Sunil Chhetri breaks his silence about the plan of ISL and I-League running simultaneously

Sunil Chhetri will be playing in the ISL next season, this time for Bengaluru FC

The Indian football scene is set for a big shake-up in the coming season as the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League are set to be conducted simultaneously. The ISL has been on the rise for the last three seasons and got a huge vote of confidence after receiving recognition from Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The IMG-Reliance owned league will also see the winner being allotted a place in the AFC Cup the following season.

With Bengaluru FC (winner of two of the last four I-Leagues) also shifting to the ISL for the upcoming season, the balance of power also looks to have shifted towards the franchise-based league.

So what does the country’s premier football star Sunil Chhetri thinks of it? Well, he is certainly not against it and feels there is a silver lining at the end of it all.

“I will always stand by my word, ‘more teams, one league’. If there are 15 to 20 teams and there is one league, that will be the best and nobody will object,”  the Indian skipper stated at a recent event in Mumbai

“But even if the leagues are played simultaneously, what good will come out of it is that there will be 20 teams and that means that more Indian are going to play in the main leagues.

"The I-League can't happen without players. The ISL can't happen without players. The players have to play. Someone is going to play somewhere. So many Indian players are going to get play.”

Chhetri also pointed out that two leagues happening simultaneously, there is a chance that they achieve a big goal in Indian football – making of more footballing professionals.  

“Something that was not very pleasant in the last few years was whenever the transfers between the ISL and the I-League used to happen, there were times that a lot of players didn’t get a chance for the ISL (Bengaluru FC players missed out on the first season of ISL action). On top of that, it was the same players playing both leagues, so this (leagues happening simultaneously) will increase the employment – the state players are going to play.

“At the end of the day, if there are more clubs running properly, more footballers are going to get employed and that should be something we should look to achieve.”

Chhetri, plans of getting more players to be employed is certainly a noble one. But this move is sure to dilute the talent pool and bring the level down – especially in the I-League with most Indian internationals looking to enter the ISL draft.

And if the Kolkata giants viz. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan have their way, there are going to be at least eight foreigners in an I-League team next season with five of them allowed on the field at one time. 

That certainly doesn’t bode well for Chhetri’s vision and the image of the I-League that once prided itself on fielding Indian talent.