The franchise-based Indian Super League will be a 10-team affair from the '17-18 season, according to the HINDUSTAN TIMES. Bengaluru and Tata Steel (Jamshedpur) will be the two new sides in the competition. The duration of tournament "will also increase from this year." ISL organizer Football Sports Development Ltd. said in a statement, "The ISL in its fourth edition will witness an expanded five-month module with number of participating clubs increasing to ten from its original eight founding member city clubs." The inclusion of two new teams "came through a tender process floated by FSDL last month." FSDL had invited bids for 10 cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Siliguri and Thiruvananthapuram. Both the new owners "have rich history in football." The Tata group formed the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur in '87, which has produced 135 national players. Bengaluru, meanwhile, "has been one of the most successful clubs in domestic football over the last four years" (HINDUSTAN TIMES, 6/12).
STICKING POINT: ESPN.com's Debayan Sen reported one "sticking point" will be the participation in Asian Football Confederation competitions. Next year's entrants from India are already confirmed: I-League champion Aizawl will get to play in the AFC Champions League playoff in January, while Bengaluru, the Federation Cup champions, will represent India in the AFC Cup's preliminary stages. However, the biggest concern for Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is reportedly whether the I-League "will retain the status of the official league -- whose winners play in the Champions League" -- once the AFC and All India Football Federation "unveil their long-term plans for restructuring Indian football after October" (ESPN.com, 6/12).
