Panaji: Goa's I-League clubs have decided to fight against the unfriendly resolutions taken by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), including a cap on the number of clubs from a particular city. Owners of all four I-League clubs, Shrinivas Dempo, Peter Vaz (Sporting Clube de Goa), Shivanand Salgaocar (Salgaocar FC) and Churchill Alemao (Churchill Brothers), met for the first time at a city hotel on Monday and resolved to oppose several initiatives that the AIFF is to force on the clubs.
The conference model set to be adopted for this year's I-League on the lines of the United States' Major League Soccer (MLS) where teams are divided into two groups based on zones, has found no acceptance among the Goan clubs. The club owners said they would instruct their representatives to put their views across to the AIFF when they meet with the clubs in New Delhi tomorrow.
"The Federation Cup format has also been opposed but the biggest disagreement was on the capping of teams from Goa. This is something that is not acceptable," said Raj Gomes, secretary of the Salgaocar club. The AIFF emergency committee has decided to put a cap on the number of teams from any particular city in the I-League and 2nd Division put together. If additional teams from Goa and Kolkata qualify in subsequent editions, those particular teams have to relocate and play in a different venue subject to approval of the AIFF.
By the 2015-16 season onwards, not more than two teams from any particular venue/city would be allowed to play in the I-League except for Kolkata and Goa where not more than three would be allowed. "Goa has got a raw deal. This anomaly has to be corrected," Gomes stated.
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