Bob Houghton

New Delhi: National coach Bob Houghton kicked off a debate on Tuesday by saying no team should be relegated in the inaugural I-League.

Speaking to The Telegraph from Goa, the coach said he was in favour of 14 teams in the second edition of the I-League.

“Let me make one thing clear. I am not batting for Salgaocar or Viva Kerala (the two relegated teams). I think it should be a 14-team league spread over eight months. That would be an ideal situation for the progress of Indian football.

“There were 10 teams in the I-League this time. If you leave out the goalkeepers, then around 70 Indian boys got a chance to play in the first eleven of their respective teams. The rest of the 30 places were filled by foreigners,” Houghton said.

Houghton believes that a 14-team league would open up avenues for more Indian footballers to play in the I-League.

“My concern is not any particular team. I am really worried about those young players who do not get enough chances to play at the highest level.

“Look at players like Branco Cardozo, Ravanan, Thoi Singh, Tarif Ahmed, Sushil Singh, Joaquim Abranches, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury or Arindam Bhattacharya. They are all good, but didn’t get enough chances to play.

“Even a striker like Anthony Pereira, who has been in great form for the past couple of seasons, had to play as an attacking midfielder because Dempo preferred to field their foreigners in the forwardline. That is not doing Indian football any good.”

Houghton said he wanted relegation to be stopped in the first year for the sake of Indian football.

“I know the federation has planned a 12-team league next time. I have already told the officials why there should be more teams. Each team should also not be allowed to recruit more than two foreigners.”

Houghton is worried that the 14 Tata Football Academy (TFA) boys who have joined Mohun Bagan and East Bengal may not get enough opportunities.

“In Goa, they still field youngsters in the local league. Calcutta teams have a tendency to play their first eleven in all the matches.”

Houghton, who is looking to have at least half a dozen new players in the national team this season, said Bayern Munich’s visit to Calcutta would be a waste of time and money for Indian football.

“There is no reason to get overawed by the big names from Europe. It is not going to help Indian football much. A couple of million would be spent on Bayern’s visit. That money could have been used for the development of an under-16 team.”