AFC CLUB LICENSING 2014 IN INDIA
25.03.2014-JAYDIP DASGUPTA : The AIFF under the guidance of AFC has introduced The Club Licensing procedures in Indian Football in order to professionalize the structure of I-League. Till now, except Pune FC no other clubs has fulfilled the criteria but its importance in the structural development of I-League which cannot be neglected.

The prime aspects the clubs should follow, that they have to register themselves under the Company Act 1956 for a separate commercial entity. In order to establish the professionalism in Indian Football and to survive for a long span, the Commercial part should not be neglected where the main target is to be profit oriented.

The I-League is the first footstep towards professionalism and the professional players should be contracted to participate in the Leagues. So, it is mandatory for the clubs to make contract with a specific number of professional players. The Clubs should appoint qualified professionals in all the departments in order to establish a corporate culture .The prime functional areas where the qualified professionals should be deputed are media, marketing, financial, event management and even on the administration.

While drafting the Club Licensing Criteria, the AFC and AIFF officials put stress on the responsibility of the clubs to ensure constant supply of players by introducing two specific age ( U-14,U- 19) teams. There should be licensed coaches or Technical Directors to guide the teams. A number of national and state level tournaments have been started for the participation to these teams.

The organization of a match is one of the important aspect which came under the Club Lisensing criteria.The organizational part plays an important role where a organizing club have to finalize the venew including the practice grounds. A agreement is must with the venue or the stadium authority regarding the organization, where the security arrangement during the course of the match should have to mentioned. Importantly it must be mentioned that all the modern facilities must be arranged in proper order by the venue authorities.

The clubs should have an office with modern facilities, such as telephone, computer, fax etc where an administrative officer will be in charge. Fan and Community development are one of the prime aspects of Club Lisensing. The Indian football clubs have already started fan developmental activities to satisfy this criterion. The Community Developmental Initiatives play an instrumental role in promoting the clubs in their communities.

The AIFF technical team headed by Romi Khanna will be at Kolkata for the next two days in order to verify how the four I league playing clubs of the city has prepared. They will be touring to all parts of the country to inspect how the clubs has fulfilled the criteria. The clubs are asked to submit relevant documents for primary evaluation which is then followed by physical inspection. Then a detailed report is prepared for final assessment. The Club who will be failed to qualify the criteria should have to quit the I league in the coming football calender.

So, it can be summarized that Club Lisensing is the first step for professionalism in Indian football.