June 13 – The Indian Super League announced on Monday that Tata Steel Limited & JSW Group have won the bids for the two new franchise teams for the next season. The decision means JSW Group owned Bengaluru, one of the strongest teams in the rival I-league, will now join the ISL which will expand from eight to ten teams.
Tata Steel will base their franchise in Jamshedpur in the eastern region of India.
The ISL issued a statement saying: “Football Sports Development Limited – the joint venture between IMG-Reliance & Star India today announced the addition of two of India’s largest conglomerates Tata Steel Ltd – a $18.12 billion company and subsidiary of Tata Group ($103.51 billion 2015-16) and Jindal South West (JSW) Group – $9 billion corporate into the fold of Indian Super League.”
“The inclusion of two new clubs came through the ‘Invitation To Bid’ tender process floated by FSDL last month. An independent panel along with consulting firm EY evaluated the bids to present its report today to the panel, in the presence of All India Football Federation General Secretary Mr Kushal Das.”
“The ISL in its fourth edition will witness an expanded five-month module with number of participating clubs increasing to ten from its original eight founding member city clubs.”
Sunil Bhaskaran, vice president corporate services, Tata Steel and chairman TFA, greeted the announcement saying: “This is a momentous occasion for Tata Steel, which has always been a pioneer in the development of sports in the country, especially football.
“Our entry into coveted Indian Super League reinforces our commitment to provide a fillip to the development of football in the country. We are extremely excited to have won the bid for our hometown Jamshedpur and will provide the best of facilities for football to prosper in the eastern part of our country.”
Parth Jindal, CEO JSW Bengaluru FC, said: “We are glad that our bid to be part of the ISL has been accepted. A lot of time and thought has gone into our decision of wanting to be part of the Indian Super League. The biggest factor has been the interest of the long-term future of Indian football. A longer league is the right road ahead.”
The announcement clearly undermines the case for the I-League forming a future top division which was also dealt a blow by the revelation that Mohun Bagan and East Bengal had wanted to join the ISL but were unsuccessful in having their request that the entry fee of Rs 15 crore be abolished.
The announcement will no doubt lead to increased discontent among the remaining I-League clubs with the All India Football Federation vacillating between aiming for the ISL or the I-League to be the top league in a merged structure and unclear over when and how any future merger, which would regularise the situation of Indian domestic football and bring it into line with FIFA statues, will actually occur.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713551972labto1713551972ofdlr1713551972owedi1713551972sni@r1713551972ebab.1713551972kram1713551972
