Why are no foreigners playing in the Calcutta Football League 2024?
The Calcutta Football League 2024 is currently underway in full swing. However, the season is slightly different from the past ones - it is being played without foreign players.
Starting in 1898, the Calcutta Football League is one of the oldest and most reputable football tournaments in India. Over the years, it has witnessed celebrated rivalries with Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Mohammedan Sporting being the attraction of this competition.
CFL's importance, however, started decreasing with the growth of the National Football League, I-League, and Indian Super League.
One of the huge changes that the IFA has brought in to rejuvenate the Calcutta Football League and bring back its past glory is excluding foreign players. This is precisely in tune with the decision the AIFF reached last year.
The new rule does not permit foreign players to feature in the city, district, and state-level leagues. It is ordained with the idea of providing more opportunities for the growth of local talent and giving them a chance to bloom in the truest sense of the term.
The move not to have any foreign players involved in the Calcutta Football League 2024 has provided a clear platform for local talents to be realized. There is one view shared by both the AIFF and the IFA on this move, that it will level the playing field and make matches more competitive.
Last year, the organization announced the no-foreigners rule which has been implemented from the ongoing season. Anirban Dutta, the secretary of IFA, who is also an AIFF league committee member, favored the no-foreigners rule for succeeding in making matches closer and reducing disparities between clubs.
Mr. Dutta was quoted as saying in a press release last year:
“I must commend the AIFF for taking such a step. Kalyan Chaubey had called to ask us to implement the no-foreigner rule. We were not convinced at first, whether people will come to the matches if we lose the star foreign players, but then we somehow managed to convince our sponsors. Now, we are seeing the results.
“Since there are no foreign players, the matches are much more tightly fought, the difference between the bigger and the smaller clubs are not as much. This was a pleasant surprise for us.”
Calcutta Football League's sponsors flourish without foreign players
Sponsorship interest has been strong despite concerns that fan interest would not be as high without star foreign signings. Fans and clubs have responded positively to this shift in focus towards developing local talent.
“We’ve done a lot of new things in terms of popularising the league, including introducing a trophy, hosting an opening ceremony, and also conducting a digital marketing campaign to inform the fans of the league,” said Mr. Dutta.
This year's Calcutta Football League Premier Division, the 126th season of this historic West Bengal football competition, features 26 teams split into two groups. While top teams make it through to the Championship Round, the lower ones drop to the Relegation Round.