The I-League "wants to introduce a single football league in India in two or three seasons" with 14 to 16 competing franchises and clubs from both the Indian Super League and I-League. The organizers of the I-League, founded in '07 and sponsored by Hero, "have come out with plans to accelerate the creation of a possible new league." I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said, "We have proposed to merge the traditional I-League and the Indian Super League and conduct one league instead of two. In fact, we are in negotiations with stakeholders, including ISL franchisees, on the issue" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/17). ... Global shopping center company Westfield Corp. Co-CEO Steven Lowy has launched an "impassioned" defense of his appointment to run Football Federation Australia and succeed his father, claiming his "deep passion for the game" and corporate record was what made him the best man for the job. He asked that claims of nepotism be "put behind us." Lowy said that "he was proud" of being Frank Lowy's son but had "come through a recruitment process and had the right to take on the role." He said, "Nothing was handed to me, my father didn't hand the reins to me. There was a very diligent process that was of the highest order of corporate governance" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 11/17). ... French Ligue 1 side Olympique de Lyon signed a partnership with Senegalese club Sacré-Cœur. The project was carried out by former OL player and Training Center Dir Alain Olio. He will now be the sporting director of the club located in the Senegal capital. OL President Jean-Michel Aulas said, “We have a partnership in terms of training young Senegalese players, on the site in Dakar, but also to extend a chance for them in Lyon” (L’ÉQUIPE, 11/17). ... FA of Malawi "has been blamed for abusing grants the association has been receiving" from FIFA. According to a document from the world governing body’s auditor AMG Global, the association received a total of $1.05M in grants meant for various programs and projects. But this "is while the association has been nagging the government to offer funding for the national team engagements" (NYASA TIMES, 11/17).
