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All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey has called the introduction of I-League 3 a bridge for semi-professional clubs to turn pro by competing for national honour.
Complementing Sporting Club Bengaluru for scripting a dream run by gaining three back-to-back promotional spots in one season (from being a State League champion to earning a place in next I-League for 2024-25), Kalyan Chaubey said, "SC Bengaluru story is a testament of the balanced domestic pyramid we now have, which make it possible for club to get a jumpstart to their campaign in such fashion." Reviewing a near complete men's competition for 2023-24, Kalyan Chaubey said that the changes brought in for the season will have a wide-ranging positive impact on the domestic football competition in years to come. "We have already witnessed what a SC Bengaluru could achieve in one year. I believe the introduction of I-League 3 was the missing piece of the puzzle, which we now have put in place in our structure. We believe that this (I-League 3) foundation is a 'transformative step for Indian football', as it complements the existing layers of competitions interlinked in perfect balance to provide a supporting and progressive pyramid," Chaubey said, according to AIFF release. While SC Bengaluru has won the I-League 2 and confirmed the I-League promotion spot in the upcoming season, the second spot is turning out to be a much-promised two-way battle between Dempo SC (24 pts) and Sudeva Delhi FC (23 pts). I-League 2 final round will be played on April 27, 2024 with simultaneous four match kick-offs in Goa (2), Mumbai, Bengaluru. "SC Bengaluru will be a club to watch for next season. Who knows a debutant I-League club could be knocking the doors of ISL as early as 2025-26 season," Chaubey said, adding, "this year we had only 25 teams competing in I-League 3. I hope next season, we will be able to showcase higher numbers. This will encourage the state's to conduct their top leagues in time." "Today we have a complete structure from subjunior (Under 13) to the top division. We have stepped up our domestic competition to a very competitive one. Our primary objective was to sow the seeds in the first year, which we believe will provide a stable structure and secondly will make our domestic seasons very competitive with more game time," Chaubey said. He said it's for the first time since 2008 that India now has a complete layered structure for men's football, which interlinks at each stage and provides a progressive pathway for clubs and players. (ANI)
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