High time ISL has promotion and relegation: AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey

All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey reckons it is high time that the Hero Indian Super League should have promotion and relegation to make the league more competitive. The ninth season of the league concluded when ATK Mohun Bagan defeated Bengaluru FC by 4-3 on penalties at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa last Saturday.

The ISL kicked off back in 2014 and Chaubey reckons the tournament should not have been a closed league from the fifth season onwards.

“It’s true that the league is nine-years-old, and right from the beginning, or from the fifth season onwards, should not have been a closed league,” the AIFF president told TOI on Saturday.

“Any competition if it’s closed, then it’s not a competition. I think, this is one area all stakeholders need to brainstorm and come to a point how we can make it an open league.”

Currently, 11 teams take part in the league and the top six qualify for the playoff stages. Chaubey reckons teams at the bottom of the league, who have fewer chances of qualifying for the playoff stages, lose motivation and thus the concept of promotion and relegation should be introduced by the league in the upcoming season.

“Teams can sometimes be left with no motivation. This will never help any competition. This is high time the league becomes open. Promotion and relegation should be allowed. The Sooner the better,” said Chaubey.

Meanwhile, the winners of the Hero ISL get a direct entry to the AFC Champions League and the ISL has become a top-tier football tournament in the country. Earlier, the league used to commence in October and the final was played in late December. Furthermore, earlier the top four teams qualified directly for the semifinals and the format was changed before ISL 2022-23.

However, in the last couple of seasons, the extended season has been introduced with the final being played in March.

Chaubey had earlier also confirmed that the winners of I-League will be promoted to the ISL.