Let's find out with a simple Q&A session.
Will all the 14 teams compete this season?
Yes. Including newly promoted Inter Kashi, all 14 teams have confirmed their participation.
Who are the league's commercial sponsors?
No idea.
Reliance-backed FSDL are, of course, gone now. After all, it was the expiration of the ten-year deal with them that led to the current impasse. An initial Request for Proposal (RFP) elicited zero bids. The meeting with the minister that forced through this version of the league came after this failure -- and multiple others to reach an agreement with the ISL clubs on an operating model.
Will there be a broadcaster?
No idea.
A new RFP, for solely the broadcast rights, was released on Sunday, January 18 with a Feb. 1 deadline for submission of bids. A reminder: the league is to start on Feb 14.
What do the fixtures look like?
No idea.Nothing official is out yet.
As per reports, though, an initial proposal had been put to the clubs that's not been accepted yet. That iteration had the season starting with the biggest match in Indian football (sport, even): Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal. If you're wondering why that is a curious proposal, it's (as most football fans will tell you) not a common practice to have a big derby as a season opener - they're generally treated as the centerpiece around which the rest of the fixtures revolve.
Do we at least know how many matches there will be this season?
We know it's going to be a heavily truncated season. There will be 91 matches, to be (theoretically) played in a home and away format. This is down from 163 last season (and we have a team extra this time around)
If I want to watch a match in my city.... will every team play at least once at home?
No one has confirmed anything officially about the venues as yet.
The Times of India, though, has reported that only three teams (Mohun Bagan, FC Goa, East Bengal) have confirmed that they have access to home venues, without any conditions attached. ESPN has learned that Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC will also play at home, but there are issues with stadium availability for every other club. Earlier reports had suggested that both Inter Kashi and Mohammedan Sporting only wanted to play away games this season.
What about the players? Any issues there?
Many clubs have requested players to accept reduced wages for the season. Players of some clubs have, others haven't.
What about the I-League? When will it start? How many matches will be there?
'Around the same time as the ISL,' per AIFF head Kalyan Chaubey who also confirmed all 11 clubs will participate. The second tier I-League will also, of course, see a truncated season with just 55 matches. No dates, no fixtures, no venues have been confirmed.
The plan is to also merge I-Leagues 2 and 3, giving rise to a massive 40-team league as the combined third tier of the pyramid. Once again, we know nothing beyond that basic fact.
Have the AIFF said anything else at all?
Yes. Last week, the AIFF announced a 21-year vision "to align ISL, I-League with global standard." This plan hinges around one of the federation's favourite activities: the formation of committees. It's proposed that two bodies (Governing Council and a Management Committee) will oversee the regulatory and operational functioning of the ISL and I-League. The GC will have seats for each ISL club, the AIFF, independent experts and potential commercial partners. The MC will have seats for ISL clubs (on rotational basis), the AIFF and the aforementioned potential commercial partners.
It's important to note here that this is a 'vision' document different from the 'Vision 2047' document that AIFF had released at the start of Chaubey's tenure.