By Samindra Kunti
February 23 – Mumbai City FC of the Indian Super League and Mumbai FC of the I-League encapsulate the growing schism in Indian football. Halfway the regular season the I-League is again suffering from a lack of exposure.
Mumbai’s ISL League outfit is co-owned by Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor. The franchise has roped in Fredrik Ljungberg, Nicolas Anelka and Peter Reid to bolster its sporting performances. Mumbai City has reached out to ordinary Mumbaikar to promote their matches. They finished sixth in the 2015 Indian Super League, but lacked true identity to resonate with football fans.
In contrast Mumbai FC have a core, but loyal fan base. On a shoestring budget, the club has flirted with relegation, but pragmatic coach Khalid Jamil has steered Mumbai FC clear of the drop. They sit in sixth position in the league table with no more ambitions of aiming for the title.
Mumbai FC has tradition and history to support it, but is enduring another season in a poorly-run league. The I-League simply can’t match the ISL and its a band of international yesteryear football stars and Bollywood A-listers for luster. The ISL is cash-rich league and markets furiously. The second season of the ISL was a compelling watch, captured by a five-goal thriller of competitive football in the final between FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC.
Amid talks of a possible merger between the two leagues, 2016 was always going to be rocky for the I-League: a lack of money and exposure smother any hope for a brighter future. The clubs blame the AIFF for allowing the ISL to stain the game; the AIFF accuses the clubs of feeble marketing.
This season the I-League has slipped even further from the consciousness (and conscience) of Indian football fans: only 45 out of a total of 72 matches are telecast. Aizawl FC, the impressive newbies of the 2016 I-League, won’t be carried on TV. When Kolkata’s Mohun Bagan defeated Singaporean club Tampines Rovers in January in the first round of the AFC Champions League, which was a first for Indian football, only a local Bengali TV station broadcast the match.
At the halfway stage of the season, the I-League is increasingly turning into a poorly attended funeral, doomed by its lack of context and visibility. Pune FC, Bharat FC and Shillong’s Royal Wahingdoh all pulled out of the I-League this season and given the current state of affairs more clubs can be expected to follow.
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