I-League football clubs form their association

Mumbai: India's I-League football clubs came together on Saturday to form the Indian Professional Football Clubs Association (IPFCA).

Eleven of the 12 I-League clubs met here at the Ashok Piramal Group Business Centre to form the IPFCA, which will be aimed at safeguarding the interest of the members and popularise the game in the country. Goan club Churchill Brothers were absent from the meeting but have expressed their full support.

The clubs agreed to get the IPFCA registered under the Societies Act and it will be based at the office of Pune FC, which is owned by the Ashok Piramal Group.

During the meeting, the clubs also discussed progress made towards setting a focused approach for making I-League a separate entity in which the clubs would have major stakes.

Members expressed deep concern with regards to departure of Mahindra United and JCT from Indian football and expressed their anguish that unless corrective suitable action is taken, others may follow suit.

Members: Shantiranjan Das Gupta (East Bengal), Anjan Mitra, Debashish Dutta and Alokesh Banerjee (all Mohun Bagan), Siddhartha Bhattacharya (Prayag United), Shivanand Salgaocar, Raj Gomes (both Salgaocar), Srinivas Dempo, Suvrat Thatte (both Dempo), Peter Vaz, Victor Fernandes (both Sporting Clube de Goa), Prashantan (Chirag Kerala), Atul Badgamia (Mumbai FC), Godfrey Pereira (Air-India), Larsingh Ming (Shillong Lajong FC), Nandan Piramal, Chirag Tanna (Pune FC).