AIFF should not try and copy the BCCI: Churchill Brothers CEO

Indian football is in the midst of a tug-of-war between the All India Football Federation and the clubs that make up the country’s I-League over the proposed IPL-style league backed by IMG and Reliance. The clubs were opposed to the idea of the league in the middle of the I-league season that they claim does nothing to promote Indian football and will take away players from the I-League as well. They have even gone so far as to say they will not release their players to play in the league. [caption id=“attachment_955991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Churchill Brothers are the current I-League champions. AIFF[/caption] Churchill Brothers chief executive, Valanka Alemao, has reiterated the clubs’ opposition to the IMG-Reliance play, saying that Indian football does not need an IPL. “The All India Football Federation (AIFF) may want to run the game the way the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) does,” he said. “But since the AIFF hasn’t been doing so, why attempt something out of the box?” She was adamant that the clubs would not change their stand and criticised both the IMG-Reliance partnership and the AIFF for keeping the clubs in the dark about the league. She would rather the focus was on growing the I-League, something she says the other clubs want as well. Alemao also said the new IPL-style league was driving the players and the clubs apart rather than helping to bring them together.