Indian club football has been "thrown into chaos with all its I-League clubs failing to pass the club licensing test -- leaving the league without a single eligible club," according to Mark Baber of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. At the same time, the All India Football Federation and its sponsor IMG-Reliance is continuing the "drive to emulate the success of Indian cricket by restructuring football," including setting up a new tournament and new franchise clubs. A Wednesday meeting of the Club Licensing Appeals Body "holds the future of Indian football and the existing I-League in its hands as it decides the future of the teams and the league." The planned IMG-Reliance league is "reportedly going from strength to strength having come close to fulfilling its quota of Indian players." IMG Reliance has revealed that it requires "just four more players to be added to their roster for their new league," which, added to four provided by each of the proposed franchises, "will fulfil the total of 96 Indian players." A senior official from IMG-Reliance said, "I think we should complete our Indian quota latest by next week. Once that happens, our focus will be turned to foreign signings" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 8/19).
