Exactly a week since the All India Football Federation announced the successful bids of Bengaluru and Tata Steel to operate teams in the franchise-based Indian Super League from '17-18, "the air of uncertainty over the future of the I-League, the existing official league of India, continues," according to Debayan Sen of ESPN.com. The AIFF "may have made the announcement about the expansion of the I-League," but it is reportedly "yet to finalise the exact nature of the forthcoming domestic season." This led to media reports of "clubs considering their own future within the league, and of others eager to field teams if there are more pull-outs." Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal met AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das informally on Friday to "clarify the stance of the sport's governing body on the coming season." Das said that while there has been no official decision yet, the federation's league committee is "expected to meet before the end of month," and all decisions about the '17-18 season are "likely to be taken." These would include the "exact structure" of the leagues, the Asian Football Confederation qualification criteria as well as a "possible window for a super league" (ESPN.com, 6/19).
