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The AIFF and other stakeholders in Indian football are set to meet in Kuala Lumpur on June 7 under the coordination of the Asian Football Confederation. While the issues of discussion haven't been specified, they are expected to focus on the controversial plan to merge the two domestic leagues in india. The idea for the meeting was mooted by the AIFF president Praful Patel to the AFC's general secretary Dato Windsor John, who was visiting India on Wednesday. According to an AIFF release, the proposed meeting "will be chaired by the AFC general secretary and will be attended by various AFC directors". An invitation will also be extended to "senior representatives from FIFA's competition department and senior representatives from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, the I-League and ISL clubs, AIFF's commercial partner and the Football Players' Association of India." "I need to thank Dato Windsor John for taking the time to spend his day for Indian football and readily accepting our proposal to have an all stakeholders meeting and confirming a date at such short notice," Patel said. On Tuesday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee had thrown her weight behind the two Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, saying that they should be allowed to compete in the ISL without compromising on their status as the heritage clubs of Indian football. ESPN understands that officials of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan met AIFF general secretary Kushal Das in Delhi on May 22 and reiterated their desire to remain in the recognised top division of the country, but were unable to get any assurances on a proposed waiver of the ISL franchise fee of Rs 15 crore (about $ 2.3 million) or wanting to continue with Kolkata as a home venue for their matches. Earlier this month, the AIFF and its commercial partners IMG-Reliance (IMG-R) invited bids from "interested parties to enroll and participate" in the ISL from 2017-18, putting the future of the I-League under a cloud.
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