IMG-R replies to I-League clubs, they remain unhappy

As promised IMG-Reliance, the marketing partners of the All India Football Federation, has gotten back to the 12 I-League clubs whom they had met last week at Football House in New Delhi to discuss the way forward for the I-League.

But unlike as the I-League clubs assumed and somewhat expected it wasn't any detailed plan or roadmap on how to move forward, but rather a brief note that IMG-Reliance is working on plans over the next eight weeks which it would then present to the clubs around April 20.

But the clubs main demand of making the I-League a separate commercial entity was not addressed, which is a key issue regarding the future of the league then the clubs want to be part of the entity which runs the I-League rather then decisions taken in their name by the AIFF Executive Committee.

The clubs remain unhappy about the situation and have fixed their next meeting for March 10 with Mumbai once more to be the location. There they are likely to decide their next course of action, then without a separate I-League entity they will not sign the AFC Club Licensing criteria for the 2012/13 season.

IMG-Reliance is now under pressure to get things going, sort out the entity issue and show the clubs a viable commercial option for the future, then at the moment only the AIFF is getting money from IMG-R with the clubs receiving nothing at all.