Indian Club Licensing: Clubs granted and rejected licenses for 2023-24 season

The Indian Club Licensing system plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality, professionalism, and infrastructure of football clubs in the country. It is an annual process through which clubs obtain the mandatory license to participate in national and AFC Club Competitions for each season.

The licenses are divided into two categories: "ICLS Premier 1" for Hero Indian Super League clubs and "ICLS Premier 2" for Hero I-League clubs.

For the upcoming 2023-24 season, the AIFF Club Licensing Committee has completed the evaluation process, and the results have been announced. Let's take a look at the clubs that have been granted licenses and those that have been rejected.

Premier 1 Category:

Hero Indian Super League clubs are required to apply for the "ICLS Premier 1" license. This license allows them to participate in all AFC Club Competitions (subject to qualification on sporting merit) and the Hero Indian Super League.

The following clubs have been granted Premier 1 licenses for the 2023-24 season: Mumbai City FC, ATK Mohun Bagan FC, FC Goa, Jamshedpur FC, Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters FC, and Punjab FC.

Punjab FC, the reigning Hero I-League champions, has been promoted to the Hero ISL after meeting the Premier 1 License requirements.

However, NorthEast United FC, Hyderabad FC, and East Bengal FC failed to secure licenses in the Premier 1 category due to multiple "A" criteria failures, rendering them ineligible for AFC Club Competitions and the Hero Indian Super League.

Premier 2 Category:

Hero I-League clubs are required to apply for the "ICLS Premier 2" license. This license grants them participation in the AFC Cup (subject to qualification on sporting merit) and the Hero I-League. Among the nine clubs that submitted applications for the Premier 2 license, the committee decided on seven clubs.

However, none of the clubs were granted licenses due to multiple "A" criteria failures. The seven clubs include Real Kashmir FC, Mohammedan Sporting Club, Gokulam Kerala FC, Sreenidi Deccan FC, Rajasthan United FC, Churchill Brothers FC Goa, and Aizawl FC.

The assessment of license applications for the two Manipur-based clubs, NEROCA FC and TRAU FC has been postponed due to challenging circumstances in the region that have led to communication issues. The committee will reassess the applications once normalcy is restored.

The five criteria:

The ICLS license criteria are divided into five categories: Sporting, Infrastructure, Personnel and Administrative, Legal, and Financial. Each category is divided into grades: A, B, and C. Grades A and B are mandatory, while grade C represents best practices for clubs.

The club licensing process evaluates various criteria related to the sporting, infrastructure, personnel, legal, and financial aspects of the clubs. While some clubs have successfully obtained licenses, others have faced setbacks due to non-compliance with the licensing criteria. Clubs must address these failures and work towards meeting the required standards to enhance their chances of participating in prestigious competitions.