By IANS
New Delhi : The All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) proposal to confine national players to only the I-League and the Federation Cup has not gone well with major clubs of Kolkata and Goa, forcing the apex body to constitute a core committee to look into the issue afresh.
“The idea of keeping national players off the local leagues was unanimously supported by all the member associations barring the Indian Football Association (IFA) and Goa Football Federation (GFA),” AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters here Sunday, after the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
“The two associations appreciate the idea, but the local leagues in Kolkata and Goa are so popular that the clubs cannot do without playing their top guns,” he said
In order to resolve the issue, the core group headed by C.R. Vishwanathan, AIFF vice-president, will meet Jan 27-28 and submit its report to Dasmunsi, by Feb 1.
“I understand those local problems, but we cannot compromise on building a strong national side. We want to resolve the issue to everyone’s satisfaction and therefore the core group has the mandate of the AGM to resolve the issue.”
The AIFF wants to confine the national players to playing only in the I-League and the Federation Cup, the two most important tournaments on its calendar.
The proposal to restrict national players to playing fewer matches was first mooted by national coach Bob Houghton and he prevailed upon the federation to buy the idea.
AIFF vice-president and former IFA secretary Subrata Dutta, who is a member of the core group said: “I think eventually we will have to fall in line sooner than later and protect our national players from getting injured playing more matches than necessary.”