I-league could replace ISL; National Team Coach Igor Stimac calls it comfort football

It is mentioned in the draft constitution for the All India Football Federation (AIFF) formulated by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). It was submitted to the Supreme Court in January 2020, and upon its possible approval, the franchise-based ISL will not be significant anymore. 

Point 33 of article 1 of the draft says, "I-League is the senior-most top division league competition in India owned, It is operated and recognised by the AIFF." Further, according to Point 58 of Article 1, "Seniormost top division league shall mean that the league competition is owned, operated and recognised by the AIFF, that implements the principles of promotion and relegation, and it meets all requirements prescribed by the AFC for being eligible to obtain a direct slot in the Asian Champions League."

On May 18, the Supreme Court declared its former judge AR Dave as the administrative head of the panel that would manage the affairs of the AIFF and offloaded the Praful Patel-led executive committee, which was functional for two years, more than the decided tenure of four years. A new change in the sports constitution was in order. Before that, the ISL, jointly organised by the AIFF and its commercial partners, had received the top-tier status, detrimental to the I-League. In June 2019, the AIFF announced that the ISL would take over the I-League India's AFC Champions League qualifier slot from 2019 to 2020, making it the country's top-tier football competition.

Igor Stimac Criticises Indian Super League 

Indian National team football coach Igor Stimac has spoken against the Indian Super League (ISL) by claiming that the ISL is just comfort football. According to him, the ISL hasn't been very beneficial for Indian football in terms of growth. The high salary is an advantage for the players, who stay in their comfort zones. When a player receives a pass in the ISL, he has enough time to process his next move, which is not the case in international football. Instant decision-making is required, and the players are expected to move on fast. 

Igor Stimac also stated that the Indian Super League standard does not stretch beyond modest. He had higher standards when he became the coach of the Indian team. Still, upon arrival, he had to select his team from a pool of 50 individuals, who were primarily goalkeepers, defenders or defensive midfielders. As the coach, he doesn't have many options and is forced to shortlist players from ISL teams. He said that the foreigners who come to play for money in the ISL had taken all the key positions in all ISL clubs.