No Asian footballer quota in I-League from next season

New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) There will be no Asian player quota in the I-League from the upcoming season, it was decided the League Committee meeting of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) here on Wednesday.

Teams can now sign any six foreign players without signing any Asian quota player in the 2018-19 season, a statement said.

Since the inception of the I-League in 2007, it was mandatory for clubs to have Asian origin players in the squad.

From last season, I-League had increased the number of foreigners in the squad to six from four with atleast two Asian origin players in the mix.

Meanwhile, the committee proposed the start of the upcoming season from the third week of October.

It was also stated, that the I-League will continue during the AFC Asian Cup but matches will not be held on dates that India plays.

However, from 2019-20 season of the I-League the foreign player registration will be reduced to a maximum five.

The committee also decided that the AIFF will pay Rs 45 lakhs as the subsidy to I-League teams for participation.

Regarding the AIFF youth leagues, the committee was apprised about the suggestions of the special committee meeting held in Mumbai on June 7 regarding age verification of players in the U-13 and U-15 youth league category.

The committee, head by AIFF senior vice-president Subrata Dutta, agreed to the suggestions made by the special committee, suggested preparation of entire protocol document, and place it to appropriate committee of AIFF for necessary approval.

The committee decided to not approve multiple teams with the same owners to play in the AIFF Youth Leagues with the exception of Sports Authority of India (SAI) teams.

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