Will ISL resume in a ‘new model’? Three clubs agree before Wednesday’s crucial meeting!
Sudeep Pakrashi: Will ISL resume in a ‘new model’ this year, where the ISL clubs will be the owners of the League? The clubs, participating in the country’s top League, are reportedly encouraged to initiate the resumption of the stagnated Indian Super League this year after a Union Sports Ministry intimation that 14 ISL clubs (Inter Kashi is the new entrant in the League this year) will have to bear expenses to run the League. It is believed, according to the new model, the clubs, after building a consortium to make an agreement with the AIFF, will pay the AIFF-set amount of Rs 37.5 Crores. Then it will the clubs who make profits individually from own initiatives by roping in sponsorships, endorsements and profit-sharing of the broadcasting will be made according to the investments of the clubs. All the club representatives are scheduled to have a discussion in New Delhi on Wednesday. It is believed that among the 14, three like FC Goa, NorthEast United FC and Inter Kashi have already agreed to the ‘new model’. According to sources close to an ISL club, “For example, one ISL club is giving approximately Rs 19 crores to FSDL and in return the club is getting Rs 19 Crores. Additionally, the respective club has to invest a huge amount in the functioning of its football team. Now, in the ‘new model’, if the clubs can give the guaranteed amount of Rs 37.5 Crore to the AIFF, then it will be the clubs who will have sharing of profits from broadcasting according to their investments as all the clubs might not invest the same amount. Addiotionally the clubs can make profits from own initiatives.” He continued, “In this new model, an ISL club has to pay approximately Rs 2.5 Crores to the AIFF, and the respective club can make a profit from its own initiatives, roping in sponsorships. So, this can be an alternative model where ISL clubs can run the League, and the Federation can also be in a safe position.” It is also believed, the I-League will also resume this year in the middle of January.
Howrah-Hooghly Warriors FC sets its eyes on playing in the CFL and then in the elite I-League
Sudeep Pakrashi: Howrah-Hooghly Warriors FC, one of the debutants in the forthcoming Bengal Super League (BSL), are unlikely to be content satisfied only through participating in the BSL. Rather, the franchise team have set eyes on playing in the IFA-organised CFL and also a qualification for the elite I-League within the next couple of years! Deep Dey, the General Manager of the club, when asked about their plans for the future, revealed, “Our vision is to earn qualification for the elite I-League within the next four to five years, starting from the I-League Third Division. Not only that, our aim will be to build-up a team for the I-League consisting of 90 per cent footballers from the Howrah-Hooghly area.” Simultaneously, he divulged, “Initiatives have been taken to get affiliation from the IFA as well as Howrah DSA to field our team in the CFL First Division. We will also get affiliation from the Howrah DSA so that our boys can play in the district competitions.” The franchise, which has roped in Jose Ramirez Bareto as the team’s chief coach, is also in the process of finding land in the Hooghly area to build a residential football school in future. “Our project will have a non-residential coaching program also initially unless the needed infrastructure for the residential project gets developed.” The team, which has already registered 25 footballers, is likely to rope in two more foreigners, out of whom one is expected to come from Brazil, and the other foreign footballer who participated in the Kerala Super League. The team have been training under Barreto and assistant coaches Suman Dutta and Sanjay Palandar for the past month. The franchise has signed Brazilian Paulo Cezar as its first foreign player. Howrah-Hooghly Warriors will start their campaign, playing a home match at Howrah Shailen Manna stadium against FC Medinipur on 16th December.
Leading footballers jailed for pending trial in Turkey gambling probe
A Turkish court has sent 20 suspects, including Super League footballers, involved in a widening football betting investigation, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday. Last week, prosecutors ordered the detention of 46 people, including players, club presidents, commentators, and a referee, over insider betting in Turkey’s professional leagues. Anadolu reported that among those detained in the operation, Galatasaray player Metehan Baltaci and Fenerbahçe player Mert Hakan Yandas, as well as former Adana Demirspor president Murat Sancak, were now formally arrested and jailed. Anadolu reported that Baltaci pleaded with the court that he had placed bets on a few matches when he was a youth team player and had not done so after joining the Galatasaray first team. According to another local newspaper, Fenerbahce’s Yandas had reportedly said in his submission to the court testimony that he denied involvement in gambling on matches. Representatives of the two players and the former club official could not immediately be reached for comment. Last month, Turkey’s football federation suspended 149 referees and assistants after an investigation found that officials in the professional leagues were betting on games. The net then widened with the arrest of eight people, including the chairman of a top-tier club, and the suspension of 1,024 players from all leagues, on whom the federation (TFF) imposed bans.
