 "A view of Supreme Court of India building in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)")
The Union Government said that it was fully aware of the crisis within the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and assured the Supreme Court on Friday that the Indian Super League will be held.
ISL’s future hangs by a thread as the AIFF had said last week that it did not receive any bids for the commercial rights of the league. AIFF floated the tender midway in October seeking a commercial partner for the next 15 years but lack of interest in it has put the future of the people associated with the league at risk.
However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Friday told the Supreme Court that they will ensure that players will not be put to any disadvantage due to ongoing crisis.
“We will ensure that players are not put to any disadvantage due to lack of sponsors or lack of club owners,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu to a bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Joymala Bagchi.
Mehta also said that the steps taken would remain in conformity with FIFA regulations. The Bench though remained cautious as government’s interference could breach FIFA’s regulations.
“We don’t want to put the impression that the government is again interfering. It is only to tide over the situation,” the judges remarked.
Government asked for two week’s time so that they could get a window to examine concerns of potential bidders.
Chhetri and top footballers urge AIFF to restart ISL
Last week, Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and several other top Indian footballers had posted a plea on social media requesting the Kalyan Chaubey-led AIFF to do “whatever it takes” to get the football season up and running once again, with the livelihoods of players and several others at stake.
The crisis in Indian football comes at a time when the 15-year Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and the Football Sports Development Limited – the organisation created to run the ISL in 2010 – is set to expire on 8 December.