AIFF Rethinks Indian Football's Future with New Institutional League!

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On Tuesday, the 5th of September 2023, the AIFF Competition Committee convened online to deliberate about the future of several domestic tournaments nationwide.

In attendance were Dr Shaji Prabhakaran, Secretary-General of AIFF, and Deputy Secretary General Mr. Satyanarayan M. The meeting was also graced by Competition Committee members: Mr. Mohan Lal from Chhattisgarh, Mr. Syed Imtiaz Husain from Bihar, Mr. K Neibou Sekhose hailing from Nagaland, Mr. Bikramjit Purkayastha representing Delhi, and Aslam Ahmed Khan from Karnataka.

The committee highlighted the proposal for a new Institutional Football League, the first of its kind in the nation, with a potential launch slated for January 2024. This potentially nationwide amateur football tournament aims to further institutional football and promote talent acquisition by private firms, public sector offices, state departments, ministerial units, police, defense, paramilitary units at unit-level, and the Railways at the divisional level.

The league will be hosted in a single division format if less than 16 teams are chosen. However, if more than 16 teams partake in the league, a multi-division format will be employed. The premier division will entail ten teams, implementing a promotion-relegation system between the divisions.

Furthermore, in accordance with the committee's suggestions, the league format will be finalized after discussions with the chosen teams. The team bagging the first position and the next best will be given the privilege of direct entry into the Federation Cup 2024.

Furthermore, the committee has also put forth that the final rounds of the Senior Men’s/Women’s National Football Championships should allow the host State Associations to skip participation in the initial group stages of the tournament.