ISL 2019: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan look to join cash-rich league as roadmap for Indian football is set to be unveiled

Kolkata football giants, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, have been looking to secure a spot in the Indian Super League (ISL). The two clubs held meetings with the league and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) regarding the same in the last few months, according to a report in goal.com. If all goes well, we might soon see the two age-old rivals battling it out in the cash-rich league.

The report further added that the AIFF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are all set to unveil the future roadmap of Indian domestic football on October 14th. It now appears, that all the hullabaloo surrounding the future of the two domestic leagues in India will finally come to an end.

Last month, AIFF president Praful Patel and general secretary Kushal Das had met AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor John when he visited India. The top brass of the AIFF had another round of meetings over the past week in Malaysia where a roadmap was formulated, taking into account the grievances of all parties concerned.

Earlier, the AIFF had revealed the decision to recognise the ISL as the defacto top league in India. The Indian football body had communicated that the winners of the ISL will be handed the AFC Champions League preliminary qualifier spot, while the I-League champions would take part in the AFC Cup.

Also read: ISL set to be India’s top league; I-League clubs’ AFC Cup spot in doubt

The I-League clubs, of course, were infuriated by the decision and ever since have been demanding that promotion and relegation be introduced in the ISL by which they can also gain entry to the ISL.

As the AIFF seeks to settle the dust, an official announcement regarding what lies ahead will provide clarity and allow clubs to plan for the future.