Sporting Clube de Goa could become the latest Indian football club to withdraw its senior team from the I-League, according to highly-placed sources. They have hinted at a bigger announcement later this week.
The reasons, ESPN understands, stem from a proposal set forward in May by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to form a three-tier football system in India. According to this proposal -- set to take effect from 2017-18 -- the Indian Super League (ISL) will form the top tier of competition, and the I-League and its lower division will become the second and third divisions, with relegation and promotion only taking place between these two tiers of competition.
This could severely limit both exposure as well as chances of competing within Asia for traditional clubs that are not part of the ISL fold. A part of AIFF's plans is to relaunch the Federation Cup as the 'Super Cup', where the top teams from the lower divisions will play off against the lower-ranked ISL teams.
However, Sporting are one among several clubs that have expressed their reservations with the feasibility of such a structure. In fact, they have often voiced their concern over the way the governing body's constitution has been interpreted in the past.
AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das, however, denied any such development. "There might be some speculation, but we haven't heard anything specific from any club as yet," he told ESPN.
Founded in 1999, Sporting have been one of the more consistent teams in Indian football -- three runners-up finishes in the Federation Cup bear testimony to that -- and have always placed an emphasis on encouraging local talent.