Promotion and relegation must in top division league: Supreme Court

Panaji: The Supreme Court has said that Indian football stands to benefit from "healthy competition” while mandating promotion and relegation in the country's top-tier league.From 2019-20 season, the Indian Super League (ISL) has been the top-tier league. The league started with eight teams as a closed league in 2014 but opened up to inclusion of teams on “sporting merit” with I-League champions Punjab FC and Mohammedan Sporting Club moving to the top tier in the last couple of years.A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi agreed on academic work which concluded that promotion and relegation add an additional dimension to league play that is not present in closed leagues.

“Competition among top division teams to avoid relegation produces more spending on player talent than large market teams in a closed league,” states the study, which the SC relied upon while finalising the Constitution of the AIFF on Friday.According to the draft Constitution approved by the SC, “Seniormost Top Division League shall mean the league competition owned, operated and recognised by the AIFF, that implements the principles of promotion and relegation, and meets all requirements prescribed by the AFC for being eligible to obtain a direct slot in the Asian Champions League.”

Significantly, it was brought to the court’s notice that in 2019, during a meeting of all stakeholders at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, it was agreed that ISL would be the top league, while promotion and relegation would start from 2024-25 when the 10-year agreement with the original franchises ends.During arguments, FSDL objected to the words ‘operated’ and ‘that implements the principles of promotion and relegation’ and sought their deletion mainly on the grounds that the use of these words in an important provision impinges upon the autonomy of FSDL as originally secured under the master rights agreement (MRA).Many intervenors, however, argued that the suggestions of FSDL run contrary to FIFA Statutes, which adopt the principles of promotion and relegation.“Taking into account the fact that Indian football began way back in time and also the fact that Indian sports have flourished with time, it is an opportune moment to decide that hereon, Indian football will not be played in silos. Healthy competition in Indian football shall only benefit and take the sport to new heights,” states the order.