The All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel has replied to the letter sent by Indian Football Association (IFA) Secretary Utpal Ganguli on Thursday.
Writing on behalf of the 'big two' Kolkata clubs (Mohun Bagan and East Bengal), Ganguli raised the issue of the AIFF President failing to honour his promise of delivering a revised roadmap for the future of Indian football by 25th May, which incidentally was also the deadline for the submission of bid documents for the upcomng edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).
Officials of both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal vehemently opposed the idea of joining ISL, alleging that there was no clarity with respect to the status of I-League and ISL and questioned the meeting scheduled in Malaysia on June 7th with various stakeholders including AFC. However, Praful Patel reverted back to the IFA Secretary with respect to the letter sent on Monday.
Ganguli revealed to Goal, "Yes he has replied today. We (IFA and the Kolkata clubs) will meet in the next two-three days to discuss the contents of the reply."
He added, "He (Patel) has responded to the points I had raised in it. We have to discuss with the clubs and then decide what is to be done further. He also requested me to persuade the clubs to attend the meeting and put their points of view across. He has also assured that if need be, he will certainly meet the clubs again."
With just a week remaining for the all-important meeting for the future of Indian football, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal officials have already applied for their Malaysian visas and are now expected to attend the meeting in Kuala Lumpur after evaluating Patel's reply.
The meeting, mooted by Praful Patel during the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary Dato Windsor's visit to New Delhi on 24th May, will be chaired by the AFC supremo himself.
Writing on behalf of the 'big two' Kolkata clubs (Mohun Bagan and East Bengal), Ganguli raised the issue of the AIFF President failing to honour his promise of delivering a revised roadmap for the future of Indian football by 25th May, which incidentally was also the deadline for the submission of bid documents for the upcomng edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).
Officials of both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal vehemently opposed the idea of joining ISL, alleging that there was no clarity with respect to the status of I-League and ISL and questioned the meeting scheduled in Malaysia on June 7th with various stakeholders including AFC. However, Praful Patel reverted back to the IFA Secretary with respect to the letter sent on Monday.
Ganguli revealed to Goal, "Yes he has replied today. We (IFA and the Kolkata clubs) will meet in the next two-three days to discuss the contents of the reply."
He added, "He (Patel) has responded to the points I had raised in it. We have to discuss with the clubs and then decide what is to be done further. He also requested me to persuade the clubs to attend the meeting and put their points of view across. He has also assured that if need be, he will certainly meet the clubs again."
With just a week remaining for the all-important meeting for the future of Indian football, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal officials have already applied for their Malaysian visas and are now expected to attend the meeting in Kuala Lumpur after evaluating Patel's reply.
The meeting, mooted by Praful Patel during the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary Dato Windsor's visit to New Delhi on 24th May, will be chaired by the AFC supremo himself.