Dempo SC pull out of 2017 I-League, becomes third Goan club to do so

Panaji: Dempo FC on Wednesday pulled out from the I-League for the upcoming season in protest against AIFF’s proposed roadmap to restructure domestic football, dealing another body blow to the sport in India. [caption id=“attachment_3144680” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Dempo SC pulled out of the I-League. News18[/caption] Earlier, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa pulled out from the league. All the three Goan club owners - Shivanand Salgaocar, Shrinivas Dempo and Peter Vaz, had taken a united stand on 23rd June, 2016 to oppose the restructuring that makes Indian Super League(ISL) a top-tier league and relegates I-League to the second division or ‘League One’ as it will be called. With the deadline for submiting the participation agreement ending today, Dempo wrote to the AIFF that they too have pulled out from the I-League. The five-time champions, Dempo’s pull-out leaves the AIFF with a major headache as the I-League now has only seven clubs - East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru FC, DSK Shivajians, Mumbai FC, Shillong Lajong and Aizawl FC, who were reinstated after being relegated last season.