New Delhi: Even as confusion prevails over the fate of the proposed IPL-style football tournament, top officials of the All Indian Football Federation and its commercial partner IMG-Reliance will discuss the final plans relating to the ambitious project here on Tuesday.
The tournament, to be jointly organised by the AIFF and IMG-Reliance between January-March next year, has become the object of acrimony between the federation and I-League clubs who have hardened their stand on non-release of the players for the league.
I-League Professional Clubs' Association President Raj Gomes said they would not release players for the tournament. He wondered what would come out of the meeting on Tuesday.
"They [AIFF and IMG-Reliance] are meeting tomorrow and we don't know what can come out of the meeting. Because we are not releasing players for the tournament, that is 100 per cent sure," Gomes told PTI.
Some players, who were inclined to sign up for the tournament that is offering big bucks, are in a dilemma whether to join it or not. They fear that if they join the tournament they may not get to play in the I-League.
Matters appeared to have taken a turn for the worse with national coach Wim Koevermans reportedly describing the proposed tournament a "big threat" to Indian football.
The AIFF was quick to issue a denial, neither quoting Koevermans nor any federation official speaking on his behalf. It just issued a statement saying that the coach had not made any comments on the proposed tournament.
"It's surprising for the AIFF to issue a statement like that. Ideally, it should have carried Koeverman's quotes denying what has been attributed to him or may be an AIFF official speaking on his behalf," a top official of an I-League club said.
"Denial should have come from the person himself. How can the federation simply say that he has not said that? Can the federation also say that the coach has said something?" he asked.
An AIFF source, however, said that IMG-Reliance may submit just the broad contours of the proposed tournament in Tuesday's meeting and leave the rest for the Executive Committee Meeting that is set for July end or August first week.
"They (IMG-Reliance) may not submit the final proposal but they will have to do it by the end of this month or the next Executive Committee," he said.
The confusion over the tournament has also led to some players taking time to sign for clubs for the coming I-League season. They are hoping that the issue would be sorted out by July 31, the last date of transfer window.
"I will wait for a few days and see what happens. The offer is there from the IMG-Reliance but I have not decided yet whether to sign or not. I will take a decision in a few days. If I have to sign for an I-League club I have to do it by July 31," said India goalkeeper Subrata Paul.
According to reports, former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia and ex-internationals Renedy Singh and Surkumar Singh, current players Gouramangi Singh, Syed Rahim Nabi and Nirmal Chhetri were among those to have signed for the tournament.
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