AFC/AIFF right to backtrack on Club Licensing?

In the end all talk about a professional I-League from next season onwards came to nothing, then once more as has been usual for matters involving the I-League or the old National Football League in the past clear cut decisions in the interest of the league and the game have not been taken.

It seems that history is repeating itself again and again which all started from the first season of the National Football League in late 1996. General rules and regulation are created for all clubs to follow like the AFC Club Licensing criteria, but they are then broken by the federation itself. So who actually fears that mismanagement or not being a commercial entity would pose to be a problem this season.

Officials from two of the three 'Public Sector Undertaking' clubs - Air India, ONGC and HAL - said after the news came out on Wednesday that they are out of the I-League. They believe that AIFF president Praful Patel will come in their defence and ensure that they will be playing I-League next season. Knowing this fact it sounds like the officials knew that they would not have to worry and ensure that their PSU teams are detached from the mother company and made into own commercial entities.

The question remains will things then change in 12 months time? Or will the same questions be asked again and nothing happens once more. This is something for the Asian Football Confederation and the All India Football Federation to answer.

One thing is clear whatever the PSU's have done over the years for Indian football is undoubted, but if they want to be part of a professional set-up then things need to change and that quickly, otherwise there cannot be a place for them in professional Indian club football. We can't continue to live in the past and let gradual change happen, we need a faster pace of development at all levels of Indian football.