AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: Keeping an eye on the forthcoming edition of the Hero I-League 2016-17, All India Football Federation's bid evaluation committee met at the AIFF headquarters on Wednesday (Nov 23, 2016). The committee which comprised of Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF, Mr. Subrata Dutt, Senior Vice President, AIFF and Mr. Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League evaluated and discussed at length about the three bids from Minerva Academy FC, FC Bardez Goa and Chennai City FC who have wholeheartedly shown the interest to ply their trade in the next edition of the Hero I-League.                       

Mr. Kushal Das stressed on the fact that it's really encouraging to see three clubs showing their keenness to appear in the top-tier club competition of the Indian Football ecosystem.

"It's truly heartening to see these three clubs, that too from different states across the Nation, showing their enthusiasm to play in the Hero I-League. This actually highlights that we're heading towards a bright future of Indian Football, involving every nook and corner of the country", he mentioned while interacting exclusively with www.the-aiff.com.

However, the bid evaluation committee, after evaluation, has decided to go for a fresh round of tendering.

Meanwhile, referring to the decision of Sporting Clube de Goa to officially pulling out from the next edition of Hero I-League, Mr. Das dubbed it as "very unfortunate and sad."

"Sporting Clube de Goa have contributed significantly to Indian Football since their inception. It's really sad to see them withdrawing from Hero I-League now", he added.