Praful Patel wants I-League to be strengthened

India always had the potential to be a great footballing nation and this has always been complied by the FIFA. Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA, has always referred India as the ‘Sleeping Giant’ of the sports. All India Football Federation (AIFF) is putting its most sincere efforts to professionalize the sports and to make the maxim true for all times. The preparation has already started with the initiation of Indian Super League (ISL) which has already gained a remarkable response from the football fans all over the nation.

But AIFF President Praful Patel reiterated that although ISL is a huge success in the country, yet right kind of efforts should be taken to make I-League stronger and to make it a huge success. He stressed that ISL is simply a short term booster as I-League remains the premier football tournament of the country. He stated that, “As you know we have the I-League which is the principal league in the country. We have been working over the years to upgrade and professionalize the league, bring it on par with other leagues and to boost the popularity of football in the country.”

He emphasized that the focus should not be lost from the I-League as he called it to be the backbone of Indian Football. Only teams that will be participating in the I-League will be having the maximum chances to escalate in terms of AFC Championships and so on. However, ISL does not carry that opportunity. Praful Patel contributions behind the present success of Indian Football cannot be denied as he has been constantly boosting the AIFF to take the rightful measures behind its progress. He further added that only the I-League needs to be strengthened as “Once the following of the teams improve, we will have a better chance to bring in more youngsters in ISL teams which will help in offering exposure to our young players.” Patel also spoke of his plans to strengthen the link between the two competitions ISL and I-League. AIFF President was also of the opinion that if the I-League put as much as effort on the public relations as that of the ISL, the response will automatically augment and it will bring a mass appeal.