The All India Football Federation (AIFF) will stick to a "flexible" approach when Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya meets the representatives of all the stakeholders of the sport in the country to find a way out of the current crisis.
The meeting is being called by the sports ministry on the directives of the Supreme Court after the tender floated by the AIFF for the commercial rights of the Indian Super League (ISL) found no takers.
As many as six meetings have been scheduled at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), including separate discussions with the ISL clubs, I-League clubs, prospective commercial partners, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) -- which still is technically the AIFF's commercial partner till December 8 -- and some OTT platforms.
It is leant that the AIFF is amenable to the idea of reduction in the annual minimum guaranteed payment amount of Rs 37.5 crore or 5 percent of gross revenue for the next five years to be paid by the commercial partner as per the tender, if it gets an assurance of financial support from the government.
If the minimum guaranteed payment amount is reduced, the AIFF would want financial support from the government to fund the national teams and conduct various tournaments, it is learnt.
"The AIFF conducts 1700 matches and 21 championships in a year, it needs fund to prepare the national teams and ISL has been its main source of AIFF's income. Moreover, three women teams (senior, U20 and U17) as well as the men's U17 team have qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time," a source told PTI.
The other two tricky issues which have been flagged by the prospective bidders and mentioned by (Retd) Justice Nageswara Rao in his report to the Supreme Court, relate to the structural and operational concerns of the ISL, which are interlinked.
The prospective bidder’s participation in the Governing Council is limited (only one member out of six), in addition to the veto power vested in the AIFF representative.
There are also limitations on the prospective bidder’s ability to manage and sub-license rights. Key decision-making powers would remain with the national federation in accordance with the AIFF Constitution.
It is learnt that the national federation wants to tread a cautious path on these two matters as it feels that the concerns (of the prospective bidders) might have to do with the interpretation of an article in the AIFF Constitution.
"These concerns might have to do with the interpretation of Article 20.9 (m). Under the same framework, Articles 1.21 and 63.1 recognize the AIFF as the original owner of all rights emerging from its competitions. Furthermore, Article 63.3 grants the AIFF full discretion and authority over all such rights," the source said.
Since these two concerns seemingly relate to the AIFF Constitution, the national federation may prefer the sport ministry to apprise or request the Supreme Court, through Amicus Curiae or Solicitor General, to find a way forward.
Indian domestic football first plunged into chaos after FSDL informed the AIFF in July that it was keeping the country's top-tier league on hold due to a lack of clarity over the renewal of the 15-year Master Rights Agreement (MRA) that ends on December 8.
After the tender for ISL's commercial rights got no takers, Justice Rao recommended to the Supreme Court to strike a balance between "preserving" the AIFF's authority and keeping in mind prospective bidders' commercial interests.
"These concerns, as articulated by various stakeholders, highlight structural, financial, and operational challenges, and have collectively contributed to the non-receipt of bids,” Justice Rao had said in his report.
Based on the report submitted by Justice Rao, the SC on November 21 suggested that the matter be resolved expeditiously.
Consequently, the Solicitor General of India stated the government would ensure that the league is conducted in alignment with the FIFA Statutes.
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