24.09.2008 | ONGC will continue support
for I-League
The second edition of the I-League will kick off
on September 26 with East Bengal Club taking on the newly promoted
club Chirag United SC at Barasat Stadium in Calcutta, while at Margao's
Nehru Stadium Vasco SC take on Sporting Clube de Goa in a Goan derby.
ONGC will continue their support in the 2nd edition
of the I-League with a total prize money of Rs 12,5 Million and
a total sponsorship package of Rs 60 Million, which is Rs 10 Millions
lower then last years sponsorship. The Second edition of the l-League
will be played at Calcutta, Goa, Mumbai and Ludhiana. Zee Sports,
will telecast the matches of the ONGC I-League Live and Exclusive
starting from September 26. The matches will from this season onwards
be mostly played on weekends and the duration of the league will
be close to eight months.
With the inaugural I-League champions Dempo SC
qualifying for the AFC Cup semifinal, it will surely disturb the
I-League fixtures and commenting on that AIFF General Secretary
Alberto Colaco said, "it is really good occasion to have press
conference as Dempo has qualified for AFC Cup semifinal, it will
surely disturb our I-league fixture but we expect to find the remedy
soon." Dempo's triumph in the quarterfinal stage has surely
given a chance to the AIFF to take the credit on their side and
it is just because of the competitiveness of the I-League according
to AIFF president Priya Ranjan Das Munshi and he said, "Dempo
SC win in quarterfinal is the impact of I-League and there is no
doubt in it. These clubs play plenty of competitive matches in the
I-League which result them to prepare better for other tournaments."
As far as venues is concerned there is still some
security issues with the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai though there
will two matches played at the ground to check whether everything
is in place. A committee of the AIFF has already revisited the ground
and was satisfied with the arrangements but there are still some
concerns about it. The Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Gurgaon and Delhi's
Dr. Ambedkar Stadium has been kept as reserve grounds for the I-League.
Commenting on that Mr. Das Munshi said, "if we don't find Cooperage
well enough to conducted matches for whatsoever concern, we may
shift matches to DY Patil or Kolhapur Stadium. We are in talks with
Mr. Praful Patel and negotiating the things as the cost to hire
DY Patil Stadium will be more in comparison to other grounds."
Apart from the I-League the AIFF is also concentrating
on the India U16 and Senior teams which will participate in final
round of the 2011 Asian Cup. "There is huge amount needed for
the preparation of the team, we are in talks with corporate houses,
so that we can match up to other countries. Our Chief Coach Bob
Houghton has already had the plan and project which may require
more than 20-25 crore for the preparation of AFC Cup," said
the AIFF President Das Munshi.
The AIFF is also concentrating more on the Central,
Northeast and Northern regions but the state which has impressed
them a lot is Haryana and commenting on this Mr. Das Munshi said,
"according to our chief coach we surely need well built players
in the Indian team, and Haryana and Punjab are best place to spot
the talent, we will be concentrating on the north so that we have
some well built and good players in the Senior as well as junior
team."
The I-League still lacks professionalism and it
can be seen as the Í-League has only reached 60% of the AFC
guidelines which is also a huge obstacle in the development of football
in India. There are still few clubs who are lagging behind to meet
the minimum guidelines levied as per AFC. Speaking on this the AIFF
General Secretary Alberto Colaco said, "only 60% of the I-League
team has meet the minimum requirement as per AFC guidelines and
there are still 3-4 who are lagging behind."
The AIFF president also thanked ONGC for their
continued support to the I-league and said, "we are thankful
to ONGC for their continued support to Indian football. It is beginning
of a new journey; we have undertaken to recapture the lost glory
of football in India. With a very strong and ambitious line-up of
respective clubs and the various incentives which are being provided
to clubs participating in ONGC I-League, we expect the second edition
of the of the I-league to be a big draw and a challenging encounter
for dazzling and entertaining display of football than before."
The AIFF will also be making the I-League a legal
entity which will be registered under the Society Act, for which
they are looking for a suitable CEO for the smooth and efficient
functioning of the I-League. But so far that CEO hasn't been found
by the AIFF.
As far as the prize money is concerned the winner
walks away with Rs 5 Million while the runners-up would get Rs 2,8
Million. The third-placed team will be given Rs 2 Million and for
the first time the team finishing 4th will also be given Rs 1 Million.
The team winning the Fair Play award will be given Rs 100,000. Among
the individual prizes there is Rs 50,000 for Best Striker, Rs 25,000
for the best Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward while
the Best Player will also be given Rs 25,000. The Man of the Match
award of every match will take away Rs 5,000.
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