AIFF President Praful Patel: AFC slot issue blown out of proportion

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel belittled the controversy surrounding the Asian Football Confederations (AFC) slots reserved for the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League and has said that it is a 'small issue'.

Patel met the representatives of the I-League clubs on Wednesday in order to find a middle ground in the ongoing tussle between the I-League and the Indian FA. As reported earlier, the two professional leagues in India may have their AFC slots swapped, which means the ISL winner will get the chance to play in the AFC Champions League. 

When asked if the ISL champions will be given a slot in the AFC Champions League play-off rounds from the 2019-20 season, the AIFF president said, "Those are smaller issues, unnecessarily being blown out of proportion. The real issue is that we have to get both the leagues recognised together by the AFC. Suppose the AFC does not agree to our proposal then that will be a problem. So we have to get both the league recognised first. That is the real issue."

Never in the history of the AFC Champions League has an Indian team taken part in the group stages of the competition. Mohun Bagan were the only Indian side to win a playoff game when they defeated Singapore's Tampines Rovers in 2016.

Referring to the performances of the Indian clubs at the AFC competition, Patel said, "Also on the Champions League and AFC Cup issue, tell me which Indian team has played the Champions League? So that is what I am saying. This is a small issue. I have always said I-League is the league of the country and ISL has been a recent entrant. So the real issue is to find a roadmap where all the rivers flow into one larger entity."