By Mark Baber
August 28 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Club Licensing Committee First Instance Body (FIB) meeting in Dwarka decided yeserday to give a one-time exemption for the National Club License to all 12 clubs for the upcoming 2013-14 football season, enabling the league to go-ahead as planned.
According to an AIFF statement, all 12 clubs, apart from Pune FC who were granted the AFC and National License after complying with all ‘A’ grade criteria, had requested the Club Licensing Appeals Body grant a year’s exemption. The Appeals Body had referred the case back to the Licensing Committee for the final decision.
The Licensing Committee members present at the meeting – chairman Dr. Girija Shanker Mungali, Advocate Ushanath Banerjee, Punkaj Jain, chartered accountant, and I-League CEO Sunando Dhar agreed unanimously to grant a one-time exemption for all 12 Clubs.
Mungali said: “This is the only exemption given to all the 12 clubs for the football season 2013-14. They will have to comply with all the ‘A’ grade criteria just as Pune FC did for the National License from the 2014-15 season onwards and no further exemption will be given if they fail to meet ‘A’ grade criteria.”
The 12 clubs include Dempo SC, Salgaocar SC, Churchill Brothers, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Sporting Clube de Goa, United SC, Mohammedan Sporting, Mumbai FC, Rangdajied FC, Shillong Lajong FC, and Pailan Arrows.
United Sikkim failed to meet the club licensing test but didn’t appeal for exemption as they had, in any case, been relegated to the second division.
The AIFF began the process of implementing club licensing for the first time in January 2013. The exemptions will clearly be welcomed by the clubs involved, but major instability remains in Indian club football as the AIFF continues its project to set up new clubs and create a new competition in partnership with IMG-Reliance.
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