2nd division league club selection starts

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced that the selection of teams as per the federation`s Indian club licensing criteria for the second division league 2014/15 season started on Monday.

The state associations have been asked to send in their nominations of the interested clubs along with the required documents for licensing latest by July 25. The 2nd division league will start from the middle of November this year. There is a cap of maximum of three teams from any particular city in the I-League and the 2nd division league put together with the exception of Goa and Kolkata, where the maximum cap is five teams for both I-League and the 2nd division put together. However, in Goa and Kolkata a maximum of three teams can play in the top-flight and the newly promoted team will have to relocate. In case of other venues/cities the cap of teams in I-League is two clubs. Sporting merit will be a critical aspect in the selection of clubs for the 2nd division league. The teams that qualify will be chosen on their performance in the last played top-most local leagues/tournament. It has also been announced that the U-19 I-League will begin in September this year. It is mandatory for all the 2nd division league clubs to field a team in the U19 I-League tournament. This will be held in two phases -- phase 1 will be zonal competition and the top teams will be competing in the final round. All the state associations have been asked to send a tentative list of teams interested in participating in the 2nd division league by July 15. The winning team from the 2nd division will get promoted to the I-League, subject to acquiring the license for competing in the I-League under the Indian Club Licensing regulations.