FSDL rejects AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey's plea to postpone ISL by ten days

FSDL, the organiser of the Indian Super League, rejected AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey's plea to postpone the league by ten days to help India 'send the best team' to the forthcoming Asian Games, 'while ensuring that the interests of the clubs are not hampered either'.

The ISL will now kick off as scheduled on September 21 in Kochi with a game between Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC.

Chaubey, in an interview with Times of India, said, “I will be speaking to people in the FSDL to defer the league by 10 days and start it sometime in October so that we can field a full-strength team at the Asiad. The honour of representing the country on the global stage is above all. The national interest should come first and that’s what I would try to explain to clubs and FSDL."

"The Sports ministry made a special exception to send the team to the Games. There is huge national interest. It is our duty to send the best team while ensuring that the interests of the clubs aren’t hampered either," he told Rev Sportz in another interview.

"No scope of postponement"

However, FSDL, on Thursday, in its response to the federation said there is "no scope of postponement" of the league at "this stage."

“The ISL 10 season schedule to begin on September 21st has been created and approved with extensive consultations involving all stakeholders, including the AIFF. Basis the recommendations of AIFF on the league window, the final start dates were calanderised," an FSDL spokesperson quoted as saying by News18.com.

Chaubey's statement came after ten ISL clubs steadfastly refused to release players for the Asian Games since it falls outside the FIFA window. Football events at the Asiad start on September 19 while ISL begins on September 21.

The dictum of the clubs forced national head coach Igor Stimac to choose two players from each club.

The Asian Games is a U23 event. However, three senior players are eligible to play. So, AIFF had selected Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. With Bengaluru FC refusing to release Gurpreet for the Asiad due to injuries to two of their reserve goalkeepers, Stimac has to choose players based on availability. Liston Colaco is now the third senior player in the squad in the absence of Gurpreet.