Salgaocar, Sporting isolated in ISL battle

PANAJI: And then there were just two.
From an original group of 14 I-League clubs, all coming together under the banner of Indian Professional Football Clubs' Association (IPFCA), only two major Goan clubs are now completely detached from the Indian Super League.
All I-League clubs had unanimously agreed last season to neither loan players for the cash-rich tournament, or sign players on the rolls of IMG-Reliance, organizers of the ISL.But less than 12 months later, three clubs are out of the I-League, two clubs own franchisees, four clubs have loaned players and two others have strategic tieups with existing franchisees.
The only exception is Salgaocar Football Club and Sporting Clube de Goa, both of whom have not changed their stance that the tournament will do more harm than good to Indian football.
"The ISL is just a money-making circus with no benefits for Indian football. Can anyone from the AIFF or IMG-Reliance tell me how the competition will benefit Indian football? The only benefits will be derived by 40-year-old foreign players," said Peter Vaz, president of Sporting Clube de Goa.
"Jerome Valcke, former secretary general of Fifa, had said that Indian football's structure is like a stick and not a pyramid. The ISL will not help either to spread the game or popularise it," said Vaz.
Vaz's tirade against the cash-rich tournament came on the day two defiant clubs -- Bengaluru FC and Pune FC -- made their presence felt at the draft for domestic players in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Jindal South West (JSW), owners of Bengaluru FC, announced they were getting into a technical tie-up with Sun Group's Bengaluru team.
"The tie-up is purely a technical one and does not involve players and coaching staff from Bengaluru FC. The second year could see us getting involved in a much bigger way," said Mustafa Ghouse, COO of Bengaluru FC.
The presence of Chirag Tanna, Head Operations at Pune FC and president of the IPFCA, during the domestic draft raised eyebrows. Pune FC are expected to pick a stake in the Pune franchise, owned by Bollywood star Salman Khan and the Wadhawan Group.
Know the I-League clubs' ISL connection: Dempo Sports Club, Shillong Lajong FC (own franchisees), Bengaluru FC, Pune FC (strategic tie-up with franchisees), Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mumbai FC, Royal Wahingdoh (loaned players), Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa (stay opposed to the ISL).