Internet Desk: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is contemplating on launching an U-13 I-league to bridge the age gap within the professional Indian football hierarchy. This particular decision was taken at the Executive Committee meeting in New Delhi, after the proposal was given the green signal by President Praful Patel. AIFF senior vice–president Subrata Dutta quoted as saying, ”Yes we are maintaining the FIFA guidelines and in that guideline Grassroots development is a mandatory issue and we are strongly dealing with it.”
Currently in the planning phase, it is unclear whether clubs/state teams will be included in the league. However, there are ‘high’ chances that grass-root level academies such as Mumbai’s Kenkre FC , Pune’s Bharat FC will benefit from the project. I-league CEO Sunando Dhar also addressed the meeting, by talking about the steady rise of I-league division two attendances. Matches held in Kashmir and Imphal, have drawn audiences close to 18,000.