AFC Approves AIFF Proposal, Grants Official Status to ISL

MUMBAI:
Following the recommendation from the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the Competitions Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) approved that the ISL Champions will play in the AFC Cup. The significant decision was taken at a meeting held by the Competitions Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Doha today.
AIFF’s recommendation to the AFC was that the ISL winner should be allocated an AFC Cup Qualifier spot.
On the back of strengthening club participation from eight to ten teams in the Hero Indian Super League, its soaring viewership and the league’s commitment to grassroots football paying off, ISL has sparked a change which will now see a newer, longer league.
Both in terms of number of matches moving up from 61 to 95 and the duration from two and a half months to five months, the longer ISL season is expected to boost the quality of Indian football.
Hero Indian Super League 2017 Player Drafts held last Sunday in Mumbai witnessed ten clubs spend INR 48.85 crore to secure signatures of 156 players.
The fourth season of Hero Indian Super League – scheduled to kick off on 17th November 2017, will feature a minimum of 150 and maximum 180 Indian players including 29 Indian National Players.​